hi! just wanted to say thank you so much for your amazing work in exploring the cultures making up atla! it’s beautifully written & has helped me a lot with my writing in terms of the characters! sorry for rambling & i hope you have a great day ! :D
I’m glad! I think cultural context allows us to appreciate our favorite characters more and can help us to better understand their motivations/psychology.
This post turned out to be far longer than I expected, so I’ll split it into four parts by nation. For these posts, I’m just going to link to the respective Wikipedia article of each section. I don’t want to encourage drinking by showing people where they can buy this stuff. Besides, if I can’t drink (on account of turning into a tomato) than neither can you. ;P
The only alcoholic drink native to the Water Tribe is kumis aka milk wine. This drink is really only available in the Northern Water Tribe, where buffalo-yaks are readily available for their milk. The drink itself is tart and fizzy, like yogurt crossed with champagne. Since there aren’t any grains and few starches to ferment in the poles, kumis only has an alcohol by volume (ABV) content of 0.5% to 2.5%. As such, there really isn’t much of a “drinking culture” in the Northern Water Tribe, as you’d have to drink a nauseating amount of kumis to get drunk from it. Instead, it’s viewed as a seasonal drink appropriate for most ages that’s only available when the buffalo-yaks are lactating.
The milk wine can also be distilled to create a milk vodka called arkhi in Mongolian. It has an alcohol content between 3%-10%, so still quite low when compared to grain and starch alcohols.
While there isn’t much of a drinking culture in the ATLAverse’s arctic, there is definitely one the closer you get to the equator. Denizens of the Foggy Swamp combined the Water Tribe’s surprisingly high alcohol tolerance with the Earth Kingdom’s culture of liquor production to create a drink that’s uniquely theirs: Snake wine! It’s an alcoholic beverage produced by infusing whole (usually venomous) snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. The snake venom proteins are unfolded by the ethanol, making the completed beverage safe to drink, usually. The snake is sometimes also paired with a scorpion.
Given the Foggy Swamp’s cultural inspiration and their canonical adventurousness when it comes to food, this seems like a drink they’d proudly enjoy. Plus, the swamp is likely full of venomous snakes and scorpions, so turning them into wine allows them to be consumed without anything going to waste. Fun fact: My parents used to display bottles of snake wine in our dining room and would even offer it to guests. I refuse to drink it. ^_^;;
Just learned about arkhi so I’m adding it to the post.
So today I learned that many Inuit, Inupiat, and Yupik peoples did not historically eat capped mushrooms, despite the many varieties that can be found in the arctic. There’s no singular, clear-cut reason for this aversion, but some arctic mushrooms can be hallucinogenic or cause gastrointestinal issues, so it’s not an unreasonable food taboo.
Anyways, as a result of this aversion, the traditional name for capped mushrooms in many Inuit languages is pretty hilariously rude and specific:
Nunavik Inuktitut - Tunitinging (“Caribou Food”)
East Greenlandic/Tunumiisut - Qivittoq Sopa (“Cannibal Ghost Soap”)
Inuinnaqtun - “Shooting Star Shit”
Inupiat - Argaignag (“That which makes your hands fall off”)
Yupik - Chertovysuhi Ushi (“Devil’s Ears”)
Anyways, this led to the following scenario popping into my head:
Aang: Sifu Pakku gave me and Katara the day off today. We should go out and pick some mushrooms! Katara, Sokka, & Yue: [awkward pause & looking confused] Katara: …Oh, right! Gran-Gran did tell me that people outside the poles like to eat mushrooms… Sokka: Well, if it’s good enough for them, then I guess it’s good enough for me… Yue: I suppose I’d be willing to try some… My father taught me which ones are edible… Aang: Wait, do people in the Water Tribe not eat mushrooms?? Katara: You have to understand Aang, mushrooms take a lot of time to forage and many of them can upset your stomach. Aang: Well, what kinds of mushroom grow out here? Yue: Let’s see… There’s “Reindeer Feed”… “Cannibal Shampoo”… “Haunted Snot”… Katara: “Lunar Diarrhea”… “Hand-Rotters”… “Vaatu’s Earlobes”… Sokka: “Kuruk’s Toe Jam”… “Kyoshi’s Hemorrhoids”… “Sozin’s Anus”… Aang: Never mind, my stomach’s already upset.
