Are the Na'vi vegetarians?

[Bravestar]

I am asking this, because I have read it in reviews of the movie, but what is this based on? 

[Tsa'räni]

I am asking this, because I have read it in reviews of the movie, but what is this based on?  

The movie shows Jake hunting and killing a Pandoran creature, then saying its body would go to feed the Omatikaya.  I'm going to have a hard time adding anything else without insulting the reviewers you mentioned.

Edit - So it's based on nothing, in short.

[Txur’Itan]

I am asking this, because I have read it in reviews of the movie, but what is this based on? 

The examples provided in the Activist Survival Guide and the movie suggest omnivorous (meat eating + plant eating + insectivorous/bug eating).

Yerik (Hunted Meat - ASG/Film)
Talioang (Hunted Meat - Script/ASG)
Teylu (Favored Eaten Grub - ASG/NQ)
Eltungawng (brain worm - chewed and eaten during the Untiltaron/dream hunt "NQ" or "ASG")
utu mauti (Favored fruit - ASG)

[Txaslan]

Since their main activity is hunting and the tribe elite are hunters and a child is considered adult only when he first hunts, I'll say....lemme think.....no. 

[Keye'ung]

Plus maybe its just my naivety but they do have stonking canine teeth so that would imply that they are atleast omnivores  

[Kìte'eyä Aungia]

Plus maybe its just my naivety but they do have stonking canine teeth so that would imply that they are atleast omnivores  

It would imply that they evolved as omnivores, they could still be vegetarians culturally . . . but they're not.

[Tìng Eywatikìte'e]

What review did you read this from? I wouldn't trust them after such a silly mistake.

[Tsu'roen]

Yes technically they are omnivores. But I'd say the Na'vi are rather carnivores that spice up their meat with fruits and some veggies.
They are doing a lot of hunting but have no agriculture at all.
Also they are not nomadic so if their diet would be largely vegetarian they would have over-harvested the area around their home pretty fast. Plants take longer to re-grow than animals to move back into their hunting grounds.
And traveling large distances to collect some greens that give you less nutrients back than you spend in the process may make sense for us who eat too much and sit on their asses all day long but it doesn't make sense at all for members of a stone age culture that get plenty of exercise through their daily life.

Also their anatomy speaks clearly against them being herbivores. Have a look at all herbivore animals - they all have big bellies for the large (and multiple) stomachs they need to break down the celluloses of the plants they eat. And if you look through the ASG you see that this is also true for the Pandoran animals.
The Na'vi have no bellies at all but they have the canines of a predator. That indicates that they are

Of all clans we have seen the Omatikaya have the easiest access to fruits and greens. The Ikran and horse clans will most likely have an even more meat/fish centered diet.

[Tsa'räni]

The ASG states they are in the early stages of agriculture.  And don't forget that various Na'vi clans live in other terrain types, so some may be more dependent on agriculture than others.

[magne]

The ASG states they are in the early stages of agriculture.  And don't forget that various Na'vi clans live in other terrain types, so some may be more dependent on agriculture than others.

Yes, I guess they do something to improve useful plants growing conditions if they get problems and perhaps some planting to replace the one they remove, I assume they keep it low intensity so it's less work, they don't care for yield much as long as it's enough plants on a place to bother harvesting and the amount of plants within some kilometres from home tree is enough for their use.   

And I guess the Na'vi living in forests eat more plants than the others as they would have more types of plant and more edible ones than on plains. 

[Tsu'roen]

Agriculture is much more than just planting, growing and harvesting - it also includes livestock, herding animals and the like.
And agriculture also requires you to "create" the plants and animals suitable for it - something that goes against the believes of the Na'vi
I do not think that the Na'vi "agriculture" goes beyond planting a few fruit bushes and trees close to their homes for easy access, setting up some rotting tree chunks to attract and grow teylu and maybe keep some "chicken" around for eggs (or whatever else they lay). I definitely don't see them plow the ground to set up a field for wheat, cabbage, ... or other cultural plants.

[Tìng Eywatikìte'e]

The Na'vi get plenty of fruits and veggies, even with out agriculture. They are like the Pacific Northwest Natives, who never developed agriculture but still lived non-nomadic lives. A small population with the knowledge of how the forest works, pus a lush envioronment allows you to transend the normal rule that gathering in one place will strip it of it's natural resources. The Omatikaya still work within their natural niche like the rest of the animals on pandora.

[Tsa'räni]

One doesn't have to have all the aspects of what we define as agriculture in place to be practicing beginning agriculture.  Besides, I'm just telling you what the ASG says.

[magne]

Agriculture is much more than just planting, growing and harvesting - it also includes livestock, herding animals and the like.
And agriculture also requires you to "create" the plants and animals suitable for it - something that goes against the believes of the Na'vi
I do not think that the Na'vi "agriculture" goes beyond planting a few fruit bushes and trees close to their homes for easy access, setting up some rotting tree chunks to attract and grow teylu and maybe keep some "chicken" around for eggs (or whatever else they lay). I definitely don't see them plow the ground to set up a field for wheat, cabbage, ... or other cultural plants.

Main reason for not going for full scale agriculture is that Stone Age agriculture is more time consuming than being a hunter gatherer. Main benefit is that you require far less areas, the Omaticaya clan uses far more than 100Km^2 as their hunting grounds. You start with agriculture then the population gets to high so it's not a Na'vi issue.

The pa'li gives the Na'vi far greater range and carrying capacity then human hunter gatherers and I guess the Omaticaya would have to split up or travel around more without them.

[Mithcoriel]

Also their anatomy speaks clearly against them being herbivores. Have a look at all herbivore animals - they all have big bellies for the large (and multiple) stomachs they need to break down the celluloses of the plants they eat. And if you look through the ASG you see that this is also true for the Pandoran animals.

Add to that, they have their eyes in front, like predators, not to the side, like prey animals. (Although this might be due to the fact that they jump from tree to tree, so they need the 3D-vision to aim, i.e., the same reason we humans evolved our eyes in front.)

[Tsamsiyu Atsteu]

Obviously not. Just look at the movie and the Activist's guide. I heard one review call them "vampires" (stupid huh?) Obviously they hunt and cook their meat.

[Tsu'roen]

Yes technically they are omnivores. But I'd say the Na'vi are rather carnivores that spice up their meat with fruits and some veggies.

Well no, there is lots of info about them eating loads of fruit/veg...

That is true. But their whole culture seems to be centered around hunting and a rather carnivore diet. Fruits and vegetables are an (important) addition to their diet but surely not the center.

[Tìng Eywatikìte'e]

Just because they aren't the center of their diet doesn't mean they aren't a large part. In Western society, meat is usually considered the main portion of the meal. But we're still omnivores.

[Col Quaritch]

They may eat them but they are not, one they hunted animals that had meat and second they have canine like teeth. Good for tearing an ripping of fleash, hmmm canine teeth on a kitty cat. 

[Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä]

Since their main activity is hunting and the tribe elite are hunters and a child is considered adult only when he first hunts, I'll say....lemme think.....no. 

Agree :-)