Chapter Three: The Rainy Tribe

Description: the Tribe of Rainy Islands or simply Rainy Tribe is a indigenous nation based in Maoris with traits of some Amazonic Folks. With roots in etnhicities of Water Tribe and Air Nomads, they are scattered in stilt villages, living in two far islands in that ocean between the west of Fire Islands and east of “Earth continent”.

Bending Style: The members of tribe have a mixed society of waterbenders and airbenders clans/communities, where the first art is skilled in steam, mist, raining and clouds in a volatile style and the second art is skilled in air masses, clouds and little wirlwinds. Like a mixed society, the Tribe reverencing a balance between both spiritualities. By this way, the Shaman leaders are three, representing the totemic spirits Sparrowkeet (skies), Iguana-Seal (water’s bodies) and Hermit Crab (dry ground). Specially, the rituals of dry and umid station celebrate the roles of both arts and the dinamic interaction of this elements.

Even with a peaceful nature, the rainy people usually made weapons skilled: oars can be used like a weapon in waterbending, staffs are great for airbenders and nonbenders warriors usually prefer bows with arrows.

Government: Chieftain with elements of teocracy.

Environment and resources: The Rainy Islands has a equatorial enviromment, providing its inhabitants with benfits and hardships of tropics, including dense forests and abundant hydrography. The communitary roles often go beyond the gender, being definited by bending: airbenders are most common in collect and manipulation of bigger sail boats; waterbenders are the prefers for fisher and healer, while the non-bender often are the best in agriculture. However, all can take part of assemblies and education. The barter and little scale exchange are common too.

General timeline: The identity of Rainy Tribe emerged from a group of waterbenders fixed in islands, growning with diaspora of polar water tribes and wander air nomads, merging these cultures in a high level of equality, even for nonbenders. By centuries, them main relationship was with Northern Water Tribe, nation historically with relatively strong navy. As long as the NWT prospered, the chiefs of Agna Qel’a saw potential in Rainy Tribe and trading often with them, searching resoursces rares in them homeland (woods, extractivism) and in exchange, ofered services like some manufacture, canning thecniques and heal services. There were contentions between they, but it could be solved by Avatars’ interferences and diplomatic ways.

During the Hundred Years War, some Air Nomads’s refugees arrived at islands and ended integrated to Rainy People (a reason because some sky bisions live in this islands and Avatar Aang prefer didn’t call them airbenders for new Air Nation). With exhaustion and isolation of both polar tribes by consequence of extended war, the Rainy People had a necessity for defend by themselves. With this mind, the waterbender master Nui Ka turned the first chief of her people and with images of strategist leader and “elected” by the Three Spirits, the young woman got unite all villages by around 30AG. A despite of the low technology and little population of Rainy Tribe, them culture of communitary coperation and them unique techniques of bending bringed safety against the external enemies, unable to cross storms and cyclones produced by airbenders and waterbenders together. By around the 50AG, the tribe was effectively withdraw for War and the forces of Fire Nation (cleary most interested in conquest the Earth Kingdom and disable the Southern Water Tribe) didn’t wish send more attacks. Few years after,Nui Ka died happy, namming her son like successor in cheftain and recognizing the three shaman-leader like coexistent autorities.

In aftermarth of Hundred Years War, the NWT made important reforms got restore autority over SWT and tried extend the “Union of Waters” for them old allie. However, this goal led to a brief conflict against the Rainy Chieftain, cleary searching by a independent identity, conflict resoluted by Avatar Aang, responsible for recognize the Tribe like one of minor identities apart of four nations. Currently, the main challenges of Rainy Tribe are the consolidation of citizen participation, the transition for a nation-state eficient and identity sense in a globalizated order.

Trivia:

• The tattoos are common in Rainy Tribe and have high symbolism, indicating for example, the type (or ausence) of bending and the job. Face-painting is common in local leaders and shamans and the national chief is identified by a unique painting with a headdress;

• Some indicatives of Maori inspiration are the traditional relevance of tattoos, the distribution between two islands (like New Zealand, motherland of Maoris); by itself, the maori nomenclature of them country (Aotearoa) can be traduced like “Land of Big White Cloud”, conecting with both bending arts of Rainy People;

• The Totemic Spirits are base in polynesian-Maori deities. Specially, the Iguana-Seal reference Tu-te-wehiwehi, a humanoid lizard said be son of sea god Tangaroa and the Sparrowkeet is reference for Tane, a deity associated to forest and birds;

• Some minor traits of Rainy Tribe was thought like amazonic etnhicies, including the geography and use of stilts;