I especially like the names ‘frog’s navel or umbilical cord’, ‘star excrement’, and ‘squirrel food’.
Very interesting read! I didn’t realize an aversion to mushroom was common to so many indigenous cultures:
Examples of peoples who did not normally eat mushrooms include Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Nuxalk (Bella Coola), Kwakwaka’wakw (Southern Kwakiutl), Haisla and Hanaksiala, Haida, Upper Inlet Dena’ina of Alaska, Innu of Ekuanitshit (North Shore, Quebec), the Naskapi Innu of Labrador, and most Inuit…
The broad swathes of Indigenous peoples with an aversion to mushrooms lends credence to the “protein poisoning” theory. In the initial article I read, the author theorized that the aversion might come from a fear of “fat starvation”, also called “protein poisoning”. This is a type of malnutrition that develops from a diet high in protein, but low in fat. High-protein, low-fat foods like mushroom generally require more calories to digest than the food itself can actually provide. Additionally, the protein content causes the metabolism to speed up, leading to even greater hunger. If fat is not available to consume, the individual will develop fatigue and nausea within a few days, diarrhea in seven to ten days, and will die after several weeks.
When eating them is basically a net negative, it’s no wonder why so many Indigenous peoples gave them mean names.
So today I learned that many Inuit, Inupiat, and Yupik peoples did not historically eat capped mushrooms, despite the many varieties that can be found in the arctic. There’s no singular, clear-cut reason for this aversion, but some arctic mushrooms can be hallucinogenic or cause gastrointestinal issues, so it’s not an unreasonable food taboo.
Anyways, as a result of this aversion, the traditional name for capped mushrooms in many Inuit languages is pretty hilariously rude and specific:
Nunavik Inuktitut - Tunitinging (“Caribou Food”)
East Greenlandic/Tunumiisut - Qivittoq Sopa (“Cannibal Ghost Soap”)
Inuinnaqtun - “Shooting Star Shit”
Inupiat - Argaignag (“That which makes your hands fall off”)
Yupik - Chertovysuhi Ushi (“Devil’s Ears”)
Anyways, this led to the following scenario popping into my head:
Aang: Sifu Pakku gave me and Katara the day off today. We should go out and pick some mushrooms! Katara, Sokka, & Yue: [awkward pause & looking confused] Katara: …Oh, right! Gran-Gran did tell me that people outside the poles like to eat mushrooms… Sokka: Well, if it’s good enough for them, then I guess it’s good enough for me… Yue: I suppose I’d be willing to try some… My father taught me which ones are edible… Aang: Wait, do people in the Water Tribe not eat mushrooms?? Katara: You have to understand Aang, mushrooms take a lot of time to forage and many of them can upset your stomach. Aang: Well, what kinds of mushroom grow out here? Yue: Let’s see… There’s “Reindeer Feed”… “Cannibal Shampoo”… “Haunted Snot”… Katara: “Lunar Diarrhea”… “Hand-Rotters”… “Vaatu’s Earlobes”… Sokka: “Kuruk’s Toe Jam”… “Kyoshi’s Hemorrhoids”… “Sozin’s Anus”… Aang: Never mind, my stomach’s already upset.
Kahola is a character from Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game Core Book. He is the child of Southern Water Tribe pirates. His design is inspired by Ainu culture.
As this is not the first time I’ve written about Ainu clothing, expect a lot of quotes from my previous posts. I think one of the reasons Ainu clothing was chosen for Kahola’s design is the preponderance of blue in traditional Ainu clothing, just like in the Water Tribe. There’s actually a practical reasons for this:
The color blue is actually closely associated with the Ainu people, due to natural indigo (aizome/藍染め) being one of the most common and resilient traditional dyes in Japan.
