Avatar: Fire & Ash Introduces Two New Na’vi Clans – The Wind Traders and Ash People Explained
Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire & Ash Avatar: Fire & Ash expands Pandora with two very exciting new Na’vi clans. Neither has been fully explored on the big screen until this new chapter of James Cameron’s epic sci-fi saga, and both are fascinating in their own right. Known as The Wind Traders and the Ash People, these new Na’vi clans debuting in Fire & Ash couldn’t be more different from each other. Used to explore new cultures and ideologies of the Na’vi people across Pandora, here’s what we know about both clans and their potential futures in the Avatar franchise going forward.
The Tlalim Clan, Also Known As The Wind Traders
Avatar: Fire and Ash ships
The Tlalim Clan, known as the Wind Traders, is one of the Na’vi’s many nomadic cultures. Traveling the skies of Pandora using massive airships, the Tlalim rely on their bonds with both the jellyfish-like creatures known as medusoids, who keep their ships afloat, and cuttlefish-like windrays, which pull their ships through the sky. Trading various goods and messages between major Na’vi clans, the Tlalim value their neutrality, led by their Olo’eyktan (clan leader) known as Peylak (David Thewlis). Naturally, their ideology is focused on the wind and sky, much like the water-based culture of the Mekayina and the love of the forest held by the Omatikaya.
Na’vi Clan
First Appearance
Key Traits
Omatikaya
Avatar
The main Na’vi tribe in the Avatar franchise.
Metkayina
Avatar: The Way of Water
A water-based Na’vi tribe.
Mangkwan/Ash People
Avatar: Fire and Ash/The Last Shadow
A fire-based Na’vi tribe that goes against Eywa.
Tlalim/Wind Traders
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Known as Windtraders, they are a nomadic Na’vi clan that travels in airships.
Tayrangi
Avatar
Cliff-based Na’vi who specialize in aerial combat.
Tawkami
Avatar: The Game (Nintendo DS)
A tribe of Na’vi that highly value intellectual research.
Tipani
Avatar: The Game (Nintendo DS)
The first Na’vi tribe that made contact with humanity.
Anurai
Avatar: The Game (PSP/Nintendo Wii)
Na’vi artisans who specialize in fashioning items from bones.
Li’ona
Avatar: The Game (PSP/Nintendo Wii)
One of the Na’vi tribes worst impacted by the arrival of humans.
Hulanta
Avatar: Reckoning
A Na’vi tribe who inhabit the wetlands.
Huyuticaya
Activist Survival Guide
Warpaint wearing Na’vi who have an affinity for viperwolves.
Ni’awve
Avatar: Reckoning
The Na’vi tribe that may not have originated on Pandora.
Kekunan
Toruk – The First Flight
Expert Ikran riders known for colorful attire.
Aranahe
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
A tribe of Na’vi that are known for their expert silk-weaving skills.
Zeswa
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Expert direhorse riders from the upper plains of Pandora.
Kame’tire
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
One of the most secretive Na’vi clans.
Sarentu
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
A tribe of Na’vi storytellers founded by a member of Omatikaya.
Rey’tanu
Avatar: Reckoning
Agricultural Na’vi from the highlands of Pandora.
Toma’ta
The Pandorapedia
A Na’vi tribe that’s only mentioned briefly and has yet to appear properly.
Olangi
Avatar
A nomadic, plains-based tribe of Na’vi horseriders.
Seeing the wind as the breath of Eywa, Avatar’s Wind Traders honor the air currents that gives and takes (carrying parallels to the Metkayina’s “Way of Water”). The sky itself is their sacred ground. Tragically, the first act of Avatar: Fire & Ash sees the Wind Traders brutally attacked by The Ash People, which also results in Peylak’s murder. While the clan survives (confirmed via new DLC for the game Frontiers of Pandora), The Wind Traders are not featured in the rest of Fire & Ash.
The Mangkwan Clan, Also Known As The Ash People
Varang and Quaritch bonding in Avatar: Fire and Ash
The Mangkwan Clan, or Ash People, are more prominently featured in James Cameron’s new Avatar movie. While they were once very similar to the Omatikaya People, the Mangkwan make their on-screen debut in Fire & Ash as a new force of antagonists apart from the RDA, existing as bitter rivals to any Na’vi clan aligned with Eywa. Interestingly enough, the Mangkwan were first referenced in the 2021 graphic novel Avatar: The Last Shadow, where it was said that they welcome any and all Na’vi exiled by their clans (like Tsu’tey’s parents who tried to stage a coup against Jake Sully in the aftermath of the first Avatar movie) The reason The Ash People are so hostile stems from their territory being ravaged by a volcanic eruption, destroying their hometree and lands, leaving nothing but ash and devastation despite their prayers for Eywa’s protection. Rejecting Eywa, The Ash People were led by Varang in the eruption’s aftermath. Played by Oona Chaplin, Varang serves as both the Mangkwan’s Olo’eyktan and Tsahìk (spiritual leader), guiding her people to see fire itself as “the only pure thing in this world.” Acting as pirates, The Ash People debut in Avatar: Fire & Ash by raiding the Wind Traders. Following the attack and clash with the Sully Family, The Ash People are approached by the RDA’s Col. Miles Quaritch who proposes an alliance with Varang, promising to teach the Ash People how to use firearms and human technology in exchange for their help capturing Jake. Unlike other clans, The Ash People see death and violence as a cleansing, burning act of purification. The fire is both a weapon and a sacred tool. That ideology makes them dangerous not just physically, but spiritually, positioning them as heretics in the eyes of nearly all Na’vi clans and culture. Through their alliance with the RDA, Varang also becomes darkly tied to Quaritch romantically, as both are using the other to accomplish their own desires.
What Does The Future Look Like For These New Na’vi Clans?
Varang looking serious in Avatar Fire and Ash
During Avatar: Fire & Ash’s ending and the final battle, Varang is prevented from killing Neytiri thanks to the action’s of her daughter, Kiri. Embodying the spirit of Eywa, Varang is forced to retreat in the face of Kiri’s power (the last we see of her character in the movie). As a result, Fire & Ash leaves the door open for Varang and the Mangkwan clan’s return in future movies.
Likewise, The Ash People are also now part of Frontiers of Pandora, just like the Wind Traders. According to the game’s canonical lore, some of the Mangkwan formed a coalition with the RDA to attack other Na’vi clans elsewhere on the moon. Narratively, both of these clans have helped expand the Avatar franchise’s moral complexity when it comes to the Na’vi. The Wind Traders embody the unique decision of neutrality despite Pandora’s ongoing conflicts, while The Ash People openly defy Eywa as outright antagonists to their fellow Na’vi clans. Ultimately, Avatar: Fire & Ash seems to have positioned both of these clans to serve as ongoing pillars of the Avatar saga going forward, assuming we do indeed get Avatar 4/Avatar 5 like James Cameron envisions. James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire & Ash is now playing in theaters.
Release Date
December 19, 2025
Runtime
197 Minutes
Writers
Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa, James Cameron, Josh Friedman, Shane Salerno
Producers
Jon Landau, James Cameron, Brigitte Yorke, Jamie Landau, Maria Battle-Campbell
Publicado: 2025-12-21 03:48:00
fonte: screenrant.com
