The Tulkun Conundrum – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

Update: In the meantime, it has been confirmed by Jon Landau that this creature is indeed a Tulkun. The flying fish crocodile-like creature is confirmed to be a “Skimwing” (or “tsurak” in Na’vi).


In this post I’ve explained why leading experts (:P) inside the fandom think that Lo’ak is touching a tulkun in the trailer for Avatar 2: The Way Of Water: Clearing Up The Confusion About The Children – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water – the 1st reason being, that media sources have been calling this creature a tulkun while they knew before everyone else that Kiri is Kiri, Lo’ak is Lo’ak and Ronal is Ronal:

Avatar 3 / 4 is likely going to be subtitled “The Tulkun Rider” and looks like Lo’ak is up for the task (2nd reason):

Not enough, yet? Well, here are more reasons why think this is a tulkun and not a nalutsa or akula:

The nalutsa is confirmed to be this very shark-like looking creature (3rd reason):

From the book “The World Of Avatar: A Visual Exploration”
From an info flyer from Disney Animal Kingdom – Pandora

Which looks a lot like this guy in the trailer (overall body shape, back plating and fin shape):

And it looks like this guy in “The Flight Of Passage” inside “Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Pandora – The World Of Avatar”:

While the creature Lo’ak is interacting with is definitely more whale-like (4th reason). The tulkun below has a different mouth shape (5th reason), which also looks more like that of a whale from Earth:

The tulkun here seems to have two kuru (neural queue) which the nalutsa seems to be missing (6th reason). Also, the belly of the nalutsa is very smooth apparently, other than the tulkun’s (7th reason) – and comparing flippers, the nalutsa seems to be missing these circled claw (?) and ridges (8th reason):

Also, trying to compare sizes, we get our 9th reason:

The shape of the flippers is also very different (10th reason). And the 11th reason would be, that the akula is said to be an even larger evolutionary cousin of the nalutsa (in the book “The World Of Avatar: A Visual Exploration”), which means an akula most likely resembles a shark more than a whale, much like the nalutsa does.

So, ma frapo, this is 11 reasons why this big boy next to Lo’ak is most likely a tulkun! :D

Clearing Up The Confusion About The Children – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

This here is a follow-up blog post for this one here: Avatar 2: The Way of Water – Teaser Trailer Synopsis (updated)

And still…

!!! SPOILERS AND THEORIES AHEAD !!!

The trailer’s just out, basically and heads are already almost exploding, because everyone’s been wondering who is who, concerning the Sully kids. A lot of thinking, pondering, contemplating, theorizing, comparing, discussing has been going on. This has been the collaborative work of nawma Neytiri, Wameyn, Mako and me since the leak, without their additional brainpower and very interesting finds and takes I’d probably be curled up in a ball in a corner of my room by now, haha.

So, the pondering and debating has not been in vain, I think together we actually got something that’s at least plausible. Of course any trailer that would give too much away would be a bad trailer, so everyone’s got to work with what little is thrown at them, and of course we’ll only know for sure once the sequel hits the theaters, but until then, all we’ve got is busting our goddamned brains about this! xDD

A quick summary for anyone who’s having problems with the names already:

Jake and Neytiri are the parents of the Sully kids:

Neteyam = eldest son, portrayed by Jamie Flatters
Lo’ak = the middle child, 2nd son, portrayed by Britain Dalton
Tuktirey = youngest child and only daughter, portrayed by Trinity Bliss
Javier “Spider” Socorro = human adopted son, portrayed by Jack Champion
Kiri = ??, portrayed by ?? (maybe Chloe Coleman?!)

Updated theory on who is who

Here’s what we think about this, starting with the very likely most important character out of all of them, because she’s on the fricking movie poster:

K I R I

My mistake has been all along to assume that she is one of the Sully kids. She’s most likely not, even though she may be an adopted child like Spider. She is, however, definitely of human descent, because she has human-style hairy eyebrows, a very narrow bridge of the nose in comparison to other Na’vi, and she has 5 toes, which means 5 fingers, which means “human hands”:

The necklace she wears definitely is the one Grace wore in Avatar 1:

And her skin pattern (fil) on her forehead are almost identical to the ones Grace’s Avatar had:

Not my find, but lo and behold…

Left: Kiri from the movie poster for Avatar 2. Right: A young Sigourney Weaver, the actress who portrayed Grace in Avatar 1. In the Middle: These two images overlayed. Suspicious yet?

Also: Grace… Kìreysì… Kiri… or even, hold your hats, ma frapo: reysì + Neytiri = Kiri? xD Eeeh, maybe too far-fetched, but who knows! And her somehow being connected to Grace would also explain the visible joy on her face while exploring corals underwater (Grace was a Xenobotanist):

Or while enjoying a ride with an ilu:

It would also maybe explain why the new Avatar comic “Adapt Or Die” is released the same week the trailer was and before Avatar 2 is up next (the comic will have 6 issues, will take some time to release them all), and not a year ago or so. In that comic we follow mainly Grace and Mo’at before Avatar 1 took place, allowing us a closer look at who Grace was. Kiri being somehow connected to Grace in Avatar 2… Grace, Grace everywhere! Anyhow.

Kiri is definitely female, because her feminine body and facial features are kind of obvious, when looking closely:

And when compared to male Na’vi her age, it becomes apparent, even in the opening scene of the trailer, that she is not male:

From left to right: Tuktirey, Kiri, Lo’ak and Javier / “Spider”

Since Kiri is on the movie poster, she must play a key role in Avatar 2. And with important characters like that you don’t take any chances, so the skin pattern and necklace, the resemblance to Grace and her obvious human descent are not a coincidence. Why she resembles Grace and wears her necklace… well, I still think some DNA-fuckery by human scientists with a bit of Eywa’s help are not impossible. If she is a reincarnation of Grace… or just a “clone” of sorts of her Avatar… who knows.

Why we think she’s called Kiri? Because media sources have been calling her that:

Same media sources that have been calling Ronal “Ronal” before everyone else knew it was indeed Ronal. So there might be something to that, and for the sake of distinction, we’ll go with that name as well, because it’s all we’ve got so far.

Which brings us to…

L O ‘ A K

Who I first thought is Neteyam, is not Neteyam, but Lo’ak. Let’s compare faces:

From left to right: Britain Dalton who will portray Lo’ak, the young Na’vi lad in question, and Jamie Flatters who will portray Neteyam.

Comparing jaw lines, Wameyn thinks Britain Dalton is our winner. And Ney and I agree. The prominent high cheek bones and the structure down to the chin are just too distinctive.

Which means Forbes was right, this is all Lo’ak:

Lo’ak and Spider. Lo’ak very obviously has 5 fingers = “human hands”.
Lo’ak and Kiri. Both sporting hairy eyebrows, “human style”
Lo’ak, Spider and Kiri
Lo’ak, Jake and Spider. In the foreground, looking at them, is likely Kiri.
Tsireya, Jake, Lo’ak and Neytiri.
Lo’ak and a tulkun (?)
A sad Lo’ak, Neytiri’s head with Jake’s hands on it.
Lo’ak with his new best buddy.

