Polyphemus

[agent1022]

I'm not entirely sure if this has come up before, but there seems to be a gigantic gap in Na'vi when it comes to Polyphemus, or celestial objects at all. Of course, Na'vi is still rather incomplete, but it just seems odd that there's a big, blue gas giant above them dominating half the sky and they don't even seem to have a word for it? Or even a concept? I mean, by all rights, with at least so many celestial objects in the sky you'd think they'd have come up with a polytheistic religion. Or maybe they did, and slowly trashed it because you couldn't fly up there and touch the stars or the aforementioned sky-dominating gas giant (doubtless they tried, with disastrous results) and only kept what they could see and touch and hear and feel (and taste)? Does that mean that they even had minor deities for small portions of life (the hunt, the cosmos, wars) which eventually just became one entity? Which of course brings up the idea of Eywa as an entity, but that's not what I'm focusing on here.

[Mithcoriel]

I mean, by all rights, with at least so many celestial objects in the sky you'd think they'd have come up with a polytheistic religion.

They might have, if it weren't for Eywa. Eywa is a tangible, measurable deity, which requires no faith to believe in, so I don't think they would invent these purely spiritual deities.
For the same reason, I also don't think they started polytheistic and then merged those myths together to make one deity called Eywa, cause as I said, Eywa isn't a myth.

[agent1022]

I'm just curious as to why they don't seem to pay a shred of attention to Polyphemus.

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

The movie was already jam packed as it is, they needed to focus on things more important to the story rather than something off-topic. Probably some point in the future we'll here more on it, probably in a book rather than a film.

[Ekirä]

Of course, Na'vi is still rather incomplete, but it just seems odd that there's a big, blue gas giant above them dominating half the sky and they don't even seem to have a word for it? Or even a concept? I mean, by all rights, with at least so many celestial objects in the sky you'd think they'd have come up with a polytheistic religion.

I would be really surprised if the Na'vi did not have a word for Polyphemus...I think that we just don't have it in our dictionary. There are a lot of obvious words we are missing, such as 'water'. I'm sure the Na'vi have a word for water, but we outsiders don't have it....until Paul Frommer gives it to us 

Though, I do agree with you that Polyphemus doesn't seem to be mentioned very much...but I also agree with Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn, what we saw in the movie was only a little bit of their culture. Hopefully Polyphemus will come up in JC's novel.

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

The word for water is 'pay' actually. 

[agent1022]

One day we'll have more information. For now, we have to be content that the blue thing in the sky is just a blue thing in the sky.

[Ekirä]

The word for water is 'pay' actually. 

Whoa! Really?? 

I must not be looking at the right place then....is there a more complete dictionary than the one in learnnavi.org's vocab section?

Thanks for telling me that!

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

You could use taronyu's dictionary which I believe in the intermediate section or you could use the wiktionary found here: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Na%27vi

[Ekirä]

You could use taronyu's dictionary which I believe in the intermediate section or you could use the wiktionary found here: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Na%27vi

Great, irayo ma Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn! 

I didn't know about that dictionary.

[Coyote]

What is particularly interesting is that Polyphemus looks like a massive eyeball gazing down on them... that's got to have an influence on them.

But then again, Eywa might just tell them, "Naw, man, that's just a planet. No biggie."

(But would she know that? Maybe Eywa thinks it is her god!?  )

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

Maybe Norm is really Eywa in disguise and he contaminated that tree sample on purpose to cover his/her/its tracks. XD hrh

[Ekirä]

Maybe Norm is really Eywa in disguise and he contaminated that tree sample on purpose to cover his/her/its tracks. XD hrh

Ooooo....I never woulda thought of that one!!! Genius. 

[agent1022]

Well, I'm no chemistry student and I'm not too familiar with the effects of magnetic fields on carbon fiber, but by all rights Polyphemus' magnetic flux tube (I'm pretty sure that's what gives Pandora its magnetic fields of awesome) should magnetise the naturally occuring carbon fibers in the Na'vi's bones. Of course, the studies that I've dredged up haven't been too promising (see: magnetic moment, http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/19143) and plus, JC did confirm in a Popular Science interview that he specifically ignored the fact that a magnetic field strong enough to hold mountains in the air would rip the hemoglobin from any human body anyway.

But I digress.

[Kekerusey]

Agent,

You're a genius ... I'd been thinking the over same thing over the past couple of days.

Maybe Frommer's "favourite word" is actually the Na'vi name for Polyphemus?

Keke

[Muzer]

No, that turned out to mean harmony [with nature].

[agent1022]

Perhaps we shall find out more when the Na'vi learn space travel!

(well, it IS the only way that Avatar 2 can have the Na'vi...unless some other alien arrives on Pandora. Which might work. But in any case space will have to factor into it.)

[Mithcoriel]

But you guys are forgetting that Polyphemus is an everyday, non-spectacular view to a Na'vi. They grew up with that in the sky. Imagine someone from a planet where there are no clouds, and (somehow) no rainbows, came to earth. He would also be like: "Man, why aren't humans staring in wonder at the clouds and rainbows all the time? Why don't they base their culture on them and have all these superstitions about them? I've spent three months on earth, and no one I talked to mentioned clouds even once!"

Perhaps we shall find out more when the Na'vi learn space travel!

(well, it IS the only way that Avatar 2 can have the Na'vi...unless some other alien arrives on Pandora. Which might work. But in any case space will have to factor into it.)

I'm confused, why do the Na'vi need space travel in the second movie? And why is that the only way the sequel can have the Na'vi?

[agent1022]

(Nvm that. I found out that they're doing it in the ocean. =.=''')

But you guys are forgetting that Polyphemus is an everyday, non-spectacular view to a Na'vi. They grew up with that in the sky. Imagine someone from a planet where there are no clouds, and (somehow) no rainbows, came to earth. He would also be like: "Man, why aren't humans staring in wonder at the clouds and rainbows all the time? Why don't they base their culture on them and have all these superstitions about them? I've spent three months on earth, and no one I talked to mentioned clouds even once!"

Well, most Earth mythologies do mention stellar objects like the sun, even though you do see it every day.

[kintìomum]

And there are numerous examples of "reading in the clouds"... So just nowadays people are too busy to look up and watch clouds.
Although it's a great way to spend time. Take a blanket, lay on the ground and watch the clouds drift by...
Oh, and there are special events in the Na'vi culture mentioned when the moons and planet(s) form certain patterns (well, all lining up is mentioned but I can't imagine just taking that into account and not something like closest approach of the suns, Polyphemus with a band  of moons before it and so on...).