So if you ever wondered how the Water Tribe gets enough blue to dye all of their clothing that trademark color, they likely get it through trade with ATLA’s Japan-equivalent, Kyoshi Island.
Regarding the patterns and designs all throughout Kahola’s design…
Traditional Ainu decorations favor bold, geometric shapes along the openings of the clothing. These decorations were seen as charms that warded off evil spirits and protected the wearer, hence why the the patterns appeared on areas of the clothing considered vulnerable: Collars, cuffs, hems and backs… From a practical standpoint, adding embroidery and applique to the areas most vulnerable to wear and tear extends the life of a garment, in addition to adding aesthetic appeal.
Unlike the designs of the Kyoshi Islanders— which had to be simplified for animation purposes— Kahola’s Ainu-inspired clothing gets to be as beautifully elaborate as its real-life inspiration. The embroidery and appliques (kaparamip / カパラミプ) added to the robes are said to be imbued with the love and soul of the embroiderer. The designs of these appliques are inspired by aspects of nature that Ainu people view as embodying strength and protection.
For example, the swirls on Kahola’s leggings are called moreu (モレウ), meaningspirals.These spiralsare stylized representations of whirlpools, symbols of power in Ainu culture. Considering Kahola is both a waterbender and a pirate, he likely shares a similar reverence for them. The designs on his lapels are called ayusi (アイウシ), meaning thorns. This design is meant to ward off evil spirits from the wearer, just as thorns ward off predators from plants. Finally, the boxy patterns on the coat are called utasa (ウタサ), meaning intersecting shapes. They do not seem to represent any specific element of nature, but appear to act as general protection charms.
Finally, underneath their distinct robes, Ainu wear form-fitting undershirts and leggings. It’s worth noting that the patterns on Kahola’s sleeves loosely resemble Ainu hand tattoos, which also acted as protective charms. He also wears sandals, which are quintessentially Ainu (and Japanese) footwear.
Overall, I like Kahola’s design almost as much as I like Tsemo’s; I just wish it was for a Kyoshi Island character instead of a Water Tribe person. Both of his parents are Southern Water Tribe pirates so his choice of clothing doesn’t really make sense for the arctic seas. And Ainu aren’t any more known for being pirates than any other Asian ethnicity. I believe he was primarily given this design to distinguish him from the otherwaterbenders in the game. Personally, I would’ve put Kahola in a parka, put his guardian (Honu) into a Yakut-inspireddress, and have Honu come from the Northern Water Tribe. That way you’d have a SWT, NWT, and Swampbender character.
Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^
Since the Earth Kingdom’s biggest cultural inspiration is China, their traditional calendar would likely be the Chinese lunar calendar. This calendar is made up of 12 months that alternate between 29 and 30 days, as the actual lunar cycle is 29.5 days long. This leads to the Chinese lunar year being shorter than the solar year, resulting in a 13th “leap year month” occurring every few years to re-align the lunar year with the solar year.
As for what the individual Earth Kingdom months are called, they are officially known by their order in the year (e.g. first month, second month, third month, etc.). Since the EK is a vast and diverse country, their month names are intended to be as simple and intuitive as possible. However, different areas may also have their own regional names for the months of the year.
Regarding weeks, the Earth Kingdom follows the xún (旬) system aka 10-day weeks. I’ll just quote the Wikipedia entry:
As early as the Bronze Age Xia dynasty, days were grouped into nine- or ten-day weeks known as xún (旬). Months consisted of three xún. The first 10 days were the early xún (上旬), the middle 10 the mid xún (中旬), and the last nine (or 10) days were the late xún (下旬).
The structure of xún led to public holidays every five or ten days. Officials of the Han dynasty were legally required to rest every five days (twice a xún, or 5–6 times a month).
In short, the first 10 days are called “Early Week”, the second 10 days are “Middle Week”, and the final 9-10 days are “Late Week”.
Unfortunately, due to the time-sensitive and labor-intensive nature of agriculture, peasants could only rest/bathe every tenth day, rather than every fifth day like a government official. Thus, a lighthearted way of noting that someone seems tired or lazy is to say “They look ready to work a bureaucrat’s week”.