Why we think this is a tulkun and not a nalutsa or akula? Well, because same media sources that were seemed to know about Ronal and Lo’ak + Kiri longer than anybody else called this creature a tulkun… plus, there’s the movie title of Avatar 3 (see end of this post) ;)
If you want more reasons why this creature is most likely a tulkun, here’s a follow-up post: The Tulkun Conundrum – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

N E T E Y A M

So, the other son the Sullys have is Neteyam, the eldest of the Sully bunch (yep, the same child Neytiri was pregnant with when Avatar 1 ended [deleted scenes]).
Why isn’t he in all those still images? Where’s he at? Well… if I had siblings who were at least 3 years or so younger than me, I wouldn’t want to spend all of my day around them, would you? Neteyam is probably busy seriously preparing to become a hunter, training for Iknimaya, or he even has completed it already at the time Avatar 2 takes place. No time or patience for the young annoying bunch of brats who want to play “palulukan and yerik” all day in the forest.

Maybe this is why, in the trailer, we see Neteyam clearly only in one scene:

From left to right: Neteyam, Aonung or Rotxo, Tsireya, Kiri and Tuktirey.

Here it makes sense that we see him, because the Sully family probably basically just arrived in the village of the Metkayina, and as an act of hospitality, Tsireya is showing them around, and how could even a proud hunter-to-be deny that offer.

We never see all of the Sully kids clearly and sharp together in one scene, tho, and this is probably for good reason. To confuse nerds like us, hrhn! ;D The only scenes where we see all of the kids together, including the adults Jake and Neytiri, is when they fly on ikran. Neytiri anawm dissected these still images here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LY8muGMHoMBKO2nb_cIlkYpLz3FmuhBZFZrEil5WSIU/edit?usp=sharing (that title, lmao)

Which leaves us with the last one of the Sully kids left:

T U K T I R E Y

She’s the youngest and only daughter of Jake and Neytiri. We see her also in the following stills, and size, body shape, hair and finger count pretty much match:

Left to right: Tuktirey, Kiri, Lo’ak, Spider
Neytiri and Tuktirey fleeing from an RDA facility. Both of them have 4 fingers.

A closer look at her face:

New protagonists

Given the screen time and the importance that apparently is put on these two characters, Kiri and Lo’ak will likely be the new protagonists in Avatar 2: The Way Of The Water. And if Lo’ak really bonds with a tulkun… well… have you heard that Avatar 3 (or was it 4?) is supposed to be subtitled “The Tulkun Rider”? *wink wink nudge nudge* ;)

So I’m going to leave you with one last still:

An excursion into the art of tattooing of the Na’vi / Metkayina in Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

Update (October 19th 2022)!

Preview images from one of the upcoming books for Avatar 2 were released via Amazon today – and in one of those preview images (the one about Tonowari) it has been confirmed that tattoos serve as an addition to display status / rank / role within the clan as well as live achievements on top of waytelem for the Metkayina:

Symbolic tattoos showcasing life events.


Metkayina Tattoos

Metkayina have striking tattoos, which are unique to each individual and chronicle their life. Each tattoo’s location on the body carries a special meaning. Tattoos over the heart and chest symbolize the safe embrace of the central island. Arm tattoos represent the more exposed protective shield of the seawall. Thus, a hunter of the deep ocean has densely tattooed arms and less detail on their chest.
The tattoos are considered a gift from both Eywa and the clan, and are created with inks from special animals.
Tonowari, as Olo’eyktan, has some of the most detailed and intricate tattoos of all the male Metkayina clan members. They range all over his face, torso, arms and back.

Iknimaya

Much like Omatikaya teenagers, adolescent Metkayina must complete a number of coming-of-age rituals, known as Iknimaya, before they are considered to be adult members of the clan. One of these ceremonies includes bonding with a tsurak (skimwing) and various tests with their tulkun spirit brother or sister.
Once a Metkayina has completed these tests, they are bestowed with a special garment (left), their first tattoo, and three beads for their songcord.

 

This is so exciting ahhh~~




Still kinda needless to say, but still… :

!!! SPOILERS AND THEORIES AHEAD !!!

After I’ve dissected the trailer itself here: Avatar 2: The Way of Water – Teaser Trailer Synopsis … I want to dive into one particular aspect of it that caught my interest the most and wouldn’t let go of it:

Tattoos!

With the teaser trailer for Avatar 2: The Way Of Water being released, as a tattooist I was overjoyed to see that the Metkayina clan obviously practices the art of tattooing.

Here I want to dive a little into what we can see and infer from it. If you’re into tattoos, come along with me, because I will be rambling about the art and trade I love so much a lot ! :D

On what tattoos mean(t) to humans and what it could mean for Na’vi as well

The art of tattooing in general is probably as old as human existence itself. From the earliest times humans and art were tied together, and that did likely include practicing art on the human form itself. It can communicate and mean a lot, for example, being a member of a particular social group, having lived through / survived several events in life, a display of strength and maturity, or even medicinal practices:

Ötzi, that mummy found a while ago in the European Alps and born approx. 3275 BC, had 61 tattoos, mostly composed of simple lines. Examinations of his body made clear that he was an older male who was already suffering “age-conditioned or strain-induced degeneration”. The tattoos he had were close to or even on top of those areas that not unlikely caused him some health problems or even pain in his daily life, which could mean that those tattoos had not only a decorative, but also a medical background and meaning, as if to relieve any problems or pain. I’d even go so far and speculate that maybe the tattoos were even done during some sort of healing ceremony.

While tattoos are a popular phenomenon nowadays, it’s actually an ancient craft and has been common practice in Europe as well when Europeans started to sail the seas.
There’s still many indigenous people around who still (or fortunaltely again) practice traditional tattooing: The Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, practice Tā Moko, the Pe’a is the traditional tattoo on Samoa, Kurds have their Deq, the people from the Marquesas islands have their own style as well, and tattoos are also common on Borneo, among the Ainu and Inuit – just to name a few examples. I am by no means an expert on traditional tattoos like that, since I don’t specialize in it, but I still find it highly interesting and want to share what I do know thanks to my trade, but more on that later.

Well, long story short, I’d guess that for the Na’vi tattoos could mean similar things like they do for us humans. Social hierarchy and belonging, display of status, strength or maturity, a way to “record” life events and accomplishments, medicinal practices and remedies, as well as shamanistic rituals and as a means for spiritual connection to the world around them. For the Na’vi, it could also be a replacement for waytelem (see below). What they indeed do mean, we will probably and also hopefully learn when Avatar 2 hits the movie theaters. I do think, however, that Na’vi sporting tattoos fits well with the idea what they themselves are supposed to stand for and symbolize (no worries, I haven’t forgotten that the Na’vi are a fictional people inside a fictional universe, hrh).

