Why the Na'vi have long hair

Started by Seze Mune, March 05, 2012, 03:26:22 PM

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Vur’evenge

Quote from: Raiden on March 24, 2012, 10:27:01 PM
Being curious and open to things is definitely a good trait.

The only problem is being open to things that are readily disproven. That site with the hair and electricity thing...that was a joke. I'm sure someone already explained why, so I won't go into it.

My point is that many scientists are indeed open to things; but only if pre-existing knowledge does not render them false. If you really want to evaluate articles about discoveries/theories in biology, chemistry, and physics for your own consumption, you need to know the pre-existing knowledge relevant to the articles you might be reading.

**Take this hypothetical scenario; what if you read an article about how toads give people warts? Well, if you didn't know whether or not this was true, you could read a biology book and find that warts are actually caused by viral infections that result in uncontrolled cellular division, and that the "warts" on a toad are actually parotid glands; glands that are used to secrete poison and fou-tasting compounds that keep predators from eating them. Thus, the article in question is rendered false, and it can be ignored.**

Obviously many applications of this will be more complicated with certain subjects, but this is the kind of system one must use if they do not wish to be swayed by pseudoscience-wielding crackpots.

I've highlighted and italicized some of your reply ma Raiden for purposes of clarity ...

First, distilling a bit -   Curiosity is good BUT...   It screams for a "BUT" at the end of that sentence, don't you think?   ;)

I don't always read in order to dissect... often I simply read.   You may however read for those reasons. I make no claims about what you and other people "think and do" with reading material. The articles I posted were interesting and related stuff that's been investigated and studied, like the link to the use of squid chitin as a semiconductor for proton conduction done at University of Washington.  Did you read the articles on organic shell material as protonic semiconductors, and the potential future applications?

The only problem is being open to things that are readily disproven:   My question here is: Disproven by whom?   You've left the agent out...  So is this a convoluted appeal to authority?

That site with the hair and electricity thing...that was a joke. I'm sure someone already explained why, so I won't go into it. Where is that pesky agent doing all the disproving and knowing? 

pre-existing knowledge:  Another appeal to an unnamed authority.  Known by whom?

The example of warts vis a vis toads gave me a grin, but seems a straw man argument, and also the setting up of false comparisons.   Rather like saying... those of you who post "silly" articles about hair and electromagnetism and such are comparable to people who "believe" touching toads causes warts.  Now that I'm typing it really is a one-size fits all ad hominem.  Nicely done!

And finally, always a crowd-pleaser -- the unveiled ad hominem argument: pseudoscience-wielding crackpots.   Ad nauseum, ad infinitum!

All that said.  I've never thought of myself as being in the business of changing peoples' minds about anything.  Not only is it impossible to do, but like the joke about trying teaching aardvarks to sing, it wastes time and annoys the heck out of aardvarks.
;)
"We tend to live in a world of certainty, of undoubted, rock-ribbed perceptions: our convictions prove that things are the way we see them and there is no alternative to what we hold as true.  This is our daily situation, our cultural condition, our common way of being human" ~ Maturana & Varela

Reykoveyzä te Werufalä Haflak'ite

Quote from: Seze Mune on March 25, 2012, 12:45:36 AM


What I would like to speculate about is the beading.  If you were Na'vi, would there be any reason for it?  Would certain kinds of beads be used to designate rank or marriage status or would they perhaps tell a story if read from one side of the head to the other?



there's a certain plant (cant remember what it is) mentioned in the ASG which young Na'vi wear when they're searching for a mate.
i also watched the film again recently and noticed what a variety of hair styles there are. for instance tsu'tey's hair looks like a side-fringe(only in a mohawk  ;D) and you can see one child in the film that looks like he has layered hair.
there's also Neytiri's hair, which you can see she unbraids on speical occasions (Jake becoming one of the People), so i wonder what the significance of that is?

i apologise for not being able to get photos of these for you  :D i dont know how to get internet images onto here. but it is very interesting to think about what these different styles might mean.

as a side note - does anyone understand the significance of tsu'teys neck brace?
Irayo, ma frapo, ma oeyä smuke sì ma oeyä smukan.
Vivar 'ivong Na'vi! Eywa ayngahu!



