The Water Tribes of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are some of the series’ most interesting people and take place in the most interesting locations. Located at the North and South Poles, respectively, the tribes are largely inspired by the Inuit Nations of North America. Though less onscreen time is spent in the Water Tribes than elsewhere in the Avatar world, much of the nation’s history, culture, and politics have been fleshed out in the comics and other supporting media.
The Southern Water Tribe is the very first nation seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender. The show’s first season is named for the Water Tribe’s eponymous element, and its story centers on Aang, Sokka, and Katar journeying all the way north in search of a master of waterbending powers. Season 1 culminates in a climactic siege of the North Pole by the Fire Navy, but the Water Tribes don’t feature prominently after the first season ends.
The Legend of Korra fills in a lot more background on the Water Tribes, primarily during its second book, "Spirits." The origins and political histories of the Tribes are explored, as is their role in the Avatar universe’s burgeoning modernity. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered, largely related to the clear tension between the North and the South and the details of their relationship with one another. Much of that history is explored further in the graphic novel North and South.
The origins of the Water Tribes predate the era of the Avatar. As with all humans in the days when the spirits roamed freely in the wild, waterbenders built their early societies on the backs of the great lion turtles. They were granted the power of water as needed to hunt and defend themselves, but they did not dare venture far into the spirit wilds before the first Avatar, Wan, arose. As the spirits departed back into the Spirit World and the lion turtles retreated from the affairs of humans, the early waterbenders migrated to the North Pole, where they built a society in union with their natural element, surrounded by ice and snow.
Old Avatar encyclopedia entries from Nickelodeon describe how disparate Northern tribes eventually united into a singular political entity under one high chief. They also outline how a schism within the Tribe led some to depart, eventually journeying to the South Pole and establishing a sister tribe. Through the years, the two Tribes remained connected but largely independent entities, developing their own cultural customs and societal structures.
When Fire Lord Sozin began his imperial conquest of the world, the South Pole suffered some of the most brutal attacks. With waterbenders being naturally dangerous to the Fire Nation because of their abilities, and because of the Southern Tribe’s geographical proximity, Sozin and his successors sent numerous raids against the South to kill or capture any benders who might become a threat. These raids left the Southern Water Tribe societally and economically devastated. The North, by contrast, stayed out of the war. Being physically far removed from the advances of the Fire Nation, the Northern Tribe remained behind their walls of ice and waited for the fighting to subside.
Eventually, the war came to their doorstep, however. The Fire Navy launched a fierce assault on the North Pole in the final year of the war, but was defeated by the combined powers of Avatar Aang and the Ocean Spirit. In the wake of the siege, some Northerners decided to venture south to rebuild their sister Tribe. An international reconstruction effort led to an explosion of culture and commerce in the South, though it also made gave the North political power over both tribes. After Avatar Korra successfully defeated Chief Unalaq in his quest for power, the Southern Water Tribe was finally granted its independence. Korra’s father, Tonraq, was named its first new chief.
Culturally, the two Water Tribes are different in some key ways, though overall they are very similar. Due to their naturally brutal geography and climate, fishing, hunting, and trading are their economic cornerstones. Most citizens of the Water Tribes are proficient in one of these roles, or as warriors, sailors, healers, teachers, or artisans. Both tribes have a fierce devotion to the Moon and Ocean Spirits, who are at the center of their spiritual customs and celebrations.
In the North, the society seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender has relatively clear-cut rules and orders. Up until and throughout the Hundred Year War, the North was very patriarchal. Women had little to no say in their marriages, and female waterbenders were trained to heal rather than fight. The arrival of Katara (originally named Kya) disrupted that order in the North to some extent, though how fully has never quite been revealed. By the time Legend of Korra takes place, though, the Northern Princess has clearly been instructed in waterbending combat. That suggests the gendered nature of bending has loosened, but it doesn’t guarantee a fully equitable order has risen up.
The South seemed to never have such rigid and oppressive traditions. They did not arrange marriages through the gifting of betrothal necklaces, and women were trained to fight as well as men, as seen in the flashbacks of the Fire Nation raids. During Korra, the Southern Tribe is shown to be relatively urbanized and metropolitan. The nation’s extensive knowledge of seamanship eventually turns it into a global power in shipping and transportation, embodied by the enterprises of Iknik Blackstone Varrick. In the Legend of Korra comics, it is also revealed that the Water Tribes also have a relatively accepting perspective on non-heterosexual relationships, though such things aren’t necessarily openly discussed.
By the end of The Legend of Korra, the political systems of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are relatively similar. However, that was not always the case. The South adopted a less centralized method of government after its foundation, whereby chieftains from different villages and subsidiary tribes would gather together in a collective, council-like leadership. This structure was largely broken by the Fire Nation’s rending of the South Pole, leading the tribesmen to rally under a single leader – Hakoda.
The North, by contrast, had a single Chief for most of its history. During the reconstruction of the South, Northern ways began to creep into the tribe’s old structures. Hakoda was named the first Head Cheiftain of the Southern Water Tribe – a station above the South’s council of Chieftain’s, but still technically subservient to the Chief of the North. In this way, the Northern Water Tribe held power over the South for many decades.
After Korra’s bender powers defeated Unalaq, the South official declared its independence. Tonraq was elected the first full Chief of the tribe by the remaining Council of Elders – a modern instance of the old conglomerate of Chieftains. With both Tribes autonomous but allied once again, the Water Tribes continued as major political and cultural forces in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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