Na’vi tattoos and patterns

I’ve been speculating since 2013 about whether or not the Na’vi would practice the art of tattooing as well (if you want to read my forum post from back then, you can find it here).
In the trailer for the new Avatar movie this question has been answered: The Na’vi do practice the art of tattooing. (Yay!!!)
We get a short but good look at some tattoos a couple of Metkayina wear:

I’ve tried to emphasize /extract the tattoo patterns in these still images by drawing over what I determined to be tattoo and not skin pigmentation. Due to lighting and distance from the camera, it was hard to tell apart in some shots.

Description + possible meanings / symbolism

A random / unknown member of the Metkayina, standing on a tree root or trunk and blowing a horn. He wears big, bold and elaborate tattoos on his face, neck, forearm and leg.

His tattoos are overall very flowing and curvy, complimenting the individual body structures and shapes they’re decorating. The bigger pattern on the front of his thigh seems to fade out, the more it reaches the middle of the front.

The tattoos on the neck maybe resemble gills or whatever. The one on his forearm reminds me of a seashell, or in general organic structures that could appear all over Pandora, in plants, bones… it could also be a knife or something like that.

Tonowari, the Olo’eyktan of the Metkayina, wears intricate and bold angular as well as curvy patterns on his forehead, cheeks, chin, neck, chest and upper arm / deltoid.

Since he is the leader of the clan, it doesn’t surprise me that his tattoos so far appear to be the boldest. Very “aggressive” angular shapes as well as softer, rounded ones.

The tattoo on his forehead could resemble the head (plating) of a nalutsa or some other badass sea creature, something fierce that strikes fear in the hearts of his enemies. The tattoos on his neck remind me of gills as well, I could be reading too much into that, tho. But who knows. The circular shapes on his deltoid could be anything – from a swotu (sacred place, indicated by “stone archs”?) to the “Eye of Eywa” or just any eye, really. Could be something entirely different, too.

Ronal, the Tsahìk of the Metkayina, has elaborate, intricate, close-knitted patterns on her forehead, chin, neck and obviously pregnant belly.

The tattoo on her forehead is very intricate, and with the spirit and mind sitting primarily in the brain, I would assume this tattoo reflects her role as a Tsahìk, the spiritual leader of a clan, whose responsibility is to lead and give advice in all spiritual matters, including interpreting the will of Eywa, holding ceremonies and prayers and so on.
This tattoo could emphasize this responsibility and ability towards the spiritual side of Na’vi life, while the pattern pe se reminds me of swirling energy, but also spiney structures, maybe such as fish bones, which would resonate with the clan dwelling at / in the sea / reef, surrounded by maritime wildlife at all times.

The tattoo on her chin and neck are maybe connected to her voice and mouth, which could maybe mean that she is the one supposed to communicate and translate verbally the will of Eywa to the Na’vi via ayaungia (signs). This is highly speculative, of course.

The tattoo on her belly could be connected to her being pregnant, but I doubt that she got it after it became known that she is expecting. Tattooing pregnant individuals is not a good idea with humans, and I doubt it would be different with Na’vi… but who knows. Chances are high that this tattoo is not connected to her pregnancy at all, but rather to her status within the clan or the things that happened in her life (see below).

A documentation of life accomplishments / status within the clan?

I might want to go so far as to assume that the Metkayina sort of “earn” their tattoos. Whether through ceremonies or victories and stuff like that, something would have to happen in order for them to be worthy of their next tattoo. Let’s assume that this is the case and let’s compare stills with tattooed individuals in them, so we can see differences in the amount of tattoos every individual is wearing:

A pair of male Metkayina warriors or hunters (could be Rotxo to the left, and Aonung [Tonowari’s son, which means he could also be Ronal’s son and Tsireya’s brother] to the right). They are not teenagers anymore and probably already accomplished a thing or two in their lives, maybe having earned the tattoos they wear. Both wear tattoos on the face and chest.

Three of the four Metkayina in the background behind Tonowari and Ronal seem to wear face tattoos as well. One of them wears a chest piece, too.

This female warrior or hunter seems to have seen some shit, or just achieved quite a bit. I think I see tattoos on her leg, arm, as well as her cheek and forehead, apparently a lot more tattoos than the other warriors / hunters we just saw in the other stills.

Let’s compare those guys, including and especially the Tsahìk, to Tsireya, who I assume is to become the next Tsahìk of the Metkayina and who wears no tattoos at all (yet):

Tattooing children or teenagers is … eh, a very difficult topic with humans, and assuming the Na’vi “earn” their tattoos, it would make double sense that Tsireya is not yet wearing any. She’s maybe too young still to have achieved something worthy of a tattoo, or hasn’t gone through enough ceremonies yet to prove herself, like the one the Omatikaya practice (“dreamhunt” / uniltaron). Experience, growth and achievements come with age, so this would make perfect sense to me – and it would also explain why Tonowari has the most badass tattoos of them all, hrh. Because, you know, he’s the fricking leader of an entire clan, and he doesn’t look like life’s been very peachy for him.

Replacement for waytelem (song cord)?

If we continue this thought or theory, it would also kind of mean that the tattoos are a possible replacement for waytelem. I haven’t seen one single Metkayina wearing one of these so far, have you?

If you ask yourself what a waytelem (song cord) is, here’s a quick reminder:

“The Na’vi use mnemonic storytelling aids called Song Cords, strings of colored beads and bits of stone, bone and plant pieces which, when handled during singing, create a correlation of tactile and visual cues with verbal sequences. Each individual creates a Song Cord that is their personal history, and community Song Cords are created for various social purposes, including family and clan history, genealogy, and even the recording of astronomical and accounting information.” Source: Pandorapedia.com

So, a waytelem is something very near and dear to every Na’vi’s heart and identity – but the sea is rough and unforgiving, weathering and gnawing away at your waytelem, and the day you lose your waytelem in the vastness of the waves of saltwater would be a very, very bad day. Replacing a waytelem with a tattoo might’ve had a very practical reason at first (you can’t lose a tattoo), becoming cultural identity over time.

If waytelem indeed are replaced with tattoos, it would explain why the tattoos look so different in style and pattern on each individual Na’vi, and why some Metkayina wear more tattoos than others. Maybe there’s a visual language symbolism hidden within the tattoos only the Metkayina or Na’vi in general can understand, much like it’s the case with, for example, the Marquesan tattoo craft on Earth – or even only the one who did the tattoo and the one who wears it can “read” it.

Waytelem are also used, however, to record “family and clan history, genealogy, and even astronomical and accounting information”. If the Metkayina really use tattoos for this, I’d think they would reach limits there, not unless one or more tiretu (“shaman”) or anyone records these events and information on their body via tattooing. It’s also possible, though, that only the individual “waytelem” are tattooed, and the other, more general information is recorded in the more common way through song cords, weaving and other crafts and practices.

