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The Omatikaya Clan (ENG: Blue Flute clan) are a Na'vi clan that lives in the forest of Pandora. They are currently led by Tarsem and Mo'at.

The clan's members share a deep connection with the forest and especially Eywa herself due to them being responsible for protecting the Tree of Souls. Three Toruk Maktos have been members of the clan, most notably Jake Sully, the sixth Toruk Makto, and Entu, the first. The clan is led by an Olo'eyktan and Tsahìk, who are typically a mated pair.

Culture[]

Mother Loom

Mother Loom

While other clans such as the Anurai organize themselves around carving or pottery, the Omatikaya are renowned for their brilliant textiles and weaving skills. Thus, the loom plays a key role in the daily life of the clan. The largest of the Omatikayan looms is more massive than a Terran pipe organ. This 'mother loom' is given a place of honor in the common area of Hometree.[1]

The Omatikaya believe that if a job is done correctly it should never be done again; thus they will take as long as needed to perfectly construct a single bow, axe, or spear. The Omatikaya build practical items and tools for everyday survival, totemic storytelling and enjoyment. They use sustainable materials from the rainforest such as wood, minerals, gourds, reeds and plant leaves, and even the remains of deceased animals such as their bones. As expert weavers, the clan integrates patterns into theeir woven items, emulating what they see in nature: a complexity with a higher mathematical order. In general, rather than rigid 90 degree lines or grids, they weave and form in a holistic and organic way with rounded edges, sacred spirals and labyrinth-like patterns.

Hexapede toy

A hexapede toy

All members specialize in at least one craft-making skill. One Na'vi may be an expert in braiding tight bow strings while another can stitch saddles. Through combined individual efforts, the Na'vi contribute to each other's resources, forming a cooperative system and clan bonding that has sustained them for tens of thousands of years.

The clan encourages their children to make crafts (such as toy banshees) based on animals they see in the forest to help them understand their functions and forms.[2]

Music is of great importance to the clan, more so than any other, hence the clan being named after their most incredible and elusive instrument, the Blue Flute.

Habitat[]

By Scale

The Omatikaya's ginormous Hometree

The Omatikaya are a jungle-dwelling clan that previously made their home in one of Pandora's massive Hometrees. Their Hometree was over 20,000 years old and 300 meters (~900 feet) tall. The clan made use of all of its levels, with the deepest, underground chamber being reserved for ceremonies, the surface level for general living and gatherings as well as housing the mother loom and Toruk Makto totem, the upper chambers for cultivating hammocks to sleep on, and the canopy for sheltering the hunters' ikrans.

After the Omatikaya's ancestral hometree was destroyed, Jake Sully temporarily relocated the clan to a living area near Hell's Gate while the clan waited to claim a new hometree for themselves.[3] They then migrated back into the jungle and lived in scattered villages. As of 2170, the clan lives in High Camp.

Rites[]

When prospective hunters reach a certain age, they must perform Iknimaya, a rite of passage in which a young Na'vi must climb up into the Hallelujah Mountains to find an ikran. Through tsaheylu, the initiate creates a lifelong bond with it. Not all Omatikaya clan members practice this rite because not all clan members are hunters.

To be considered an "adult" member of the clan, initiates must complete Uniltaron (Dream Hunt) in which the Na'vi hallucinate due to venom being injected into their body. The purpose of this is so that they can receive spiritual wisdom and discover their their spirit animal. After this, the initiate is accepted by the clan as one of the People and is allowed to carve a bow from a branch of the Hometree. The new clan member may also choose a mate.

Deceased Omatikaya AVE

The Omatikaya perform a funerary rite for a deceased member.

When a member of the clan dies, the Omatikaya dig a hole near the roots of Hometree and place the deceased inside. The friends and family of the deceased line the grave with flowers and a Woodsprite is placed over them, along with their songcord. The clan honors the fallen member with singing and chanting.[4]

History[]

Some of the earliest Omatikaya tales speak of Entu, the first-ever Toruk Makto who, with his friends Ralu and Tsyal, tamed the beast in order to save the Tree of Souls from destruction. Several millennia later, Neytiri's great-great-grandfather became the fifth Toruk Makto. The clan greatly honors Toruk Makto because of this, constructing a totem in remembrance of the legendary hero. The story of Toruk Makto is frequently recounted to children as they grow and learn.

Relationship with Humanity[]

Grace's school

Grace, Neytiri and other Na'vi children at the schoolhouse

The Omatikaya were the first clan to make contact with humans and established peaceful negotiations with them.[5] Grace Augustine founded a schoolhouse in 2142, to teach the clan English and strengthen diplomatic ties. However, ten years later the security forces disastrously killed a number of the students, including Sylwanin, the daughter of Mo'at and Eytukan and the tsahìk-in-training.

While diplomatic relations improved after the clan accepted Jake Sully in 2154, their ancestral Hometree unfortunately resided over the largest deposit of unobtanium within 200 kilometres of the humans' settlement at Hell's Gate. This inevitably led to conflict, as the RDA came to Pandora largely in the pursuit of the substance. After negotiations failed between the humans and the Na'vi, the Tree of Voices was destroyed by a bulldozer and then afterwards the Hometree was destroyed by gas canisters and powerful missiles, and the Omatikaya were forced to take shelter at the Tree of Souls.