*if i make a mistake in any of my Na'vi, please correct me :)

P.A.'li makto

Quotethere's also Neytiri's hair, which you can see she unbraids on speical occasions (Jake becoming one of the People), so i wonder what the significance of that is?

I was also wondering about it many times... She looks absolutely beautiful and unique on these special occasions!

facebook: soaia leNa`vi

Seze Mune

Anything we come up with is pure speculation, but with Jake becoming one of the people and with their tsaheyl si, it seems like the connection between the two events is the theme of unity of some kind.  Then again, I don't remember whether Neytiri is the only female/warrior/clan member who has long flowing hair during the ceremony or not.  If so, then it seems the significance might be more about her relationship to Jake.  Long, loose flowing hair on an adult female is usually seen as more sensuous in many cultures.  I don't think it necessarily has that connotation for adult males, but maybe that's just me.

As for Tsu'tey's neck ornament, I'm not sure there either.  Could it be that it signifies that he was already chosen to be the next olo'eyktan?

Reykoveyzä te Werufalä Haflak'ite

But there were a few other warriors who wore them, so it wasnt just him.

That leads to another question - why was he selected, when he wasn't the leaders child? It wasn't like he was neytiri or sylwanins chosen mate - they were clearly betrothed - an arranged marriage of a kind. But why would the marriage be arranged before tsu'tey has proven himself a worthy leader?
Irayo, ma frapo, ma oeyä smuke sì ma oeyä smukan.
Vivar 'ivong Na'vi! Eywa ayngahu!



*if i make a mistake in any of my Na'vi, please correct me :)

Seze Mune

Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on March 26, 2012, 01:25:24 PM
But there were a few other warriors who wore them, so it wasnt just him.

That leads to another question - why was he selected, when he wasn't the leaders child? It wasn't like he was neytiri or sylwanins chosen mate - they were clearly betrothed - an arranged marriage of a kind. But why would the marriage be arranged before tsu'tey has proven himself a worthy leader?

Those are really good questions.  I *think* the role of tsahìk tends to be (1) hereditary, and (2) limited to females.  Believe I read that somewhere,but I could be wrong.  To the best of my knowledge, there was never anything given about how someone was chosen the prospective olo'eyktan.

I think James Cameron meant it to be significant that Eytukan gave Neytiri his bow as he was dying. It was as though he were conferring something, but what is being passed - besides the bow - is unclear.  Eytukan's bow presumably came from Hometree when he became One of the People, although I am not clear on whether EVERY clan member must undergo this ceremony OR whether someone who was NOT BORN to a clanmember must go through it.  But since Eytukan's bow probably came from Hometree and is a symbol, does it mean that he was conferring an eyktan's power on his daughter in addition to her position as next tsahìk?  Or was it just a family heirloom?

Human No More

#46
Quote from: Vur'evenge on March 25, 2012, 09:24:25 AM
The only problem is being open to things that are readily disproven:   My question here is: Disproven by whom?   You've left the agent out...  So is this a convoluted appeal to authority?
By verifiable, repeatable and testable evidence. That seemed clear enough to me. It's a basic underpinning of all knowledge that claims are testable.

Quotepre-existing knowledge:  Another appeal to an unnamed authority.  Known by whom?
Humans (or, life in general).

QuoteThe example of warts vis a vis toads gave me a grin, but seems a straw man argument, and also the setting up of false comparisons.   Rather like saying... those of you who post "silly" articles about hair and electromagnetism and such are comparable to people who "believe" touching toads causes warts.  Now that I'm typing it really is a one-size fits all ad hominem.  Nicely done!
That's not a straw man argument in any sense.