I think it’s a nice thought, life experiences and achievements “appearing” on your skin, don’t you think?

Individual tattoos for each individual character (trait)?

Instead of a means to record (personal) history and the like, here’s another theory as to why the tattoos look so different on each Metkayina we’ve seen so far:

In Japan, traditionally and as far as I know, there’s a practice of counterbalancing unwanted (or rather “negative”) personality traits or characteristics. For example, if someone is quick-tempered and easily erupts in anger, the tattooist would pick a tattoo design for that person to counterbalance this aspect of their personality, as if to soothe this side and achieve balance in character and demeanor. If someone was timid and shy, for example a fierce tiger tattoo would counterbalance this, and so on.

To me it is not impossible that a Na’vi tattooist would do the same, seeking to achieve balance and harmony within each individual who gets tattooed. But I think the life-achievement and waytelem theories are more probable, but maybe this balancing is a thought a Na’vi tattooist would take into consideration before deciding on the design.

Tattooist – a trade / profession in its own right?

I certainly do think, however, that the craft of tattooing, including picking the design, is entirely up to the one doing it. Could be that every tattoo is done during a spiritual ceremony. Could be that a shaman or even tsahìk are involved in picking the design, depending on the reason this tattoo is about to get added to each individual body. I doubt very much that a Na’vi would go to the clan’s tattooist and say “Yo, dude, I want some badass tattoo on my left butt cheek, like an akula, or… no, wait, I want a nalutsa!”, hrhn xD

But yeah, there’s got to be some artist who is responsible for this craft. I’m pretty sure that this is a social role / occupation in its own right, which would mean that there are indeed tattooists among the Na’vi. Which would also mean that there’s very likely going to be a word for “tattooist”, “tattoo”, and “tattooing” (finallyyyy!!!).

It is not unlikely that Na’vi tattooists are traveling between clans that have the art of tattooing as a part of their cultural identity, offering their trade and skill. It is also likely that tattooists are only tattooed on body areas they can reach / tattoo themselves, if they wear tattoos at all.

It is not impossible that any old tiretu or tseotu or the like could pick up a needle and some soot and tattoo something on somebody, but I really doubt that. Here’s why:
The tattoos shown on the Metkayina within the trailer are too elaborate to just be a job done by just anyone. It has to be its own profession, because there’s a lot to the craft that needs skill and experience. And let me tell you: doing symmetric / mirrored tattoos is especially difficult!

Possible tattooing techniques and tools

When we take a real close and good look at the face tattoos of the Tsahìk, it become clearer which approach and technique was probably used to do these:

The outline of every tattooed area is more apparent, stronger pigmented. As a tattooist, this tells me that these lines were probably done first, to get the overall shapes “cemented” into the skin, before moving on to filling the shapes. The design itself could have been either done without any pre-drawn stencil / drawing on the skin, or with something like that. Both could’ve been achieved by the Na’vi, because they are known to be amazing artists and craftsmen.

The outlined shapes then were filled with more lines and softer, more translucent shading. My educated guess is that these tattoos were done with a single needle, or very few and thin needles next to each other. If this is the case, it would’ve taken a lot of time and pain to get these tattoos done (that’s why on Earth even traditional tattooing is often done with modern machines nowadays). The Metkayina must’ve been living near or in the sea long enough, so that they even started to evolutionary diverge from their cousins from the forest. Such a process takes a long time, and I’d imagine that the Metkayina also had plenty of time to improve, if not perfect the art of tattooing.
Because of this, they, over time, likely developed more efficient and effective tools and methods to get the job done faster and neater. Not unlikely is the method of using a mallet to tap the skin with a needle-headed stick / tool. Like on Earth, they could apply the pigment on the skin itself beforehand, basically maybe even drawing the design on to the skin this way, before tapping the pigment into the skin. But dipping the needle in ink is just as likely and practicable.

In case needles were used at all, that is. Because there isn’t just one approach to get pigment into the skin. Humans used several methods here, from poking the skin with needles that were dipped in pigment beforehand, to tapping pigment-stained skin with just described mallets and needle-headed tools, to cutting the skin open and rubbing pigment into the wounds, to “sewing” the tattoos in between the layers of skin, by either twisting thread soaked with pigment around a needle and pushing it in and out of the skin, or attaching a pigment-soaked thread like you would for sewing cloth by hand.
The way these tattoos look, though, I do indeed think they used the “poking”, or rather “tapping” method, no sewing or cutting involved, even though we know that Na’vi skin, compared to human skin, is thicker, sturdier and likely less easy to penetrate. Cutting would’ve left visible scars, canyoned, scarred skin, if you will, but the tattooed areas still look smooth, so not (visibly) scarred. And sewing wouldn’t allow for such finely detailed and intricate work. So, needles it is.

Needles

For needles, a lot of materials are feasible. Bone, resin, stone, thorns, wood, sea shells, animal teeth or horn, basically anything that’s able to be worked / carved to become thin and sturdy enough to penetrate the skin and is not made of metal (because the Na’vi don’t use metal). Tattooists have been building workable tattoo needles from scratch for centuries, and in general it’s more feasible and efficient to carve out a magnum-style needle than to glue several individual needles together, as many old and traditional tattooing instruments from Earth have shown.

There’s some things about tattooing needles most of you likely don’t know, so let me explain. Modern tattooing needles have a certain scructure or rather are built a certain way for good reasons:

The needle bar connects the needle to the machine / its engine, transmitting movement, so the needle can move up and down with very high speed. The bar itself is soldered to a metal board / plate, which is the basis for the needles to be soldered on to, in modern needles they’re usually soldered on to the opposite site of the needle bar. The wider this board is, the more needles you can attach, in one or two rows, even. The less needles you need / want, the smaller / narrower the board gets. Lining needles most times aren’t soldered to a board at all, but directly on to the needle bar.

Efficient tattooing needles, no matter if for shading or lining, are composed of at least three needles. Smaller sizes / amounts do exist, but they don’t work as well, because less stability and ink flow, because ink, much like with a fountain pen, nestles between the needles (capillary action) and then gets transported into the skin this way by the needles. If there’s just one needle (a thorn, for example), there is no real capillary action, and tattooing is way less efficient. But the Metkayina in part have very large and elaborate tattoos, and they as well had a lot of time to hone this craft, so efficiency is what you’d want and get.

Also, inside the book “The World Of AVATAR: A Visual Exploration”, it is said that: “The Omatikaya believe that if a job is done correctly it should never be done again. With this in mind, the clan will take as long as it takes to perfectly construct a single bow, ax, or spear.” I wouldn’t be surprised if this applies to other clans, including the Metkayina, as well.

