"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony."
“Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world.”- Katara
This blog will explore the four nations and their intricacies. We will look at how the bending styles change based on the values of the nation. How the nations in the show are loosely based on actual nations from our world's history. We will delve deeper into the main characters of the show and how their experiences are shared to give exposure to real life problems people all over the world are facing.
The best way to begin is through the words of the wisest of us all, Uncle Iroh. The quotes used below for each nation are pulled from the episode “Bitter Work” in book 2. This is when Iroh is teaching Zuko how he has pulled information from all of the nations to become a better bender.
Water Tribe
“Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.”- Uncle Iroh
The water tribes circle the Avatar: The Last Airbender globe. The tribes are located at both the northern and southern poles while there is also a tribe at the equator, the foggy swamp tribe. As seen throughout the show the Northern water tribe is more advanced than both of the other tribes, they have more of a civilization and spiritual customs. Each tribe is unique and have changed water bending to be more of their “style.” Throughout this blog we will discuss characters and characteristics of each of the tribes and their bending.
Earth Kingdom
“Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring.” - Uncle Iroh
The Earth Kingdom is the largest geographically. Because of how big it is there are multiple different kingdoms including Ba Sing Se and Omashu. The leaders of each nation work together in harmony but run their own cities independently. In each kingdom we see how earth bending is used to help the cities run and to ensure protection over the subjects. We will delve deeper into the people and their bending styles more throughout this blog.
Fire Nation
“Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will and the energy and drive to achieve what they want.” - Uncle Iroh
The fire nation has a proud history and strong benders. Throughout the hundred year war the nation has turned their bending into coming from rage and hate however as we learn in book three it was not always like this. The fire nation is composed of volcanic islands and each of the main cities sit in the volcanic crater at the top. In this blog we will discuss the fire nation, their bending, and the nation's pride.
Air Nomads
“Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. ” - Uncle Iroh
The Air Nomads are people of the sky. Their temples are located on mountains and cliff sides to help them detach from the world. They have 3 temples: the Western, Southern, and Eastern. Each temple has different spiritual spots that are meant to help the benders meditate and achieve enlightenment. Throughout this blog we will come to understand their levels of meditation and how they can detach themselves from the world.
As Uncle Iroh has taught us, “It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful. But it can make you more powerful too.” Join us on our journey to combine the four nations and elements in ourselves. Welcome to the G'Aang!
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