QuoteAnd finally, always a crowd-pleaser -- the unveiled ad hominem argument: pseudoscience-wielding crackpots.   Ad nauseum, ad infinitum!
Ad hominem is saying 'well, your argument is invalid because you did/like X (undesirable)', and overlaps with poisoning the well if you'd like to look that one up. It isn't phrasing someone's ideas in unfavourable terms (which is arguably a different issue in itself, but not relevant to any valid points or lack thereof against it).

Scanning through Wikipedia's List Of Fallacies doesn't mean that likely ones apply to any opposing point, spend a little more time reading the detail on each; they have specific logical or conversational characteristics that apply; referencing a list isn't a way to invalidate everything you don't like, it is said that possession does not equal mastery.

QuoteAll that said.  I've never thought of myself as being in the business of changing peoples' minds about anything.  Not only is it impossible to do, but like the joke about trying teaching aardvarks to sing, it wastes time and annoys the heck out of aardvarks.
;)
Now that, I can agree with ;)

Quote from: Seze Mune on March 25, 2012, 10:38:10 AM
Anything we come up with is pure speculation, but with Jake becoming one of the people and with their tsaheyl si, it seems like the connection between the two events is the theme of unity of some kind.  Then again, I don't remember whether Neytiri is the only female/warrior/clan member who has long flowing hair during the ceremony or not.  If so, then it seems the significance might be more about her relationship to Jake.  Long, loose flowing hair on an adult female is usually seen as more sensuous in many cultures.  I don't think it necessarily has that connotation for adult males, but maybe that's just me.
It's quite mixed, some of each gender have each hair type, to varying degrees, so I'd guess simple personal style.

Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on March 25, 2012, 09:43:32 AM
there's also Neytiri's hair, which you can see she unbraids on speical occasions (Jake becoming one of the People), so i wonder what the significance of that is?
She wants to look her best for Jake ;) - she also wears a top that is both intricate and revealing. It works ;D <3

Quote from: Seze Mune on March 26, 2012, 05:20:40 PM
Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on March 26, 2012, 01:25:24 PM
But there were a few other warriors who wore them, so it wasnt just him.

That leads to another question - why was he selected, when he wasn't the leaders child? It wasn't like he was neytiri or sylwanins chosen mate - they were clearly betrothed - an arranged marriage of a kind. But why would the marriage be arranged before tsu'tey has proven himself a worthy leader?

Those are really good questions.  I *think* the role of tsahìk tends to be (1) hereditary, and (2) limited to females.  Believe I read that somewhere,but I could be wrong.  To the best of my knowledge, there was never anything given about how someone was chosen the prospective olo'eyktan.

I think James Cameron meant it to be significant that Eytukan gave Neytiri his bow as he was dying. It was as though he were conferring something, but what is being passed - besides the bow - is unclear.  Eytukan's bow presumably came from Hometree when he became One of the People, although I am not clear on whether EVERY clan member must undergo this ceremony OR whether someone who was NOT BORN to a clanmember must go through it.  But since Eytukan's bow probably came from Hometree and is a symbol, does it mean that he was conferring an eyktan's power on his daughter in addition to her position as next tsahìk?  Or was it just a family heirloom?
I never really saw such information, it would seem needlessly divisive and sexist where the Na'vi are clearly intended to show individualism and personal choices in their interaction with each others.
The ikran clan leader would certainly seem to be a contradiction if it could be assumed she was mated to a tsahik and if the proportion of heterosexuality within the Na'vi is similar to humans, both reasonable assumptions to make - we know that Eytukan and Mo'at are mated and Olo'eyktan and tsahik, we do not know if this is typical for all clans, whether any position is entirely hereditary, based on who is suitable, or some combination (Neytiri becoming tsahik in this case; Tsu'tey being olo'ekytan being based on his suitability).
"I can barely remember my old life. I don't know who I am any more."

HNM, not 'Human' :)

Na'vi tattoo:
1 | 2 (finished) | 3
ToS: Human No More
dA
Personal site coming soon(ish

"God was invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand."
- Richard P. Feynman

Seze Mune

#47
Quote from: Human No More on March 31, 2012, 07:27:10 PM

Quote from: Seze Mune on March 26, 2012, 05:20:40 PM
Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on March 26, 2012, 01:25:24 PM
But there were a few other warriors who wore them, so it wasnt just him.