The crucial part is, however, the needle length. If you want more “oomph”, stronger penetration, bolder / crisper lines, better / more efficient results, shorter and a bit thicker needles are usually the way to go. Longer needles, due to the impact and movement of the needle itself, tend to bend and “sway” a little, so linework would get a bit blurred, less crisp, which is great for soft gradients, though. Since the Na’vi have thicker skin compared to us, you’d definitely need something with a little more “oomph”, so I am certain the Na’vi would use “short”, sturdy needles. Also due to efficiency reasons, there would most certainly be more than one needle at a time.

But just gluing loose needles or thorns together won’t provide enough support or “backbone” for the needles for efficient workflow, in my opinion. For a sturdy backbone to handle the impact forces and making sure the needles penetrate the skin easily, you need something made out of one piece at best, which is why we use metal nowadays and solder it together, so nothing will budge while working with it.

This is why tattooing needles very likely would look a lot like needles carved out of one piece, like many indigenous people use(d) and made them, maybe something like this:

Using efficient tattooing needles means less time and pain as well as risk is involved.

Pigments

As for pigments or rather tattoo inks, possible sources are herbal or insect-derived pigments or soot, mixed with oil, alcohol, urine, resin or plant extracts. Maybe it’s ink from a marine animal, or whatever material that is tolerated by Na’vi bodies and their immune systems, and doesn’t cause inflammation or allergic reactions, provides big enough particles that don’t get broken down easily by the immune system or UV-radiation. Also, big bonus, if the material has been cooked or burned long enough so it’s basically sterile (at first).

Soot, in my opinion, is the most likely choice of material, it hits all the checkmarks. We see the Metkayina using fire, so soot is readily available and sterile, high-pigmented and a strong black color, and it would provide UV-resistant pigment particles that are big enough, so that the body / immune system can’t break them down as easily over time (pigment is a foreign body and macrophages etc. try to break it down so the lymphatic system can transport it out of the system / organism – if the pigment particles are big enough and don’t get broken down easily by UV-radiation, the organism will actually not succeed in that and the tattoo will not fade / disappear, but instead macrophages hold the foreign bodies / pigment particles where they were placed and the tattoo gets fixated where it was deposited). Soot has proved to work well in that regard, and has been used for that same reason on Earth as a tattoo pigment since the beginnings of this craft (not anymore, of course, because we have healthier / less dangerous pigments nowadays).

Here’s my take on what possible tools and the tattooing process might look like:

Inspiration / influence during the process of creating the Metkayina

Of course it’s entirely possible that I am overthinking this way too much and probably more than the team of concept artists behind creating the Metkayina and their tattoos. It’s possible they just went “Yo, tattoos! Would look awesome” and just randomly added patterns to some of the Metkayina, without giving it much thought whatsoever. But I think that’s unlikely, simply because:

Weta Digital, massively involved in creating Avatar 1 and the sequels, is located in New Zealand. Many actors trained in the forests of New Zealand for Avatar 1. Cliff Curtis, who portrays Tonowari, is born in New Zealand and is of Māori descent. New Zealand is the home of the Māori, and they have been and are still practicing their own style and ways of tattooing. For this style of tattooing, Tā Moko, similar tools and techniques have been used. The tattoo patterns of the Metkayina resemble those of the Māori the most, compared to all other examples I’ve given at the beginning of this very long post. The hair bun on Tonowari’s head resembles those of Māori culture, as well as the waist garments the Metkayina seem to be wearing. Need I say more? Come on, I am clearly not overthinking this. ;P

Other types of bodymodifications

The Na’vi sport piercings, be it inside ears, noses or other body parts, and they also wear tattoos. There’s more ways of embellishing your body, though. Scarification is a thing, cuttings, implants, brandings, amputations and much more. I’d love to see even more bodymodifications in the coming sequels. But even if piercings and tattoos is all we’re gonna get, I’m very happy with just these types of body piercings and tattoos, don’t get me wrong xD

Avatar 2: The Way of Water – Teaser Trailer Synopsis (updated)

– UPDATED VERSION –
(May 12th 2022)

*ahem* … Kinda needless to say, but still… :

!!! SPOILERS AND THEORIES AHEAD !!!

 

With the teaser trailer of Avatar 2: The Way of Water first running before the new Doctor Strange movie in cinemas all over the world and now being officially let loose on the internet, I can finally dissect it frame by frame :D All of this is my interpretation and speculation (as well as a lot of me rambling), so take everything written here with the appropriate amount of grains of salt, hrh. Anyway, here goes my breakdown:

It’s ~13 years after the events of the first movie. Neytiri and Jake have three kids together, the eldest son Neteyam, the younger son Lo’ak and their daughter, Tuktirey, being the youngest. And there’s Javier “Spider” Socorro, their adoptive human son who was born on Pandora (Hell’s Gate) and lives among the Na’vi.

Confused about who is who yet? Don’t worry, here’s an in-depth post about the Sully kids: Clearing Up The Confusion About The Children – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

 

For some reason (that smells suspiciously a lot like the RDA) they leave the rainforest and go to the realm of the Metkayina, a reef dwelling clan who’s evolutionary adapted to living in or near the water, with wider / broader limbs (bones / cartilage?) and tail for easier movement while in water, as well as smaller ears and green to blue eyes. They know and use the art of tattooing, which I (as a tattooist) just love, love, love! (No worries, I’ve written a humongous blog post just on the tattooing here: An excursion into the art of tattooing of the Na’vi / Metkayina in Avatar 2: The Way Of Water )

 

Anyway, let’s go scene by scene.

We get catapulted back on Pandora by accompanying Javier, Lo’ak, Kiri and what appears to be Tuktirey or some other young Na’vi kid at the Ayram Alusìng (floating mountains), probably (playfully) training for Iknimaya, mirroring a scene from the first movie, where we see Tsu’tey, Jake and other young hunters paying this breathtaking scenery a visit as well:

Right to left: Javier “Spider”, Lo’ak, Kiri and Tuktirey (?) climbing Iknimaya
Right to left: Tsu’tey, Jake and other hunters doing the same in Avatar 1

The teaser utilizes pulling up memories from Avatar 1 within the audience by mirroring of scenes from Avatar 1 with the following shot of Neytiri:

Neytiri greeting us, visibly older, being the first familiar face in the teaser trailer for Avatar 2

Which instantly reminded me of this scene from Avatar 1:

Neytiri listening to a sign from Eywa, an Atokirina’, and deciding not to shoot Jake in Avatar 1

Next we see a group of Na’vi, very likely the Sully family, riding on their ikrans above a large body of water, or rather, the sea / an ocean. Maybe already in Metkayina territory or on their way there:

Upper row from left to right: Jake, Lo’ak, Kiri, Neytiri with Tuktirey on ikran backs – lower row: Neteyam on his ikran

Why I think those are Jake, Lo’ak and so on in that order? Read this thourough analysis by our very own Ney: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LY8muGMHoMBKO2nb_cIlkYpLz3FmuhBZFZrEil5WSIU/

May I point out that I love to see some maritime life, at long last. Smaller groups of fish and some very big guys, even compared to the group of ikran-riders – those are very, very likely nalutsa.

