What do the Na'vi use their tails for?

[Hunter of the Glade]

I really can't picture a Na'vi without a tail now that I think about it.

Originally Posted by tm20

to add to their sexiness

Mmmmmmm...YUP

[Fighter-of-Wars]

Originally Posted by Human No More

I'm not going for the whole prehensile tail thing unless it appears in a film or source like the survival guide (I suppose it could be possible that all Na'vi have the ability but some have just not learned to, but it doesn't visibly seem to have that much strength)

It doesn't look very strong doesn't mean it isn't. Look at our hands for example. I can hold up my body weight with just two fingers. (granted not for very long and it hurts)

It is an interesting idea that the Na'vi can use their tail for other purposes than balance and expression.

Who knows, maybe they can use it to swat away flies

[VanyahaHeights]

Or tie it to something...

[Banefull]

As far as differences among the Navi go, it only takes a few genes to make a huge difference. Considering that the Navi are a very ancient race, I would expect genetic differences to be greater. There is some interbreeding (I think I heard somewhere that Tsu'tey was from another clan, correct me if I am wrong) so the differences would be amongst regions with geographic barriers in between. Humans are surprisingly very closely related. Compared to other species, we possess surprisingly little of genetic diversity. It leads some scientists believe that at one point in our history (around 70,000 years ago), we were close to extinction with just a few thousand individuals left. Humans themselves fall into 5 main categories from a genetics standpoint -- Caucasoid (Europe, West Asia, North Africa, Middle East, India), Mongoloid (East Asia, parts of Oceania, and the Americas), Negroid (Sub-Saharan Africa), Capoid (Southern Africa), and Australoid (native aborigines and nearby islands). Its not hard to imagine great diversity amongst the Navi population globally.

[Human No More]

Tsu'tey was from the Omatikaya, not another clan.
Tsu'tey te Rongloa Atey'itan
Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite
Name, family name, father/mother's son/daughter
te Rongloa is most like a family within the clan, Eytukan would have had the same part there too.

As for humans, it is thought that humans were at one point near extinction, which reduced diversity, but it was lower then than it is now - example include blue eyes and red/blonde hair, both are relatively recent (on an evolutionary timescale) mutations. Having completely different physical characteristics would not qualify those individuals as the same species.

[txim_asawl]

Having grown up with cats, I chuckled a few times watching Avatar, observing the classic feline mood displays in the combination of tail and ear movements...

In the learning montage, Neyney slapping Jake for repeatedly mispronouncing "nari" is even funnier, considering Jake's swish of his tail, showing his annoyance at being treated this way. It's hard to be a student among the Na'vi, it seems...


The balance function is obvious, for instance when watching Tsu'tey climb that vine during the Iknimaya ascent or Neyney using her tail to stabilize herself when describing her flight with Jake to him.

Oh, yes, and then there's the sheer sexiness of it... has that already been mentioned?


Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

[VanyahaHeights]

How about for prancing? Like 2 na'vi getting their tails tied together or something?

[Advent]

Balance. And as far as James Cameron goes, aesthetics.

[TxonTirea]

I expect the same reason all the other animals in the world have tails: Balance.

They do run around on trees, very high up, they kind of need it. Also, it looks very pretty. <3

[txim_asawl]

Originally Posted by VanyahaHeights

How about for prancing? Like 2 na'vi getting their tails tied together or something?

I think we forgot another function of the tails: providing comic relief when a clumsy avatar slaps his tail in the face of an unsuspecting sitting Na'vi or steps on someone else's tail when passing through a group of sitting Na'vi at a tribal dinner.


And, of course, pulling on a Na'vi girl's tail when chasing her.

Wiggling bare toes,

~*Txim Asawl*~

[Vawm tsamsiyu]

They seem to be much younger race than us, they haven't evolved Other hair/eye colors yet. The tails are probably for balance looking nice and maybe an emergency grab to avoid a fall

[Human No More]

They are older than humans. Evolution is not directed, there are no 'levels of evolution'. Specific traits will not appear at certain times.