Days
Similar to its months, the Earth Kingdom refers to the days by their order in the week, rather than naming them. For example, a person might say “Today is Day 3 of Middle Week.” Since the EK is a vast and diverse country, they try to make their timekeeping as simple and intuitive as possible.
HAVE we seen evidence that an Avatarworld lunar cycle is 29.5 days like Earth’s though? It’s entirely possible that its moon travels a little slower, since the planet clearly orbits its Sun a little faster than Earth, as mentioned in the linked post. Could be a coincidentally convenient 30 day cycle with no need for leap days or months ever, at least not on the frequency that Earth’s calendars do.
Here’s what trips me up the most about the Avatar calendar though:
Since we never see planetary rings from the non-equatorial regions of Avatarworld, it’s probably not that third planet from the sun. SO A.W. must be either the 2nd or the 4th planet from the sun. If Venus and Mars had better atmospheric pressures they’d be within Sol’s Habitable Zone (Venus’ is too high at 93x Earth’s, Mars’ is too low at about 0.02x Earth’s) but their years are also very different (almost 225 days for Venus and about 687 for Mars.
Assuming Agni (I think it would be fair for the Avatar World’s sun to be named after that setting’s Spirit of Fire) is near identical to Sol, then those first four planets have got to be either REALLY tightly crowded around it for the 4th one to have an orbital period that’s “only” 360 days, or the “rocky” planet neighborhood is really sprawled out for the 2nd one to have that kind of orbital period.
There ARE exoplanets out there with crazy tight orbits, I’m talking “years” that only last a couple hours. If Agni has a couple like that, it’s not inconceivable that there’s enough room at the edge of the HZ for A.W. to inhabit the 360 day niche at the 4th position.
Personally though, I think A.W. is a “far Venus” vs a “close Mars”. Planet 2 is noticeably smaller than Planet 4, and with all the crazy acrobatics people are capable of (as well as Appa being able to haul ass ALL OVER the place in Book 3 of ATLA) A.W. has GOT to be the itty bitty one with less surface area to cover and less gravity to hold people down.
Guess we’ll have to wait for Avatar Seven Havens, or its Firebending Avatar successor series, to see if technology improves to the point where they can visit the other planets in that solar system and confirm which it is.
Upon further thought, I also believe that if A.W. is a far Venus, Tui must necessarily be much smaller than Earth’s Luna. It’s obviously a similar apparent size in the sky, since otherwise the “ring of fire” wouldn’t be visible during eclipses if it was too big, and it would barely block out any sunlight at all if it was too small.
But, if A.W. IS less massive than Earth, with correspondingly weaker gravity, then Tui cannot have similar mass to Luna or else Tui and A.W. would be tidally locked to each other like Pluto and Charon, and it wouldn’t have phases. So Tui must be iron-poor compared to Luna, in order to have the right size without too much mass AND maintain analogous-to-Earth phase cycles and eclipse patterns.
I love these posts! Really detailed and well thought out. Another thing to consider is that the Avatar world has permanent human settlements in both poles, something that has never occurred in our world. This would indicate that the Avatar World’s climates are less extreme across latitudes, as their poles are obviously warm enough to support villages and even cities.
I’m not knowledgeable regarding the sciences, so I’m wondering what that would indicate as far as the differences between their planet and ours. Google is telling me that natural drivers of greenhouse periods include:
Volcanic activity
Tectonic shifts
Changes in ocean currents
I’m wondering if Avatar shenanigans are actually where this greenhouse effect comes from, considering that powerful Avatars are shown to be able to…
Activate volcanos (Szeto)
Shift tectonic plates (Kyoshi)
Change ocean currents (Kuruk)
“The Avatars caused global warming!” would honestly be some great anti-bender propaganda in Korra’s era.
Since the Earth Kingdom’s biggest cultural inspiration is China, their traditional calendar would likely be the Chinese lunar calendar. This calendar is made up of 12 months that alternate between 29 and 30 days, as the actual lunar cycle is 29.5 days long. This leads to the Chinese lunar year being shorter than the solar year, resulting in a 13th “leap year month” occurring every few years to re-align the lunar year with the solar year.