The next shot shows us Jake, the second familiar face from Avatar 1:

First look of Jake in the trailer for Avatar 2. He appears to look rather distraught and seems to still be wearing his RDA-communication necklace which he is not wearing in all scenes (later on in the movie?), a machine gun strapped around his torso and some more human stuff in his saddle bag thingy

He looks rather concerned or unsettled, as if weighed down by worry or sorrow. Maybe there was a fight (with Neytiri?), maybe someone died (Mo’at?), maybe they’re refugees now (on their way to the Metkayina). He’s definitely riding his ikran, sporting dreads (which I love, love, love as well, I’ve been drawing Na’vi with dreads since 2012, hrh!) and a leather vest.

The next scene shows us again the Sully family ikrans. The scenery shows us a shore lined with mangrove-like trees, which (if they’re anything like mangrove trees on Earth) can thrive in salty / briney water, which tells me, that this is the shore of the sea. If you look closely, you can see some Na’vi “tents” stretched in between the roots:

From left to right on ikrans: Neteyam, Jake, Lo’ak, Kiri, Neytiri with Tuktirey

Mo’at is not among them, traveling to the Metkayina. Why not?

Another shot on ikran back in Metkayinan territory follows:

From left to right: Neytiri with Tuktirey, Jake, Neteyam, Kiri and Lo’ak

The group seems to arrive at the area where the Metkayina dwell, or at least a member of the Metkayina seems to be announcing their arrival:

A first good look at a member of the Metkayina and their differences in body structures as well as tattoos. Also look at those little bird-like creatures, what are they? Those ominous “maritime ikran”? I want one! hrh – on ikran wings from left to right: Lo’ak, Neytiri with Tuktirey, Jake, Kiri and Neteyam. In the background we see daily Metkayinan life.

We then dive into the sea, see even more fish (yay <3, fayoang!) and are introduced to one of the new main protagonists , Kiri:

She is of human descent, because she has 5 toes = 5 fingers (“human hands”), hairy “human” eyebrows, a narrower bridge of the nose compared to basically any Na’vi, but she is not one of Jake’s or Neytiri’s kids. So who the hell is Kiri, and is she somehow connected to Grace? Find out here: Clearing Up The Confusion About The Children – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

The trailer then puts our asses back on the ground of reality and inside a (new) base of the RDA. Who read the comic “The Next Shadow” will know that the humans never (fully) left and the RDA would return, but they definitely seem to have used the past decade or so to bulk up their numbers and “fortresses”. We see spider bots being busy and a human in a mechanized exo-skeleton that puts them at eye-level with the two Avatars next to them. These two blue guys are Quaritch and Wainfleet. Yup, you read that right. However, more on them later.

We get a good look at what the humans have built in the past 13+ years, more of everything, basically bigger and “better”:

We also see Avatars sitting inside that new Samson-type helicopter, and yes, those are Quaritch and Wainfleet:

Back in the forest and with the Na’vi, we lay eyes on Lo’ak and Spider sneaking up on some Avatars who are very likely with the RDA:

Lo’ak and Spider, Lo’ak has 5 fingers and Spider seems to have painted pil (Na’vi skin pattern) all over his body.

The camera turns around, showing us Lo’ak and Kiri from the front, which likely means that in this scene the three of them (Spider, Lo’ak and Kiri) are on an adventure together:

Lo’ak and Kiri, our two new main protagonists in Avatar 2

This shot, too, reminded me of a shot of Lo’ak’s mother, Neytiri, from Avatar 1:

The moment we first see Neytiri in Avatar 1, about to shoot Jake. Her being hidden behind leaves reminded me of Lo’ak there.

We’re then back to humans, uhm, I mean, Avatars. These two badasses are very clearly Miles Quaritch and Lyle Wainfleet and obviously still with the RDA. How they got (into) Avatar bodies after having died in Avatar 1 is one of the big mysteries here. I am very sure that Eywa played no role in it (hopefully, hrh), but that this is thanks to some human sorcery :P

Left to right: Wainfleet and Quaritch, probably just dropped off into the rainforest by that Samson we saw earlier

Who are they sneaking up on, tho? Maybe Lo’ak, Spider and Kiri? Because in the next shot we see the three of them, ready to fight, while Lo’ak and Spider defend the unarmed Kiri:

Left to right: Lo’ak, Spider and Kiri
Fierce Spider and Kiri

This and the previous shot don’t seem to happen at the same time of day, because lighting and the color of the light.

It gets more peaceful again tho, when we see Kiri enjoying a ride underwater with an ilu:

The next shot gets very interesting. We see a group of young Na’vi, a mix of Omatikaya and Metkayina, exploring what appears to be a swotu (sacred place), indicated by the circle-like stone structures that stand for a place of high “flux vortex”, high energy, places where the Na’vi tend to be able to connect to and communicate with Eywa:

Left to right: Neteyam, Aonung / Rotxo (?), Tsireya, Kiri and Tuktirey

This place being sacred to the Metkayina is supported by info from Avatar.com, which says: “This area with its inverted arches – known as The Cove of the Ancestors – is a sacred location for the Metkayina Clan.”
Lo’ak is not visible in this shot. Maybe he had other stuff to do, or he is still to follow.

Speaking of Tsireya and Lo’ak, in the next shot we see them together with Neytiri (on the right) and Jake, who very apparently is about to lecture or even scold his son:

Tsireya, Jake, Lo’ak and Neytiri. Both Jake and Neytiri look rather mad and Jake is about to tell his son off. However, Lo’ak looks like he thinks he did nothing wrong, Tsireya looks rather guilty / intimidated xD

Could be that Tsireya and Lo’ak fall in love with each other, which causes some friction between the two clans (Omatikaya and Metkayina), especially since Tsireya seems to be the daughter of the Tsahìk (Ronal) of the Metkayina. (The outsider falling in love with the princess… Avatar 1 all over again, hrh :D)
It’s not unlikely that this is the reason Jake wants to scold him, because he himself is the Olo’eyktan of the Omatikaya, and friction between clans while the RDA is still around (and apparently stronger than ever)… eeeh, not the best situation for the Na’vi alltogether, is it?

OR… there’s another conflict involving these two young Na’vi. Maybe they attacked the RDA on their own, much like Silwanin (Neytiri’s deceased sister) and a couple of other young hunters did before Avatar 1 happened, and this caused the conflict between humans and Na’vi to escalate (again).

Or maybe Lo’ak’s parents just disapprove of his new friendship with a tulkun.

Love story or not, in the next shot we see (what appears to be) the Tsahìk of the Metkayina, namely Ronal, and she does not seem happy AT ALL, as if she is very distrusting or disproving of something (or someone) – or she just talked with someone and is contemplating how to feel and what to think:

Ronal, the Tsahìk of the Metkayina. Her jewelry and the colors of her garments make me feel very certain that she is indeed Tsahìk.

