7 Cultural Influences In Avatar The Last Airbender
The Elements
The five elements seen in Avatar The Last Airbender is the influence of India and the Five Classical Elements of Hinduism and Buddhism: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Aether. All four elements (Earth, Water, Fire, Air) are taken and used in the film while the fifth element of Aether is represented in the series through the power of Avatar State and energybending.
Water Tribes
The culture and location of the Water Tribes is primarily based on the real life Arctic cultures such as the Inuit and Yupik. Many people of the Water Tribes live in igloos and they rely heavily on hunting and fishing as a means of survival, which is borrowed from the Inuit. For the clothing, Water Tribes often wear furs and animal skins as protection against the cold. Sometimes, Water Tribe warriors wear warpaint into battle, something associated with Native Americans. The last, architecture of the Northern Water Tribe appears to have been influenced by Venice's gondolas and canal systems. It also resembles the layout of the ancient capital of the Aztecs, Tenochtitlan.
Earth Kingdom
The architecture, clothing, and culture of the Earth Kingdom seem to be based primarily on China and its neighboring states. Many Earth Kingdom citizens wear top-knots, which originated in Asia and are worn by all social classes while the army uniforms resemble ancient Chinese military uniforms. Most of the Earth Kingdom mainland resembles China, but its territory called Kyoshi Island is influenced by Japan. The Kyoshi Warriors who live there wear face make-up in a Japanese style, and in combat they make use of the katana, a traditional Japanese sword.
In addition, the capital of the Earth Kingdom Ba Sing Se is based on ancient Chinese capitals such as Beijing with the Royal Palace largely based on the Forbidden City. The Outer Wall's design and scale is based on the Great Wall of China. Interestingly, The Police Force Dai Li brainwashes prisoners in Ba Sing Se similar to the system of prison camps under the Communist regime. Also, The extensive monitoring of all citizens, immigrants, and tourists is extremely similar to how the government of North Korea monitors its people.
Fire Nation
The Fire Nation is located on volcanic islands, similar to the real world locations including Hawaii, Japan, and the Polynesian Islands. Other location such as Ember Island most closely resembles that of Southeast Asian resorts and the architecture of Fire Temple is nearly a direct replica of pagodas. Fire Nation propaganda justifying its imperialism is also similar to that of Japan's during World War II, as the Japanese Empire used an ideological construct to justify invading China and conquering the South Pacific, just as the Fire Nation has invaded the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. The schoolbooks of Fire Nation children are also censored to teach them misleading information about the war, similar to schoolbooks in post World War II Japan.
Indigenous tribe who live in Fire Nation is the Sun Warriors. Their buildings are inspired by Hindu and Buddhist architecture. This architecture is found in Southeast Asian landmarks such as the Candi Sukuh, Angkor Wat, and Phanom Rung. The Sun Warriors themselves share qualities with the Maya and Aztec cultures of Central America, who were particularly famous as sun-worshipers.
Air Nomads
The Air Nomads are based primarily on Tibetan culture, the Shaolin Monks, and Sri Lankan Buddhism. Many Buddhist and Hindu groups practice vegetarianism, a trademark of Air Nomad culture. The Air Nomads also has their bald heads, clothing, and meditation practices which closely resemble real world Buddhist monks. In addition, the way how Air Nomads use a set of toys to find the new Avatar is similar as of Tibetans when they look for the next Dalai Lama. Also, the architecture of the air temples resembles real world brick pagodas similar to the famous "Pagoda Forest" of the Shaolin Temple in China.
Martial Arts
The four main bending styles are based almost entirely upon traditional Chinese martial arts. The movements of Airbending are derived from Ba Gua. It is a stance and movement to overcome an opponent with skill rather than brute force. Next, the flowing movements of T'ai Chi are the basis of waterbending. In the real world, T'ai Chi emphasizes refinement and relaxation before aggression. Then, the powerful strikes of Hung Gar are the basis for earthbending. Hung Gar emphasizes the use of the art for defense purposes before refinement and relaxation. And the aggressive strikes of Northern Shaolin style are used for firebending. The style sacrifices defense for fierce attacks to overcome its opponents.
Weaponry
The weaponry in this series are influenced by many cultures. Sokka's boomerang, for example, is based on the returning boomerangs, one of two curved weapons used by Aboriginal Australians. Then, Zuko dual-wields dao sabres is one of the four major Chinese weapons. The dao is known as the most reckless and daring of all weapons. Another weapon is Jet's hook swords which have a blade similar to that of the jian. Often used in pairs, the hooks of the weapons may be used to trap or deflect other weapons. And the last is Sokka's space sword which is called Jian, a chinese double-edged straight sword. The jian has a 2,500-year history and is considered one of the major Chinese weapons.
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