That leads to another question - why was he selected, when he wasn't the leaders child? It wasn't like he was neytiri or sylwanins chosen mate - they were clearly betrothed - an arranged marriage of a kind. But why would the marriage be arranged before tsu'tey has proven himself a worthy leader?

Those are really good questions.  I *think* the role of tsahìk tends to be (1) hereditary, and (2) limited to females.  Believe I read that somewhere,but I could be wrong.  To the best of my knowledge, there was never anything given about how someone was chosen the prospective olo'eyktan.

I think James Cameron meant it to be significant that Eytukan gave Neytiri his bow as he was dying. It was as though he were conferring something, but what is being passed - besides the bow - is unclear.  Eytukan's bow presumably came from Hometree when he became One of the People, although I am not clear on whether EVERY clan member must undergo this ceremony OR whether someone who was NOT BORN to a clanmember must go through it.  But since Eytukan's bow probably came from Hometree and is a symbol, does it mean that he was conferring an eyktan's power on his daughter in addition to her position as next tsahìk?  Or was it just a family heirloom?

I never really saw such information, it would seem needlessly divisive and sexist where the Na'vi are clearly intended to show individualism and personal choices in their interaction with each others.

The ikran clan leader would certainly seem to be a contradiction if it could be assumed she was mated to a tsahik and if the proportion of heterosexuality within the Na'vi is similar to humans, both reasonable assumptions to make - we know that Eytukan and Mo'at are mated and Olo'eyktan and tsahik, we do not know if this is typical for all clans, whether any position is entirely hereditary, based on who is suitable, or some combination (Neytiri becoming tsahik in this case; Tsu'tey being olo'ekytan being based on his suitability).

Hmm. Wasn't there a red-painted female who was clan leader in the film? She was one of those recruited by Jake and Neytiri, IIRC. Then again, it's been awhile since I've seen it, so perhaps she was tsahìk and not olo'eyktan.



Out of curiosity, I went to the Pandorapedia website operated by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, just to see what information I could glean.

Under Behavior, I found:

"Strong social bonds determine the selection of mated pairs, and often social roles within the community are associated with the pairings. The most prominent example of this is that the Olo'eyctan[sic], or Clan Leader, is always paired with the Tsahik, or Shamanic Matriarch.

Social roles are not necessarily determined by gender. Females are known to be active hunters and clan leaders, while males often choose to focus on child rearing or crafts, such as Na'vi weaving."

Under Na'vi Mating Practices:


"Na'vi males are typically pair bonded with females, but male-male and female-female permanent bonds are not uncommon. "

When I checked the Wiki Avatar site, it cites a female olo'eyktan named Sänume in the Avatar Game.  That same page says, "The Clan Leader (Na'vi name: Olo'eyktan) is the most important member of a Na'vi clan and is similar to a chieftain. The leader is in charge of the clan and may rule along with his or her mate. The female leader is usually called the Tsahìk. "

So the next question is, should any of this information be considered official?  20th Century Fox has some authoritative claim, but some of their information is, imho, outdated and suspect.  And Wiki?  Well.....it's food for thought but not necessarily correct either.

My personal take-away is that tsahìk is always female, though not necessarily hereditary.  Olo'eyktan can be male OR female. And the  tsahìk and olo'eyktan are a mated pair but in less common cases (such as when the olo'eyktan is a female), that need not be the case.  UNLESS the pair is a same-sex couple, which - according to Pandorapedia - isn't uncommon.

Still can't find anything about how olo'eyktan is chosen or his successor (as in Tsu'tey's case).