Then we lay eyes on her daughter, Tsireya, again, but this time we get a way better look at her. She seems very unsettled / upset / unhappy. Maybe it’s something Lo’ak said to her, because yep, that’s him (hair and necklace give him away):

Her skin color and face shape, as well as her jewelry, make me think she is the daughter of Ronal and the next Tsahìk-to-be after Ronal.

Meanwhile, Lo’ak is making new friends underwater:

Lo’ak making first contact with a tulkun

Why I’m sure this is a tulkun? Read up on that here: The Tulkun Conundrum – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

It gets ceremonial, when we witness the Metkayina holding some form of prayer or ritual – maybe even a birthing ritual? Because Ronal is obviously very pregnant:

In the foreground we see Ronal and Tonowari, resp. Tsahìk and Olo’eyktan of the Metkayina. Standing behind them is maybe Aonung, the son of Tonowari.

We get more action when we see how Spider and Lo’ak (hair and armlet give him away) flee from an RDA facility by jumping through a hole into the sea:

“Fuck this shit, we’re out of here!”

They’re obviously running away from humans, while they’re being shot at. Maybe they’re running away from this guy:

This is definitely Miles Quaritch, who we’ve seen earlier in the teaser trailer.
It becomes even more apparent, when you compare Miles Quaritch’s Avatar to his human body from Avatar 1. Same haircut, same tattoo. He probably got it tattooed on his new Avatar body, because he’s so sore about the fact that he has to live inside one of these “blue monkey shells” now and he misses his human form, hrh. Ah well, who knows.

Then it gets emotional, when we see Lo’ak being sad and or at least very upset:

A sad Lo’ak next to (what I am very sure of is) Jake’s hands (4 fingers / 5 digits!) on top of Neytiri’s head. Maybe one of Lo’ak’s siblings got injured or someone died – maybe even his grandmother Mo’at or another family member? It also looks like smoke and fire in the background = post battle fallout?

Meanwhile we’ve been hearing Jake talking to us from the off about family. Right at this very word (“family”), we see his, or at least him with Lo’ak and Spider, while Kiri is looking at them:

Jake holding and comforting Lo’ak and Spider while being all bloody and bruised

I don’t think this shot and the one before of sad Lo’ak are from the same scene, tho. Yes, there’s smoke and sadness in both of them, but the light / time of day appears to be different.

A close up of Spider in Jake’s embrace follows:

Maybe Jake sports dreads to support his adopted human son Spider. It’s easy to feel different or left out as the only human among Na’vi.

It gets more dramatic again, when we witness how Neytiri and Tuktirey flee from a RDA-structure that’s being flooded:

Brightly glowing bioluminescent skin pattern indicates emotional agitation (*gestures at surrounding*). Also Tuktirey obviously has 3 fingers / 4 digits, like any other Na’vi, like her mom Neytiri.

In this scene we also get confirmation that the head next to sad Lo’ak a couple of shots back is indeed Neytiri’s:

*points at headband*

The tension breaks again when we see Lo’ak hanging on to the tulkun we’ve seen earlier, being dragged by it through the water, enjoying life:

Lo’ak (necklace and hair give him away) with his new friend

Then we get another (almost) full body shot of the leaders of the Metkayina: The Tsahìk called Ronal and the Olo’eyktan called Tonowari:

The Metkayina on ilus, while their Tsahìk and Olo’eyktan (sporting awesome clothing in the typical “leader-red”) are at the front. Are they preparing to attack the RDA in a great battle?

Only three shots left, guys :(( *sigh* … Well. (What are very clearly) Jake’s hands tug at a strip of leather, fastening the harness on the neck of an ikran, ilu or…

… this new and yet unknown beast of a flying fish:

This is probably the same scene we see the Metkayina on ilus in, ready for battle. Same cloudy sky, same color of daylight. In the shot before Jake was probably preparing for battle on this creature. Notice the hatchet?

Jake then finishes his line from the off – and it becomes clear that he’s been talking to Neytiri, who is very likely Tsahìk of the Omatikaya now (I wonder why – did Mo’at die?), judging from her new and pretty necklace. It also becomes clear that they are going through quite some turmoil, as a couple / mated pair or a family, and Jake tries to reassure and comfort her. Maybe even trying to stop her from leaving, or preventing their family or clan from breaking apart or succumbing to despair.

“I know one thing: Wherever we go… this family… is our fortress.”

“Awngari ketsran tsengne kivä… fìsoaia… lu txurtseng.”


Tse, ma frapo, this is it, this is the first teaser trailer for Avatar 2. I absolutely loved it and I can’t find a single bit in it which I don’t love. And to be very honest with you, this short teaser trailer already made me cry. Also the score / music for this trailer was just absolutely amazing, if the movie score is anything like it, I will just dissolve into a blobby mess of shivers and tears in the movie theater. I am sooooo looking forward to the next (teaser) trailer and even more the movie!

Related blog posts

Clearing Up The Confusion About The Children – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

The Tulkun Conundrum – Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

An excursion into the art of tattooing of the Na’vi / Metkayina in Avatar 2: The Way Of Water

Also interesting:

This video compares the trailers for Avatar 1 and 2 side by side. Amazing how they line up perfectly. Said it before, will say it again: Coincidence is unknown to James Cameron!

Kelutral.org has a very well written breakdown of the trailer you might like:

https://www.kelutral.org/blog/avatar-the-way-of-water-teaser-breakdown

My prediction of the chain of events in Avatar 2

  • Life for the Omatikaya is great so far, until…
  • The Omatikaya get into direct conflict with the RDA: Lo’ak, Spider and Kiri getting cornered by humans / RDA Avatars, barely escaping
  • The RDA follows them / seeks retribution
  • Mo’at gets killed, the Sully family being devastated by that
  • Great turmoil and pain within the Omatikaya clan, Jake tries to reassure Neytiri
  • These events / further advances of the RDA forces them to flee their home in the rainforest
  • They seek refuge with the reef dwelling Metkayina, how many members of the Omatikaya is unclear, likely just the Sully family (are they outcasts, is no other of the Omatikaya left?)
  • At first things go kinda well between the clans, the kids of each clan befriending each other, enjoying life (Tsireya showing Neteyam, Kiri and Tuk around, while Lo’ak makes friends with a tulkun)
  • Conflict between Omatikaya and Metkayina, likely because of Lo’ak (and Tsireya?) messing something up
  • RDA following the Omatikaya to the realm of the Metkayina, forcing them to put their differences aside and working together
  • Great battle combining Omatikaya and Metkayina forces against the RDA, with great losses on both sides
  • Quaritch will surive, but my guess is Wainfleet dies (again)
  • The Sully family sticks even closer together, having to face what’s to come in Avatar 3

Why I think Mo’at will die

Well… her muntxatan Eytukan died in Avatar 1, her dying in Avatar 2 would kinda fit. Both of them being reunited within Eywa, a lovely thought. Mo’at is old and will die eventually of old age while probably having not much interesting added anymore to the story until then anyway, so why not “use” her death and give it some more meaning by helping to create more opportunities for growth and character depth for the Sullys, making them and their story more interesting and us even more emotionally invested? Also, Neytiri seems to be(come) Tsahìk in Avatar 2, and Mo’at being deceased would make way for this.
Lo’ak and Neytiri being sad about someone injured or dead means they both have close relations and strong feelings for that person (Mo’at is Neytiri’s mother and Lo’ak’s grandmother). And while watching the video of both trailers being compared to each other, we see this:

Left: Lo’ak and Neytiri being very sad, maybe because Mo’at died. Right: Neytiri being devastated about her father Eytukan (Mo’at’s spouse) dying. Same mood, same lighting and smoke. Ngari hu Eywa salew tirea, ma Mo’at, you will be forever in our hearts!