With the aid of the Pandoran wildlife, they were able to defend the sacred site successfully, and forcibly expelled the remaining humans from Pandora.

Riots after the war (Avatar: The Next Shadow)[]

OmaticayaHell'sGateNextShadow

Omatikaya settling near Hell's Gate

About two weeks after the battle, Jake Sully set up a temporary home near Hell's Gate so the Na'vi and humans could grow closer and learn to coexist, and the remaining humans help heal some members who were badly injured in the battle. There was still conflict between the two races, with some members, including Ka'ani, protesting against the establishment of new mines to keep Hell's Gate running. Jake managed to introduce a temporary solution to the matter.

Omaticaya comics the next shadow

Dissatisfied with the state of affairs and furious that a dreamwalker was given the title of Olo'eyktan, the late Tsu'tey's parents, Ateyo and Artsut, persuaded their youngest son, Arvok, to challenge Jake to ritualistic combat known as First Blood. The winner of this rarely practiced ritual was to assume (or retain) the title of clan leader. Although Jake won the duel, he was poisoned with a substance that is lethal to the Na'vi, but survived, likely thanks to the human DNA in his avatar body. Arvok and his parents were banished from the Omatikaya clan as punishment.

A New Home (Avatar: The High Ground & Avatar: The Way of Water)[]

Neteyam Son of Jakesully

The Omatikaya welcomes Neteyam son of Jake Sully and Neytiri.

In 2155, the Omatikaya Clan welcomed Jake and Neytiri's newborn son, Neteyam, and later their adoptive daughter, Kiri. The two had their first communion with Eywa at the Tree of Souls, celebrated by the entire clan.

A few years after in 2168, by the decision of Mo'at and the elders of the Omatikaya clan, they moved to a new Hometree. Jake, however, convinced them not to move into it as it would easily give away the location of the Omatikaya if the RDA ever returned. He also trained the warriors of the Omatikaya how to fight in zero-G by shuttling them into space on the Valkyrie shuttle, equipped with specialized space suits. He also established the High Camp in the Hallelujah Mountains as an emergency hideout.

Return of the RDA[]

Na'vi in Space

Battle in space

Following the arrival of a new human transport in Pandora's orbit in 2169, Jake evacuated the Omatikaya and allied scientists to Hight Camp. Jake led a group of warriors to ambush the ISV Venture Star, with General Frances Ardmore aboard. While he, Neytiri, and their pilot Josh Winslow spoke with Ardmore to negotiate a peace, the Omatikaya warriors remained hidden, rolling around the ISV's hull to blow it up. The Na'vi and Hell's Gate rebels were, however, sabotaged when Nash McCosker betrayed them and the Omatikaya were forced to retreat back to Pandora. General Ardmore and her associates also survived and descended into Pandora's atmosphere aboard the ISV Manifest Destiny. Its high-powered engines' thrust created firestorms which caused the forest below to burn down and roasted and killed the animals within a dozen kilometers. After the forest was burned down, the RDA dropped their Landing Modules onto the burned land to remove the remains of animals and forest vegetation with bulldozers and AMPs. The construction of Bridgehead began.

Migration of the Sully Family[]

A year later in 2170, having ensured everyone's safety, the Omatikaya clan engaged Bridgehead in organized guerilla warfare under Jake and Neytiri's leadership, targeting and destroying their supply lines. Although the RDA suspected that the Omatikaya clan's new location was somewhere in the Hallelujah Mountains, they were unable to find the camp as Eywa's "immune system" would cause the banshees in the area to attack the RDA's aircraft after a short amount of time. Miles Quaritch and his recom squad were ordered to track down the location of the base and kill Jake Sully, as it was theorized their Pandoran bodies would not trigger the immune response. The squad captured Spider and interrogated him on the whereabouts of Jake Sully and the Omatikaya clan, but Spider did not reveal it.

Jake leaving the Omatikaya

The family leaves to protect the children from getting involved with the war.

Knowing that Quaritch was a threat to his family and the entire clan, and fearing that Spider might reveal the location of the High Camp, Jake Sully convinced Neytiri to flee the forest. He relinquished leadership of the clan to Tarsem, a young but extremely wise warrior. The transfer of power took place at the Tree of Souls, and immediately after the ceremony, the family traveled to the Metkayina clan village of Awa'atlu several hundred kilometers away.

Members of the clan[]

Seen in Avatar[]

Introduced in Avatar: The Way of Water[]

Comics[]

Others[]

Mentioned[]

Trivia[]

  • In the original Avatar screenplay (Project 880), the Omatikaya were known as the Tsumongwi.
  • Their clan name has been written as Omaticaya in early sources and the subtitles of Avatar. This version has been phased out of canon with recent guidebooks writing it as Omatikaya as there is no C in the Na'vi language. This name change has been confirmed by Joshua Izzo at OmatiCon 2023.[6]
  • The Omatikaya are the only Na'vi clan so far to use guns.
  • In the non-canon Wii game, the Omatikaya clan lived in a region called the Chill Fields.

Gallery[]

Locations[]

See Also[]

References[]

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