Do the Na'vi cook food ?

[Hufwe ta'em]

I was wondering if anybody who has read the handbook knows if they cook meat/vegetable/fruits or anything on fires. And do they mix the foods to make like fruit salads, or a lettuces burger. Or do they eat raw meat, and fruits and vegetables as they are. 

[Txur’Itan]

Yes, there is an example of a fire pit in the film, and the use of it is laterally elaborated in the ASG book.

[Zefanaya]

You know I wonder if it tastes like chicken or do they have anything like a chicken, do they eat egg's just wondering.

[A. A. Aaron]

I was wondering if anybody who has read the handbook knows if they cook meat/vegetable/fruits or anything on fires. And do they mix the foods to make like fruit salads, or a lettuces burger. Or do they eat raw meat, and fruits and vegetables as they are. 

WOW. You must be psychic. I was JUST going to post this!
I don't have the ASG, but I remember reading a post about the Na'vi priding themselves on their ability to cook.
From what we saw in the movie, they do cook meats over a communal firepit, and it looked as though they were eating berries or grubs from leaf-plates.
I'd like to think that they cook. Nothing really elaborate but something more than just cooking meat over a fire.

[Txur’Itan]

I was wondering if anybody who has read the handbook knows if they cook meat/vegetable/fruits or anything on fires. And do they mix the foods to make like fruit salads, or a lettuces burger. Or do they eat raw meat, and fruits and vegetables as they are. 

WOW. You must be psychic. I was JUST going to post this!
I don't have the ASG, but I remember reading a post about the Na'vi priding themselves on their ability to cook.
From what we saw in the movie, they do cook meats over a communal firepit, and it looked as though they were eating berries or grubs from leaf-plates.
I'd like to think that they cook. Nothing really elaborate but something more than just cooking meat over a fire.

The ASG is where this comes from.  I highly recommend getting this book while it is in print.

[Hufwe ta'em]

I was wondering if anybody who has read the handbook knows if they cook meat/vegetable/fruits or anything on fires. And do they mix the foods to make like fruit salads, or a lettuces burger. Or do they eat raw meat, and fruits and vegetables as they are. 

WOW. You must be psychic. I was JUST going to post this!
I don't have the ASG, but I remember reading a post about the Na'vi priding themselves on their ability to cook.
From what we saw in the movie, they do cook meats over a communal firepit, and it looked as though they were eating berries or grubs from leaf-plates.
I'd like to think that they cook. Nothing really elaborate but something more than just cooking meat over a fire.

Tsahaylu connection !

[Technowraith]

Yes, indeed the Na'vi do cook.  The Activist Guide has an entry regarding the communal firepit. In fact, the fire is never allowed tio go completely out. It is always ready in preparation for a large meal from a successful hunt. I would assume that along with cooking meat, the Na'vi can also make other foods, including breads, or some kind of baked food. The activist guide mentuions that Na'vi gather various fruits and other vegetation for consuming. So i think it would be safe that baking is something they can also do to a limited extent.

[Txur’Itan]

Yes, indeed the Na'vi do cook.  The Activist Guide has an entry regarding the communal firepit. In fact, the fire is never allowed tio go completely out. It is always ready in preparation for a large meal from a successful hunt. I would assume that along with cooking meat, the Na'vi can also make other foods, including breads, or some kind of baked food. The activist guide mentuions that Na'vi gather various fruits and other vegetation for consuming. So i think it would be safe that baking is something they can also do to a limited extent.

I am still reading the guide, I just got my copy.  But they seem to have a strong fondness for Teylu and Sturmbeest which never show up in the film.  /crossfingers for extended version.

[A. A. Aaron]

Yes, indeed the Na'vi do cook.  The Activist Guide has an entry regarding the communal firepit. In fact, the fire is never allowed tio go completely out. It is always ready in preparation for a large meal from a successful hunt. I would assume that along with cooking meat, the Na'vi can also make other foods, including breads, or some kind of baked food. The activist guide mentuions that Na'vi gather various fruits and other vegetation for consuming. So i think it would be safe that baking is something they can also do to a limited extent.

I imagine they have to have something like wheat - some sort of seeds that would be like flour when dried and ground. Wouldn't be too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that they might make unleavened flatbreads like naan.

[AuLekye'ung]

Unlikely.  They found all the berries they needed, and Eywa can obviously provide any wildlife they might need.

Parallel them to the Native Americans and how they lived.  Cameron made that connection purposely.

[A. A. Aaron]

Unlikely.  They found all the berries they needed, and Eywa can obviously provide any wildlife they might need.

Parallel them to the Native Americans and how they lived.  Cameron made that connection purposely.

This is the reason I was going to post about this. It makes sense that they wouldn't cook anything more than just meat, but the ASG says that they do.

