Avatar driver hours and "matechoosing"

[auroraglacialis]

Originally Posted by Zai-en-ken

The way most people seem to understand the mate thing, (if this hasn't already been said) is that after a male Na'vi completes all of his training and rites of passage, they are allowed to pick from amongst the clan females.

I know, but I would say that this is not the correct interpretation. It has been criticized a lot and people go as far as proclaiming the film is sexist. Given the egalitarian nature of their society (females also riding Ikrans and pass rites of passage), I doubt this interpretation.
Lets put it this way - in our society here, we also choose a mate. That does not imply that this is rewarded with success...

The stagnant gene pool is an interesting question. Their group seems to be fairly large - probably at least 100-200, but that still can cause trouble long term. I expect mutation rate to be very high on Pandora, as radiation is high. Still I would say, that the clans do something the native americans of the pacific northwest did - they held gatherings of the bands to exchange goods, reassure peace and so on. That went so far (IIRC) that their bands, ususally only a few people, maybe 20(?) met with different other bands each year in a different region as kind of fluent tribes - maybe (but I dont remember this now) even allowing people to join other bands?
The Sgn'Oi of Malaysia do something else - they go to sleep in huts every night, but people choose a new hut every night. And IIRC, people could also visit other clans.

But that is all speculation - I guess they would mix with clans they are at peace with. I can imagine that the clans also form tribes (meaning groups of clans sharing similar language specialities and customs), that would meet.

[Human No More]

I've said it before... Neytiri said Jake may choose a woman. That doesn't mean she has no choice - Jake did say 'but first, this woman must also choose me' - that may well be some kind of specific part of choosing not related to the fact that he chose Neytiri. After all, Neytiri did mention specific women - possibly ones that were looking for a mate and/or interested in Jake. The survival guide says that choosing a mate can sometimes take years - I'd assume that female Na'vi have the same right to choosing someone, and it's only if the one that was chosen accepts that they mate.

About mutation rate, the radiation level is low (but higher than Earth) due to the very strong magnetic field, but it's likely all Pandoran life has a higher tolerance than humans as they evolved in the higher-radiation environment - there are species on Earth which can survive significantly higher radiation levels than most, some of which aren't even specifically adapted for extreme environments, so I'd expect to be relatively stable. The extended families would reduce most inbreeding, and some Na'vi mating with some from other clans would keep things widely distributed.