A rite of passage for the Na'vi is a phase in every young Na'vi that must go through, whether be it to be an aspiring warrior to a practitioner of armor making. Currently, Humans only know two rite of passages, that of the Omaticaya and the Tipani. This article will focus on both, if more information is discovered, it will be added here.
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Omaticayan Rite of Passage[edit | edit source]
Once a Na'vi enters into the intermediate phase of adulthood, they will undergo training in the desired skill they wish to focus on. All young Na'vi who begin their training are taught by a senior member of the clan, mostly from a parent, but if there is no parent present it will be that of a senior member of that certain skill.
It normally takes months to train prior to being given their permission to begin their rite of passage. Here is a breakdown of each rite of passage in accordance to talent and skill the young Na'vi wishes to focus upon.
Warrior[edit | edit source]
A young Na'vi who wishes to become a warrior have normally been encouraged prior by the father or mother. They are taught early on how to defend, usually by playing with other children before beginning their true training. For the Omaticaya, training to be a warrior is challenging but not arduous in comparison with the Tipani. Most young warriors begin how to fight in melee style combat, with what humans consider "Na'vi martial arts", though what style they utilize is not as different as humans.
Jake Sully once quipped that the Na'vi melee techniques are no different than that of Jujutsu. Once the Na'vi accomplishes profeciently in hand-to-hand combat, they move on to utilizing numerous weapons, primarily that of the bow. Rarely few seem to fail in utilizing the Na'vi bow with others exceeding in knife combat and blunt weapons.
After completing their training with the bow, the parent then proceeds to bring their child to the forest to learn how to stalk prey. They are taught how to track their target, find their target, and watch their target for days on end. Once the parent believes their student has learned all their is, the hunt begins. Unlike hunters who train, warriors who are hunting normally hunt animals that are more evasive and when cornered, are more dangerous. Typically this can be the hexapede which, despite it's placid behavior, can be dangerous with its bite known to literally take chunks from skin.
Once they have achieved their first skill, their rite of passage begins.
Rite of Passage Begins[edit | edit source]
Once each Na'vi has completed their first kill, their rite of passage begins. Rarely few Na'vi are known to have failed. Here is a complete break down with each phase representing the level of which a Na'vi must successfully complete to be considered an adult amongst the Omaticaya.
Phase I: Taming a Banshee[edit | edit source]
Like all Na'vi before them, their rite of passage's first phase is acquiring a banshee. Upon entering the Hallelujah Mountains, the young Na'vi is joined with others with his kin and are led by a senior member of the clan, most notably that of most skilled warrior of the clan.
They must endure and climb miles across the mountains before coming upon a banshee nest. Here, they are tasked with roping an ikran and peforming the bond to tame it before having them fly. Despite the rigorous climb, the most dangerous of act of acquiring an ikran is trying to rope it and eventually flying it. It is known that about 25 Na'vi have died during this ritual since the RDA have began their colonization of Pandora.
After having tamed their banshee, they are instructed to fly 72 hours of flight time with much attention focused on combat. Once this is completed, the next phase begins.
Phase II: The Dream Hunt[edit | edit source]
The Dream Hunt (Uniltaron) is an event in which the Na'vi seek their spirit animal. During a chemically induced trance caused by the bite of an arachnoid and swallowing a glow worm, they express themselves musically as the spirit moves. Uniltaron songs are especially interesting. While under the chemically induced effects that mark the Dream Hunt, a Na'vi may utilize any kind of expression: standard social song structures, imitations of domestic cascading vocal style, children's songs from deep in their memories, wildly improvised songs or chants. The only type of songs not heard in this context are personal songs and the ritual songs of mourning.
The only recorded instance of the Dream Hunt is that of with Jake. His experiences however differ from that of all Na'vi, this is possibly due to his human nature. He described his own dream hunt as being a wild hallucination with the song that the Tsahik had played becoming aggressivelly loud and headache inducing before promptly becoming unconscious.
During this time, he had dreamt a surreal dream of a world that appeared to be all a waterpaint blur, with nothing that he could truly describe in-detail except for color. Before him as he looked up and towards the sky, a shadowed creature loomed above him, blotting out the sky. It roared with such feirocity that he described the fear to be, "some of the most intense fear ever." As the creature came after him, all he could do was stare back before seeing the outline of what it was.
When the creature engulfed his entire vision, he reportedly woke back up, drenched in sweat and eyes bloodshot. The Tsahik reportedly stated that his heart stopped only one time and was surprised that he had made it through.
Phase III: Ceremony & Adulthood[edit | edit source]
Once the young Na'vi has completed all of his tasks and training, he is then honored with a ceremony in which he will be inducted and considered as an adult amongst his Omaticayan peers.
