The Tlalim clan, also known as Wind Traders, are a nomadic Na'vi clan. Their main caravan’s Olo'eyktan is Peylak. They use medusoid and windrays to travel in airships.
Culture[]
The clan specializes in traveling and trading across Pandora, making periodic visits to major Na'vi villages where they establish a market for their goods. Similar to the Sarentu clan, they also bring stories of other Na'vi cultures and receive messages to pass onto other clans. The sight of the Tlalim clan symbolizes a time of celebration, feast and dancing. The clan is highly respected as a result.[1] The Na'vi do not use money or a currency system, so they resort to bartering with food, tools, textiles and crystals. They also use sätare beads; Kukulope traded with these beads.
The Tlalim do not take sides in war, and they also follow the ways of Eywa.
The Tlalim clan uses medusoids to fly, and are powered by windrays. These are attached to a large gondola which transports the goods and the people. A Tlalim caravan can have anywhere from 2-5 gondolas. They control their gondolas in a similar way as a sailboat on Earth, and even sing shanties while doing so.
The clan follows trade routes that are determined by where population centers are around Pandora, which way the wind is currently blowing each time of year, and where they can feasibly go. This results in them often raising or lowering their altitudes, or waiting in one location until wind direction changes. Their philosophy of life is the wind which gives and takes.[2]
The clan lives in danger of raiders like the Mangkwan, who live pirate lifestyles. The Tlalim have outriders on ikran to scout and protect the ships. They also have large containers of water in their gondolas which they release to increase their altitude. This clan is known to use large crossbows and handheld staffs for self-defense.
Members of the clan are known to be very jovial, but also cautious people. Due to their ability of seeing different cultures and lifestyles of how different Na'vi clans live, they also are open-minded.
Roles[]
The Tlalim is the only known clan with multiple olo’eyktans. Their olo’eyktans are also known as “captains”. There are several different caravans, with each caravan having a different olo'eyktan. There are at least two caravans, with their leaders being Peylak and Ya'fatar.
They have navigators who bond with the windray, checking on its health and direction. They also have outriders, both of their clan and others who have offered to help (like Jake Sully), on ikran to protect them.
History[]
Avatar: Fire and Ash[]
When the Tlalim clan arrives at Awa’atlu, the Na'vi there are very happy. The Tlalim share stories and trade goods, setting up markets in the main area of the village. Jake Sully convinces Peylak to transport Spider to High Camp once they leave, as to protect Spider from being out in the toxic air all the time. Peylak agrees, but once Jake’s children are upset, he asks Peylak to transport the whole family. Peylak protests, saying that having Toruk Makto onboard would be too close to choosing a side in the war, but Jake tells him that he would be an outrider, and Peylak agrees.
Peylak fighting a Mangkwan raider.
The Sully family enjoys their time on the gondola with the joyous Tlalim, but they are attacked by a particularly violent Mangkwan raid. The Sully’s and the Tlalim fight valiantly, but Varang and her raiders take down a gondola, killing many. The other gondolas retreat.
From the Ashes[]
A different and slightly smaller caravan than the one in Fire and Ash arrives at the Aranahe Hometree in the Kinglor Forest, earlier than expected. They have had a hard journey and had their previous leader die due to a Mangkwan attack. The Aranahe and Sarentu (who are living with the Aranahe) are very excited to see them and the exotic items they bring (such as flowers from the Omatikaya rainforest), but the Tlalim bring grave news: the Mangkwan clan are coming to the Kinglor Forest. These aggressive people soon attack, and all but one of the gondolas is destroyed, and several of the clan are killed. The remaining gondola gets stuck, and So'lek helps them out and helps them gather their scattered members and escape the forest.
List of Known Clan Members[]
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora[]
Avatar: Fire and Ash[]
Trivia[]
- There is a real-life store named after them.
- The Tlalim are one of two new on-screen clans featured in Avatar: Fire and Ash; the other being the Mangkwan clan.
- Three airships are featured in the main promotional artwork for the From the Ashes DLC update for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. This may indicate that there might be more interaction with the Tlalim clan within the game aside from Kukulope's trade shop.
- In an interview with Fandango, James Cameron stated that the Tlalim would be used to raids on their caravan and that "the ash people presumably are not the only people on the planet that have got a beef or are not adhering to what the Na'vi call the Great Balance."[3]
- There may be another wind trader clan, as So’lek mentions he had met a wind trader clan other than the Tlalim at a young age.
Appearances[]
| Title | Format | Release date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora | Video game | December 7, 2023 | |
| Avatar: Fire and Ash | Film | December 19, 2025 |
References[]
- ↑ The World of Avatar: Updated Edition page ??
- ↑ Fire and Ash presskit
- ↑ Fandango interview on YouTube starting at 5:32
| Na'vi Culture | |
|---|---|
| Clans | |
| Armor | 'Awvea Tsamsiyu • Battle Band • Eyktan • Helmet • Karyu • Leggings • Nawm • Nawma Ni'awve • Nawma Taronyu • Nawma Tsamsiyu • Taronyu • Tirea • Tsteu |
| Clothing | |
| Culinary | Basket • Butchering Tool • Cooking Pot • Fire Pit • Fire Pit Tools • Fish Yoke • Food Wrap • Ground Rack • Leaf Plate • Mixing Pot • Na'vi Diet • Water Carrier |
| Music | |
| Other | Eywa • Mountain Banshee • Oma • Toruk Makto • Hometree • Spirit World • Octal Arithmetic • Tree of Souls • Three Laws of Eywa • Clan Leader • Songcord • Heartlands Ikran • Mating • Tsahìk • Iknimaya • Spirit Tree • Tsaheylu • Na'vi Language • Tattoo • Loom |