The beetle-headed merchants are desert-dwellers who predate all other tribes in the Si Wong Desert.[1] They live in settlements and as roving traders,[2] having tamed the giant rhinoceros beetle as beasts of burden.[1]
History[]
Legends suggest that the beetle-headed merchants' ancestors lived in the desert underground and survived the attacks of giant gilacorns by mimicking the appearance of the distasteful sour beetles, the only creatures on the desert floor not palatable to gilacorns.[1] To appear as sour beetles, they fashioned beetle-like headpieces which remained part of their culture even after the giant gilacorns had gone extinct.[1][3] Having ensured their survival, the desert-dwellers returned to the surface and eventually tamed the giant rhinoceros beetles as beasts of burden. They kept making beetle-like helmets out of the shed shells of their domesticated insects and began to trade with outsiders, eventually resulting in this ethnic group becoming known as the "beetle-headed merchants".[4][5]
Around late 296 to early 295 BG, Avatar Kyoshi and her secretary Jinpa encountered a group of beetle-headed merchants and their mercenaries at the Misty Palms Oasis. Tensions escalated into violence over an undefined "problem".[6]
In 100 AG, Ghashiun and some other members of local Si Wong tribes sold Appa to a group of beetle-headed merchants. The merchants hoped to sell the flying bison in Ba Sing Se for a large fortune; however, after witnessing the creature's ferociousness and bad temper, they decided to sell him to a Fire Nation circus instead.[7]
Culture[]
Beetle-headed merchants riding giant rhinoceros beetles.
Even though the beetle-headed merchants are best known as roving traders, they actually maintain a number of settlements in the Si Wong Desert,[2] flying their red-and-black flag proudly.[1][7]
Their opportunistic streak and flexibility make them skillful traders. They have an uncanny ability to see merchantable potential in almost anything presented to them. Their rather easygoing nature makes them every tribe's first choice with whom to trade and swap. They frequent the Misty Palms Oasis and consider the cantina to be their base, using it to find and meet potential clients and business opportunities. The merchants travel throughout the desert on their giant rhinoceros beetles, which play an important part in their culture.[1] The merchants fashion their distinctive headgear out of the shed exoskeletons of the giant rhinoceros beetles.[4][5]
Trivia[]
- Despite being described as ethnically distinct from the other Si Wong tribes,[1] the beetle-headed merchants are sometimes counted among them.[2]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com. Encyclopedia now broken, archived at The Lost Lore of Avatar Aang - Character: Merchants.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 23.
- ↑ From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com. Encyclopedia now broken, archived at The Lost Lore of Avatar Aang - Creature: Gilacorn.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Beasts of the Four Nations: Creatures From Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, page 38.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Beasts of the Four Nations: Creatures From Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, page 39.
- ↑ Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 21, 2020). Chapter Nineteen, "The Companion". The Shadow of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch (writer) & Volpe, Giancarlo (director). (October 13, 2006). "Appa's Lost Days". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 16. Nickelodeon.