Tìng TXolarti Tiretur – Toss A Coin To Your Witcher – Na’vi version

Oe fmoli ralpiveng fìtìrolit akosman, taluna txasunu oeru, hrh.

Rolyu aswaran
sarmop ‘awsiteng
hu Keraltì Rivayä
fìtìrol sroler

Krra Nantang aTeyr
vrrtepwä warmem
sneyä tsampongul
poti solo’hänga

Oeti sarmängutx
fa tsulfä akawnglan
fol pawkit skola’a
aysre’it nìteng

Vrrtepä meslukx(ìl)
sngemti fparmängap
Tiretu loleym san
ke tsun leykiveym

Tìng txolarti Tiretur
m(a) aynawmtu atstunwi!
m(a) aynawmtu atstunwi!
Tìng txolarti Tiretur
m(a) aynawmtu atstunwi!

Ro tew kifkeyä
wä slukx atxur wem
sìn fäpa ramä, lu
fkxaranga'(a) s(ä)wem

Fravrrtepit tspang
Tiretul nìftu(e)
sìn fäpa ramä, a
ta fo zola’u

Po wolem nìtstew
Poti fparmap fol
Lu ‘eylan suteyä
Ha po set syivor

Fìvur set ‘i’a
yora’tu yolora’
kawnga vrrtepwä
niväk po ko

Tìng txolarti Tiretur
m(a) aynawmtu atstunwi!
m(a) aynawmtu atstunwi!
Tìng txolarti Tiretur
‘eylan aysuteyä

 

Tìsung:

Tewti! Nawria rolyul alu Alex_The_Bug fìtìrolit nìfketongay roleiol! So’ha nìwotx! Rutxe, tìng mikyun:

sälatem a zìskrrwewkrrka

Tìyeiok lora kelkut amip. Tsatseng leiu kilvan sì na’rìngtsyìp sì ioang apxay, natkenong fneyayo alu kingfisher fu slele a fneioang alu beaver. Mì helku lu pxemo, ‘awa mo a ’em sì ‘awa pum a yur sì ‘awa pum a fngä’ sì ‘awa pum a hahaw sì memo letrrtrr. Lu ngiptsyìp a uo kelku fte syivor sì ayewllit peykivaw sì ayyayoti alu chicken nivìn. Lu tìfnu sì fpom, hufwa kelkul tsawtsrayti tok. Srefereiey nìprrte’.

Teri soaia sì kelku

Mesrram tsmukanìl oeti folrrfeien. Nì’awve tsari oeru fkxara lu, slä mawkrra pähem po, oeyä txe’lan mawey slarmu nìmun. Tse mi solunu oeru fwa fwa oeti farmrrfen ke krrnolekx nìtxan. Mipa yawntu peyä pohu zola’u, leiu tstunwia tute anawm, fwa poti palang sì fwa pohu pängkxo teya si oeru. Ye’rìn holum mefo nìmun, taluna zene kelkune sneyä tivätxaw.

Nìsung, muntxatanur oerusì mipa kelku lìyeiu. Trram tsatsengti lang ulte pole’un moel futa new kelku sivi tsamì. Ro helku amip lu pxaya utral sì yayo alu chicken sì fpom nìwotx, hufwa tok kxamti tsawtsrayä kelkul stum. Srefereiey nìprrte’ – tìsyung pxaya relti kelkuä amip, mawkrra fratìnviru hasey salyi.

Soaiari irayo.

Sìpänkgxori akosman irayo.

Kelkuri amip irayo.

Ayskxomìri irayo.

Fpomìri irayo.

Toleiok tsengit alu (Groß)Comburg – #irayo – 3

Nì’i’a muntxatanhu oeyä fìtrr folrrfen tsengit alu Großcomburg. Lu lala kelku suteyä a aho Yeysuru ulte narlor fkan nìtxan. Hufwa tsatsengìl tok tsawtsrayit oeyä, kawkrr ke folrrfen srekrr, ketsukspaw, kefyak? Netrìp moeyä tìsoptsyìpìri yafkeyk sì tsawke lrrtok soleiyi. Krra harmum, ultxarun hì’ia ioangit alu ngawng akì’ong (hrh) fu Anguis fragilis – stum posìn koleynvängen, slä tsolun zeswane hivum po nìkxuke. Hona. Ayrelit ayngar:

Furia tsawke lrrtok si, irayo.

Furia muntxatanhu tsun sivop, irayo.

Ayswawri akosman irayo.

Narlora ayioangìri ahona irayo.

Furia tsun kelku sivi fìtseng a txe’lanur teya si fìtxan, irayo.

#irayo – 2

tì’eylanìri irayo.

tìyawnìri irayo.

tsawkeyä ayatanviri asang irayo.

furia tsun yivune sompìvati a zup tengkrr tompa zerup, irayo.

furia tsun syivam fahewti asosul mawkrra tompa zolup, irayo.

 

#irayo – 1

Like the hashtag suggests, this challenge going to be about gratitude, more precisely, a gratitude-journal. The goal is to write down or record (audio or video) at least five things per week we are grateful for. Big things, small things, whatever, doesn’t matter. If you want to learn more about gratitude-journals, I suggest watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPPPFqsECz0
TL;DR:
– several times a week (if only once or more times is up to you) write down or talk about at least 5 things per week you feel grateful for
– do this for at least 3 weeks
– after you feel journaling about that has been going on long enough, summarize your thoughts on how being more aware of the things you’re grateful for changed your attitude and emotional state in a final post / recording
– all this is supposed to happen in Na’vi, of course :P


Furia lu oeru fra’u a oel kin, irayo.

Furia lu oeru yawnea muntxatan akosman oeyä, irayo. Zun ke lirvu muntxatu oeyä po, zel… ke new ronsrelngivop.

Furia lu awngaru Nawma Sa’nok a vun nìftxan awngar ulte lor nì’aw leiu, irayo.

Furia payoang ahona oeru ulte po ‘eylan leiu, irayo.

Furia txintìn a txasunu oeru lu ulte eyktanur mal leru oe, irayo.