As for what the individual Earth Kingdom months are called, they are officially known by their order in the year (e.g. first month, second month, third month, etc.). Since the EK is a vast and diverse country, their month names are intended to be as simple and intuitive as possible. However, different areas may also have their own regional names for the months of the year.
Regarding weeks, the Earth Kingdom follows the xún (旬) system aka 10-day weeks. I’ll just quote the Wikipedia entry:
As early as the Bronze Age Xia dynasty, days were grouped into nine- or ten-day weeks known as xún (旬). Months consisted of three xún. The first 10 days were the early xún (上旬), the middle 10 the mid xún (中旬), and the last nine (or 10) days were the late xún (下旬).
The structure of xún led to public holidays every five or ten days. Officials of the Han dynasty were legally required to rest every five days (twice a xún, or 5–6 times a month).
In short, the first 10 days are called “Early Week”, the second 10 days are “Middle Week”, and the final 9-10 days are “Late Week”.
Unfortunately, due to the time-sensitive and labor-intensive nature of agriculture, peasants could only rest/bathe every tenth day, rather than every fifth day like a government official. Thus, a lighthearted way of noting that someone seems tired or lazy is to say “They look ready to work a bureaucrat’s week”.
Days
Similar to its months, the Earth Kingdom refers to the days by their order in the week, rather than naming them. For example, a person might say “Today is Day 3 of Middle Week.” Since the EK is a vast and diverse country, they try to make their timekeeping as simple and intuitive as possible.
And enjoy any and all Winter Solstice-adjacent holidays you choose to celebrate, everyone! With any luck, the big bearded man in all red will pay you a visit~
After reading through my list of Korean culture Easter Eggs in ATLA, I realized that I forgot to include the Yuyan Archers. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I could make a post series about them similar to my seriesofpostsaboutKyoshi and her warriors.
In contrast to the floppier topknots that most Fire Nation citizens wear, Yuyan Archer topknots are tall and stiff. This is because the topknots of the Yuyan Archers are inspired by traditional Korean topknots from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) known as sangtu (상투). Unlike the top knots of the Qin Dynasty, sangtu are more tightly coiled and worn higher on the head. We see a similar sort of topknot on all of the Yuyan Archers.
You’ll also notice that the Yuyan Archers pair their unique hairstyle with a wide headband. This was also the norm for Korean men, including archers, during the Joseon dynasty. These headbands are known as manggeon (망건). Along with being fashionable, manggeon also kept sweat and stray hairs away from the eyes, which is especially important for archers.
Fun Fact: An upward pointing triangle can be found on both the headbands of the Yuyan Archers and the uniform belts of the FireNation school that Aang attended. The upward pointing triangle is actually the symbol for fire in alchemy! Don’t know how intentional that was, though.
Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^
Bumi’s king outfit is inspired by classic Chinese opera costuming for Lü Bu (呂布), a historical military general and warlord. Lü Bu is described in historical and fictional sources as a mighty but temperamental warrior and an incapable leader. I don’t think Bumi is actually temperamental or incapable, but he does purposely cultivate that image to get people to underestimate him. Or maybe he’s just a troll. ;-)
The head piece that Bumi wears is based off a shuāng zhì kuītou (双雉盔头), which translates to “double pheasant headdress”. As the name implies, the two antennae on the crown are actually long pheasant tail feathers (lingzi / 翎子). They’re typically used to indicate that the character is a warrior, as well as to help the actor emote on stage. For example, surprise is shown by what’s called “nodding the feathers.”
The robe that Bumi wears loosely resembles a simplified kào (靠), which is the clothing used for military characters in Chinese opera. While simplified in design, Bumi’s robe shares the bright colors, loud designs, capelet, and baggy fit of a traditional kào.
In one of my earliest posts, I noted that Toph’s headband with the pom-poms is reminiscent of the róng qiú (绒球) found on Chinese opera headdresses. It seems like being a great Earthbender also means being a big fan of opera. ^_^
Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^
