Na'vi full name structure

[littleblitz]

"helios" means light i think not sky

sorry - should have checked before 

[tsrräfkxätu]

Hey,

Great thread, let me chime in!

The way I see it, there are 3 semi-separate rituals (I say semi because they all have to do with becoming an adult/full member of the clan.)

1) Clean kill. This is the test to become a hunter. The wannabe's skill in tracking, stalking, and taking down the prey (in one shot) are tested, as well as his/her ability to finish it off painlessly, and using the proper ritual. Weavers most likely need to perform a completely different ritual related to their chosen craft. Of course, no one can become an adult member of a tribe without having a "profession", i.e. a way of contributing to the community.

2) Iknimaya. This is the test to become a warrior (and, incidentally, an ikran rider.) I don't suppose every hunter rides an ikran, and clearly not every Omatikaya does so. Also, notice that when Tsu'tey teases Jake during the trial, he uses the word tsamsiyu, which means warrior, not hunter. The most desired quality of a warrior is of course bravery, so it is only fitting that they have to face off against a powerful beast -- one that can (and in fact tries to) kill them. They go up against the beast unarmed because the aim is not to kill it, but to overcome it (and their own fear.) This is very much unlike the hunter's trial, where one has to kill a harmless herbivore from a safe distance. Finally, for a mostly peaceful society it makes sense that there is no standing army, and that being a warrior is sort of a secondary occupation (which is why not everyone fights in the great battle.) So this test is optional, in my opinion.

3) Uniltaron. This is the dream in which Eywa tells mature adults, which clan they really belong to. The totem animal of the Omatikaya is clearly the toruk (even though other tribes might recognize it as an totemic beast/symbol of their remote kin.) We also know from the script that Jake sees/becomes the toruk in his dream. Many (possibly Jake included) view this as a sign that he is toruk makto, but I do not agree with that interpretation. First of all, that would be too cheap - giving him signs all the way like he was just a puppet to Eywa/JC -, and second, it takes away the edge of his insanely reckless action of trying to tame the "baddest cat in the sky." In my opinion, he is shown the toruk as a sign that he belongs with the Omatikaya.
This ritual, then, is the key to becoming a full member of one tribe or another, this is the one that must be passed before the young adult can choose a mate.
For those of you that find this weird, let me add that many human societies, where inbreeding is a potential threat, have elaborate systems for member exchange. In the native Australian communities for example, there are strict laws governing marriage, to the point where a person's parent's tribal origins are taken into account when deciding which tribe said person must marry into. The only difference here is that the whole issue is being taken care of by Eywa, who shows the clan identity of a person during the dream hunt (among other things maybe.)


As for the social structure, I firmly believe that, if anything, the Na'vi society is matriarchal. In the scene when Jake is brought before the people, Eytukan is about to have him killed, when Mo'at (interpreter of the will of Eywa, no less) simply announces that he is to be spared, what's more, trained in the ways of the Na'vi. She is clearly not below Eytukan in the hierarchy, nor would I say that Neytiri is below Tsu'tey. However, it cannot be ruled out that any leadership role can be filled by a man or a woman, so the most likely variant is that they have a system based on other criteria than sex.

In such an "equal opportunity" system (also reflected in the 'ite/'itan naming tradition), it seems illogical to introduce a single-parent-side lineage name, so I'd say that the "te ..." middle name has nothing to do with that, rather it is another given (nick)name, something that describes the wearer, like "Tsu'tey the fearless". I wouldn't be surprised if these names were bestowed on people when they reach adulthood and pass their tests. Again, this phenomenon is typical in human cultures.

All this is just speculation of course.

[ShadowedSin]

The Na'vi are if anything, bilineal. They recognize both lineages equally.

[Pwatem]

Do you have a link to where I could download the Project 880 Scriptment?
I have already read the Avatar screenplay, and I really want to read P-880

I found the links for both over at Naviblue: http://www.naviblue.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=150

irayo ma tsmukan

[DukeDrake]

1) Clean kill. This is the test to become a hunter. The wannabe's skill in tracking, stalking, and taking down the prey (in one shot) are tested, as well as his/her ability to finish it off painlessly, and using the proper ritual. Weavers most likely need to perform a completely different ritual related to their chosen craft. Of course, no one can become an adult member of a tribe without having a "profession", i.e. a way of contributing to the community.

Tangentially, I can't help but wonder if the weaver's test might be to either;

A) weave something from a set amount of raw material, without waste, or
B) gather raw material and weave something without waste or needing more to finish.

Either one seems more difficult than the hunter's test at first glance, but with practice and experience (which both the hunter and the weaver are presumed to have already), they probably aren't.

[tsamna]

kaltxi and back to a earlier thing dottir means daughter right? well i was watching the olympics and this skiers name was somethine mannuadottir or something like that so is dottir a word paul frommer got from like sweden or something?

[Kir`ti]

Hi, um I'm sort of new to this... can anyone tell me how to pronounce my name? it is Kir`ti

[ShadowedSin]

Dottir is a Scandinavian suffix ending for women. Just like -sen or -son is for men.

Back ont opic an dto remind everyone, this thread is not for creating your Na'vi names. It is to discuss the naming conventions of the Na'vi people.

[Na'ríng Tsmuke]

The Iknimaya is the ritual used to bond with the Banshee, the ikran. The way i see it, Uniltaron and Iknimaya are both required before becoming a warrior. In the movie, Jake completes Iknimaya first, then Uniltaron. I'm not sure if the scene where Jake kills the hexapede is considered Uniltaron (The scene where Neytiri tells Jake he is ready). I don't think so. In Avatar, i don't think we even see the Uniltaron (Dream Hunt). We see the ceremony where Eytukan accepts Jake as one of the Peoplem which means Jake obviously completed the Uniltaron and Iknimaya.

Jake kills the hexapede first, as it was (quote Neytiri) "a clean kill", she then said that Jake was "ready", for the the next "ritual", finding and bonding with his Banshee.



















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[Tsu'roen]

Update:

The particle "te" in full names has the meaning "of the"  (reference)

Male:
(name) te (family?) (father's name)+'itan
Example: Tsu'tey te Rongloa Atey'itan
=> Tsu'tey of the Rongloa, son of Atey

Female:
(name) te (family?) (mother's name)+'ite
Example: Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite
=> Neytiri of the Tskaha, daughter of Mo'at

We still don't know for sure if "Rongloa" & "Tskaha" are families (= bloodlines), sub-clans or something else ...
... and how it is inherited ...

I really hope James Cameron's novel has such an extensive appendix as Frank Herbert's Dune to give us some deeper insight into the details of the culture.

[ShadowedSin]

I agree.

Clans are generally made up of many varying branches of a large related family group. So it would make sense that a certain lineage or branch of a clan would have a name. Clan divisions are often called Septs. The term Clan itself comes from the Old Irish, Clann. meaning family.