Human No More

#48
The wiki is fanon, for the most part; I would personally avoid a consideration of the game in a point of fact, since it flatly contradicts Avatar in numerous ways both massive (hundreds of marines where the player personally kills more people than would have been on Pandora, far too widespread humans and with near-unlimited resources (again, personally destroying at least 4 (from memory) Dragons and dozens of Scorpions) active war, major lack of detail in the Na'vi and language, HUGELY diverging plotline from canon even if you go for the good choice) and small (design everywhere, various technologies, some points of history). The game was rushed and never properly thought out, and it shows, as well as having been created with far less input that most sources, which also shows, in its trying to be a SPESS MEHRENS game with war, and a terrible storyline with the most boring and apathetic character ever who has zero personality, traits or even the ability to say much other than 'yes' to each mission. There are literally NO divergent conversation options, not even just saying the same thing in a different way. Kind of sad really, as it mostly looked nice environment-wise even if the Na'vi had terrible textures that looked like they had been created in 5 minutes for a console.

The point of the ikran clan leader is that she seems to be an olo'eyktan, but we don't know if the olo'eyktan is necessarily always mated to the tsahik, her own preference, or any other factors. In other words, there's no real answer, but all the other listed points would seem to indicate there could well be different situations :).
"I can barely remember my old life. I don't know who I am any more."

HNM, not 'Human' :)

Na'vi tattoo:
1 | 2 (finished) | 3
ToS: Human No More
dA
Personal site coming soon(ish

"God was invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand."
- Richard P. Feynman

Seze Mune

#49
Never played the game and know very little about it, 'cept what I read here and there.  I have trouble understanding why JC would take such time and trouble with the movie, but allow the game to fall below his standards.

One interesting bit of information in the Pandorapedia site is the following:

"Their eyes are large and sensitive to wavelengths of light inclusive of the human visual range, and beyond into near-infrared. For balancing their long torso and legs, the Na'vi have a long, prehensile lemur-like tail. They can traverse the landscape on the surface as well as using a form of brachiation from branch to branch similar to Earth primates.

"Na'vi vary in size, by region and genetic history.........Range: All biomes of Pandora. Populations of Na'vi are known to exist in every environment of Pandora, from tropical rainforest and equatorial desert to polar regions, boreal forest, mountains, ocean shorelines, wetlands, and archipelago. The Na'vi show evidence of rapid evolutionary adaptation to widely varied habitats. Some scientists consider some of these adaptations so significant that they represent true speciation, but this is controversial, and there is strong agreement among geneticists that the Na'vi are a single species, though with wide variation morphologically, like domesticated dogs on Earth. "

Assuming James Cameron has given Fox's information his blessing, then we might anticipate Avatar 2 to have some Na'vi who are radically morphologically different from the Omatikaya.  Who knows, they might even have different colored hair, or hair types.  

We might also assume that the genes for the avatars came from Na'vi who were genetically related to the Omatikaya, if not the Omatikaya themselves, assuming that the Na'vi living in different areas can be so radically individuated from the type we see in Avatar 1.

As for the prehensile tail, I didn't see any evidence for this in the movie.  The tails appeared to be more cat-like than lemur-like.  And I don't remember any brachiation either.  Falling from leaf to leaf is not brachiation.

One point about the queue: as far as I could tell in the movie, every other animal which possessed a neural whip could move it at will, as when Seze extended her neural whip to bond with Neytiri.  It seems strange that the Na'vi would be the only creatures on Pandora who supposedly have retained long, muscular extensions of their spinal cords as tails, have retained their ancestors' abilities to brachiate, and have LOST the musculature to control their version of the neural whip which supposedly operates in every other way like the neural whips of the banshees, the viperwolves, the thanators, etc.


Reykoveyzä te Werufalä Haflak'ite

Perhaps the skin that surrounds animals neural whips also contains musculature, so the animals tswin are surrounded by muscle and skin, much as hair surrounds the Na'vi's.

As for the prehensile tail, maybe it's one of those other Na'vi variations that has it, though I'm not sure how feasible the idea of 'breeds' of Na'vi are. I thought that pandora had mostly the same sort of biome moon-wide - it's all forest, keyfak? And the Na'vi as we know them seem pretty adaptable - if humans can live in all climate and environments without evolving, why would the Na'vi?
Irayo, ma frapo, ma oeyä smuke sì ma oeyä smukan.
Vivar 'ivong Na'vi! Eywa ayngahu!



