James Allen News Center

When James Cameron began creating the world of Pandora and its inhabitants, the Na`vi, he knew exactly what he was doing.  He was giving the world a new way to see movies, to feel what the characters are feeling, to become a part of the world portrayed, and to aspire to be like the heroes of the film.  Avatar, as a movie, left each viewer with some profound feeling.  We wanted to be Jake or Neytiri.  We wanted to be moral and good and fierce and loving. 

Just as the Harry Potter movies created the desire for long scarves and round glasses—giving birth to fantastic Halloween costume ideas—so has the movie Avatar inspired movie-goers across the world.  Each character in the film wear different types of jewelry or other adornment, and those become their indentifying characteristics. 

Each of the Na`vi has a super-natural appearance not because of their blue skin and long limbs, but because underneath their skin are displays of light, glimmering like diamonds, points of illumination.  No two members of the clan have the same markings.  They are, collectively, ethereal beings.  Individually, each expresses this differently.

Neytiri wears a choker of 3 green stones and a longer necklace of feathers and beads.  One of her armbands looks as though it is made of thin bamboo linked side-by-side, and the others are stacked halos of beads, each a different color.  Her ears are pierced to create large circles, a long gauging process for humans but painless for the Na`vi.  She is sometimes seen wearing a facial dressing made of animal skin and a spike, indicating that she, too, is a warrior.  In her hair there are five or six beads near the ends of many of her braids.  All are expressions of strength and beauty combined.

Jake`s avatar wears either a thin choker with only a few beads in the front, or a two-stranded, fully beaded choker.  His armband is made of stones and beads of different blues, reminiscent of turquoise or sea jade.  Many of his braids are entirely covered in beads.  Each piece seems to denote that he is peaceful, calm, and strong.  In battle, he, too, wears the facial dress of a warrior, made from animal skin and decorated with bone and the talons of one of Pandora`s natural predators. 

Tsu`Tey, immediately suspicious of Jake`s presence among his clan, wears adornments that reflect his aggressive nature.  Around his neck he wears a very thick piece that is more reminiscent of armor than jewelry.  The belt around his waist also gives the impression that it is more for battle than for show.  His armband is snakelike, an outward show of his inner nature. 

Mo`at, the shaman of the Na`vi and mother of Neytiri, is draped in red, and wears a beaded headdress that falls all the way to her shoulders.  There is majesty in her jewelry, each piece reflecting a high place in society and the wisdom that earned her that honor.  Both her jewelry and her clothing express power and authority. 

The most elaborately adorned of the Na`vi is Eytucan, the clan chief and father of Neytiri.  He, too wears a headdress, but with a piece in the middle of his forehead that, like Tsu`Tey`s, is reminiscent of protective armor.  The necklace he wears is of long pieces of bone, each coming to a point.  Again, like Tsu`Tey, he wears a belt that is both an adornment and a shield.  Eytucan also wears a regal piece around his shoulders, made of layer upon layer of colorful feathers that shows his position in the clan.  Everything about the jewelry and dress of Eytucan is a representation of his place in the Na`vi society and on Pandora. 

In the Avatar movie, each character`s place in society is displayed by the jewelry and clothing that he or she wears.  Their inner selves are outwardly exhibited in their individual ornamentation.  As we aspire to be like these characters, we emulate their mannerisms, their styles, their clothing.  Avatar jewelry is already a sensation, and will continue to be so as we learn, as the Na`vi know, to express ourselves openly and without shame.