I like to think that they do cook - BUT I might just be falling into the same trap that we fall into on a lot of topics - wanting something to be true and trying to prove it.

[wm.annis]

Unlikely.  They found all the berries they needed, and Eywa can obviously provide any wildlife they might need.

Parallel them to the Native Americans and how they lived.  Cameron made that connection purposely.

Native Americans did not subsist on berries.  Many of the staple foods of the Americas, in fact, when raw either offer no nutrition (acorns) or are toxic (cassava).  I assure you, Native Americans were cooking their food long before Europeans got here.

[AuLekye'ung]

... and Eywa can obviously provide any wildlife they might need.

What I meant by that was that they had whatever they would possibly have needed in the means of meat.

[Orgotloth]

on a secondary note, cooking food deteriorates the fibers, thus making it easier to digest.  This would leave more energy to be used to the brain and subsiquently any connection made to Eywa through the queue.  Speaking from a purely evolutionary standpoint, they would probably cook almost everything.

[Rim tsamsiyu]

i wouldn't go so far as to say "everything" seeing as some foods lose their nutrition after you cook them.
they seem to be pretty subsistent type of community, so i would expect that there would be relatively equal parts of raw (vegies and fruits, maybe even roots if they eat any...)  and cooked....

actually now that i think about it... i would think that they're more likely to have more raw stuff and cook meat.... they live in a tropical rainsforest-type place, so there's hardly any need to preserve food as it just grows year round.....
this is just my speculation about it is all....

[Orgotloth]

most energy is gained through calories, the most calories are in meat/fats, not fruits and veggies.  Energy is pulled from calories, thus meat would have to be their prime sustinence since they are known hunters, not scavengers who rely more on fruits and veggies. (they're easier to come by)

cooking the food does take out vitamins and minerals but it also breaks the fibers of the meat down, making it easier to digest and thus using less energy in the process. they would need large amounts of energy since they not only need to support all their running, and brain activity, but also their connections to eywa.  Which would seem to me to take a large amount, this maybe even more so than normal brain activity.

[Tìng Eywatikìte'e]

Both are good points. The cooking process for meat does make it easier to digest and raw foods provides more vitamins. I think the Na'vi would have a pretty well balanced diet as they are clearly hunters who also have access to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Hunter and gather societies actually have an advantage over societies that have developed agricultures. While farmers have the benefit of having a steady food supply they often fall into the habit of "staple" foods which limit their nutritional intake. Gatherer societies on the other hand are forced to have a wide variety of food and thus have a large spectrum of nutrition.

[Zefanaya]

Both are good points. The cooking process for meat does make it easier to digest and raw foods provides more vitamins. I think the Na'vi would have a pretty well balanced diet as they are clearly hunters who also have access to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Hunter and gather societies actually have an advantage over societies that have developed agricultures. While farmers have the benefit of having a steady food supply they often fall into the habit of "staple" foods which limit their nutritional intake. Gatherer societies on the other hand are forced to have a wide variety of food and thus have a large spectrum of nutrition.

I agree, and I have yet to see an over weight Na'vi... and I pray to Eywa that I never do... just think what the Avatar conventions will be like (you know how star trek has those conventions were people dress up like klingons well soon there will be Avatar conventions were people paint them selves like dreamwalkers hope fully everyone there will have a Na'vi mind set and be healthy (seeing this movie and studying the Na'vi has made me reevaluate my life including how healthy I am I get out and injoy nature a lot more now) )

[Orgotloth]

When i was in colorado i enjoyed nature, in texas theres no nature to enjoy.

And again, with how active their lifestyles are i doubt reguardless what they eat would they get fat. (pregancy aside)

[Txontaw]

Both are good points. The cooking process for meat does make it easier to digest and raw foods provides more vitamins. I think the Na'vi would have a pretty well balanced diet as they are clearly hunters who also have access to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Hunter and gather societies actually have an advantage over societies that have developed agricultures. While farmers have the benefit of having a steady food supply they often fall into the habit of "staple" foods which limit their nutritional intake. Gatherer societies on the other hand are forced to have a wide variety of food and thus have a large spectrum of nutrition.

I agree, and I have yet to see an over weight Na'vi... and I pray to Eywa that I never do... just think what the Avatar conventions will be like (you know how star trek has those conventions were people dress up like klingons well soon there will be Avatar conventions were people paint them selves like dreamwalkers hope fully everyone there will have a Na'vi mind set and be healthy (seeing this movie and studying the Na'vi has made me reevaluate my life including how healthy I am I get out and injoy nature a lot more now) )

Yeah, hopefully we won't get any 300 pound Na'vi, like we get for Princess Leia *shudders* :/

And I agree that hunter-gatherers do have a larger range of food selections. Although with our international trade, you can get pretty much any food from anywhere.