*if i make a mistake in any of my Na'vi, please correct me :)

Seze Mune

Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on April 02, 2012, 02:45:23 PM
Perhaps the skin that surrounds animals neural whips also contains musculature, so the animals tswin are surrounded by muscle and skin, much as hair surrounds the Na'vi's.

As for the prehensile tail, maybe it's one of those other Na'vi variations that has it, though I'm not sure how feasible the idea of 'breeds' of Na'vi are. I thought that pandora had mostly the same sort of biome moon-wide - it's all forest, keyfak? And the Na'vi as we know them seem pretty adaptable - if humans can live in all climate and environments without evolving, why would the Na'vi?


Ma Reyko, all we know is what we've seen so far and it's pretty limited environs. The way I read the info, the Na'vi live in the desert as well as boreal forests which are more arctic in nature and contain taiga which are swampy conifer forests found in areas like northern Canada and Siberia.

You could be right about the prehensile tail belonging to some 'breeds' of Na'vi rather than to all of them...but then why is it  listed as a common identifying feature?

I don't know what most people think about the hair braided over the tswin of the Na'vi, but I don't think the hair actually grows on the tswin.  I tend to believe it's a cultural adaptation, much like certain native South American tribes cover the phallus with gourds (only not so ridiculously):



Maybe someone can find a pic where the end of the tswin is actually shown so we can see whether the braid is tied off in some way or the hair just grows from the tswin. It is hard to tell:


Human No More

#52
Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on April 02, 2012, 02:45:23 PM
Perhaps the skin that surrounds animals neural whips also contains musculature, so the animals tswin are surrounded by muscle and skin, much as hair surrounds the Na'vi's.

As for the prehensile tail, maybe it's one of those other Na'vi variations that has it, though I'm not sure how feasible the idea of 'breeds' of Na'vi are. I thought that pandora had mostly the same sort of biome moon-wide - it's all forest, keyfak? And the Na'vi as we know them seem pretty adaptable - if humans can live in all climate and environments without evolving, why would the Na'vi?

Srane... the mention of deserts really kills that text's plausibility; there are none. There is also no landmass at either pole, only free-floating ice.

The hair around the tswin would be braided, hair can't naturally grow in such a pattern; if it grew directly on it then it would grow outwards (even if combed back along it, it would produce a visible pattern and would need to be twisted around rather than braided) rather than down from the head.
"I can barely remember my old life. I don't know who I am any more."

HNM, not 'Human' :)

Na'vi tattoo:
1 | 2 (finished) | 3
ToS: Human No More
dA
Personal site coming soon(ish

"God was invented to explain mystery. God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand."
- Richard P. Feynman

Seze Mune

Quote from: Human No More on April 02, 2012, 07:25:38 PM
Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on April 02, 2012, 02:45:23 PM
Perhaps the skin that surrounds animals neural whips also contains musculature, so the animals tswin are surrounded by muscle and skin, much as hair surrounds the Na'vi's.

As for the prehensile tail, maybe it's one of those other Na'vi variations that has it, though I'm not sure how feasible the idea of 'breeds' of Na'vi are. I thought that pandora had mostly the same sort of biome moon-wide - it's all forest, keyfak? And the Na'vi as we know them seem pretty adaptable - if humans can live in all climate and environments without evolving, why would the Na'vi?

Srane... the mention of deserts really kills that text's plausibility; there are none. There is also no landmass at either pole, only free-floating ice.

I am not doubting you here, but I do wonder where this information is confirmed.

Quote from: Human No More on April 02, 2012, 07:25:38 PM
The hair around the tswin would be braided, hair can't naturally grow in such a pattern; if it grew directly on it then it would grow outwards (even if combed back along it, it would produce a visible pattern and would need to be twisted around rather than braided) rather than down from the head.

Don't ask me how it's done, but it's possible they *might* have found work-arounds for this problem.








Seze Mune

Even in the amnio tank the hair is already braided over the tswin.  Presumably someone fished the avatar out of the tank and braided the hair because we assume it didn't grow that way. That had to have been awkward, especially given the configuration of the tank.  It wouldn't be done for protection of the queue because a proper amnio tank wouldn't allow any injuries.


Seze Mune

#55
From Pandorapedia: ".............the avatar amnio fluid is a relatively strong alkali solution rather than the simple saline that is the base of terrestrial amnio fluids. Indeed, it is so strong that most Earth organisms would be largely dissolved by a few weeks of immersion, and human technicians decanting fully matured avatars are required to wear gloves and protective eyewear during the process."






With the avatar in the amnio tank, one would have to braid and re-braid the hair many times as it grows out over the course of the six years it takes to develop the bodies.  Otherwise it would be one wildlooking seaweedy tangled mass of hair underwater.


Meuiama Tsamsiyu (Toruk Makto)

Perhaps then, the Avatar is already in a form of maturity before shipping to Pandora? After all, the Avatar drivers would/should need to learn to sync with their nervous linked counter-part. So I now surmise, perhaps once fully grown, the hair stops growing, as it is fully protecting the queue?



"He who destroys a good book kills reason itself." -John Milton

"Mathematics is the gate and key to the sciences." -Roger Bacon

"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance." -Socrates

Reykoveyzä te Werufalä Haflak'ite

What if the hair just grows naturally in braids? When Jake is first out in the training area and and later in the forest with grace and norm, before anyone would have had the oppurtunity to (or liked him enough) to braid his hair for him, he has small bits of hair hanging into his face that are in fact small plaits. The fact that the avatars have braids in the cryo-tank thing despite the fact no one would be able to reach them backs this up.  Later on, as jake lives with the clan, and his hair grows, it just looks like a mess of hair, but all the strands are actually braided. And the little bits that fall in his face are plaited too, despite them having no visible means of securing them, like the beads on neytiri's braids. And I know that you can achieve that by dipping the end of the hair into hot water or something (my friend, who wears braids, told me that, and it stays braided for months at a time) but why would he take that effort for a tiny bit of fringe? All this, to me, suggests Na'vi hair grows naturally in simple plaits. More complicated hairstyles, such as graces or neytiris, could be acheived by unplaiting the hair and then doing it how you want. And just because human hair can't grow in a plait, what's to say Na'vi hair can't?
Irayo, ma frapo, ma oeyä smuke sì ma oeyä smukan.
Vivar 'ivong Na'vi! Eywa ayngahu!



*if i make a mistake in any of my Na'vi, please correct me :)

P.A.'li makto

Quote from: Reykoveyzä te Weru'falä Haflak'ite on April 03, 2012, 08:22:23 AM
What if the hair just grows naturally in braids? When Jake is first out in the training area and and later in the forest with grace and norm, before anyone would have had the oppurtunity to (or liked him enough) to braid his hair for him, he has small bits of hair hanging into his face that are in fact small plaits. The fact that the avatars have braids in the cryo-tank thing despite the fact no one would be able to reach them backs this up.  Later on, as jake lives with the clan, and his hair grows, it just looks like a mess of hair, but all the strands are actually braided. And the little bits that fall in his face are plaited too, despite them having no visible means of securing them, like the beads on neytiri's braids. And I know that you can achieve that by dipping the end of the hair into hot water or something (my friend, who wears braids, told me that, and it stays braided for months at a time) but why would he take that effort for a tiny bit of fringe? All this, to me, suggests Na'vi hair grows naturally in simple plaits. More complicated hairstyles, such as graces or neytiris, could be acheived by unplaiting the hair and then doing it how you want. And just because human hair can't grow in a plait, what's to say Na'vi hair can't?
I like this idea. It's easier for me to imagine the tswin growing naturally in braids than being braided by somebody regularly...

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Lolet

Isn't leaving your hair in braids for months on end unhealthy? After all, it never gets totally washed or combed out.