Earth Kingdom
The Earth Kingdom is a collective term for a nation of people in the fictional universe of the 2005 animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. One of the series' "Four Nations," The Earth Kingdom is a massive continent taking up most of the planet's Eastern Hemisphere. The Earth Kingdom is home to an order of men and women who practice Earthbending, the mystical art of psychokinetic manipulation of earth.
The Earth Kingdom has long withstood encroachments on their borders in the Fire Nation's century-long imperialist war. Though the Water Tribes aid the Earth Kingdom in the war, the conflict continues to progress poorly. Other than the Avatar, the Earth Kingdom is the only real obstacle between the Fire Nation and complete planetary dominance. (The Water Tribe has thus far only demonstrated that they can only defend their own lands, the poles.)
Fauna
The Earth Kingdom has very exotic creatures. Ostritch Horses roam the Earth Kingdom. The are used as transports. In the great Si Wong desert, Buzzard-wasps make their home in the Si Wong Rock. They make a honey like liquid that they feed their young. They say it tastes like rotting penguin meat. Singing Groundhogs attract tourists from everywhere. They are able to respond to any musical note. Purple Pentapus reside in the sewers of Omashu. They have five eyes and legs. They can attatch themselves to you at will. When you detatch them, they leave red dots that make it look like you have a disease. Platypus Bear are found in the forests of the Earth Kingdom. If you see a cave, it may belong to a platypus bear. They lay eggs and protect them. The young are cute, but adults are as dangerous as a bear. Saber-toothed Mooselions are fearsome animals of the Earth Kingdom forests. They have large sabers, paws, and large antlers. They are not recognizable at a young age. They are really cute when young though. They are herbivorous. In the caves of the Earth Kingdom, Wolfbats are territorial carnivores. The are as large as wolves and can fly. Badgermoles are also residing in there. The are blind, but see with bending. They say they taught the first Earthbenders. The have a touch for music. If you play the right music, you could get them to do almost anything. Various kind of hybrid pigs are farmed here. Sheep, Rooster, Chicken, and Cow pigs are seen. Large Insect like creatures called Canyon Crawlers inhabit the Great Divide.
Appearance
The people of the Earth Kingdom have brown or black hair in different shades. Some men wear their hair in buns on top of their head and have beards and/or mustaches, younger men may have the same style but wear their hair down. Fair skin complexion, and green or brown, but usually green, eyes. They usually wear green, yellow green, and sometimes brown clothing. Though they have been seen to wear other colored clothing, but generally earth colors.
National emblem
The national emblem of the Earth Kingdom is a square inscribed with a circle, at the center of which is a much smaller square (like a Chinese coin). This emblem can be seen on the helmets of Earth Kingdom troops.
Large "coins" of this design made of rock or earth are sometimes used as weapons by Earthbenders, as shown extensively in "The Avatar State".
Culture
From the technology driven refuges under the Mechanist to the initially isolationist inhabitants of Kyoshi Island, the culture of the Earth Kingdom is far less defined than the other nations. This is likely due to its size. The comparable aspects of all these people is that they are rather simplistic and somewhat archaic (compared to the Fire Nation).
Government
The Earth Kingdom is a large nation consisting of major cities (such as Omashu, among others) as well as smaller townships or separate towns. The capital of the Earth Kingdom is Ba Sing Se.
Military
Since the Earth Kingdom is geographically the largest of the four nations, it is only logical to assume that its armies are the largest in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Despite their size, they are losing the war against the Fire Nation.
Army
Like the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom armies consist of Earthbenders and normal foot soldiers. Soldiers, both benders and non-benders, carry a wide variety of weapons, from spears, swords, and other various polearms, to more unusual weapons such as hammers, axes, and sickles. Soldiers typically wear a helmet that's a mix of an Conical straw hat and a spinning top. Non-bending soldiers also wear a headdress underneath, appear to be more armoured, and wear boots. Earthbenders helmets are pointed and are decorated with the Earth Kingdom emblem. They are also barefooted, as called for by a principle of Earthbending. Officers wear yellow armor in place of the regular green armor.
The calvary consists of Ostrich Horses, which can climb small distances and run at high speeds. They are also used as transports.
Earthbenders use stones shaped like the Earth Kingdom emblem as artillery and catapult projectiles. These person-sized round coins are invaluable weapons to the Earthbenders. Because they are made out of Earth, Earthbenders are able to bend them, spinning and rolling them at their opponents. Inspired from actual Earth Kingdom coins, these weapons are very useful on the battlefield. The coins can be lined up side by side to make a defensive (and mobile) wall or stacked to make an impromptu lookout tower. Skilled Earthbenders can use these coins as a vehicle and "ride" in the hole in the middle of the coins.
Navy
Not much is known about the Earth Navy, except that its likely inferior to the Fire Nation's. The Earth Kingdom's General Fong said that invading the Fire Nation with its ships would be suicidal.
Kyoshi Island Warriors
The Kyoshi Island Warriors are are an elite, all-female group led by Suki on Kyoshi Island. Each warrior is dressed in a fashion similar to Avatar Kyoshi: Armored green kimono, a pair of metal fans, and geisha-like makeup. They don't take kindly to training outsiders, let alone men, in their unique fighting ways.
Although they are skilled and well-trained, their recent entrance into the war may not make much difference. As shown in one village in "The Warriors of Kyoshi," there are no more than a dozen of them per group. However, groups formed in other villages on Kyoshi Island may amass these warriors' fighting potential even to that of a small army.
Cities and locations
Kyoshi Island
One of the islands off the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom, Kyoshi Island is the island (then-peninsula) where Avatar Kyoshi was born. The island is known for its female warriors, styled after Kyoshi herself, who fight with metal fans and the same techniques as the island's namesake avatar, where the opponent's strength is used against them (like with waterbending). The leader is a young woman named Suki; the warriors rarely train outsiders much less males.
Located in the South Sea, Kyoshi Island is part of the Earth Kingdom and is named for the Avatar who was born there 400 years ago, Avatar Kyoshi. Predominantly a fishing port, Kyoshi Island is a favorite stopping point for traders and travelers. Because it holds no significant military advantage and is home to only a few Earthbenders, the island remained untouched by the Fire Nation for 100 years – that is until Zuko attacked it last winter, looking for the Avatar. Kyoshi Island's citizens live scattered amongst several small villages around the island. Each village has a leader and a band of female Kyoshi warriors, both of whom serve and protect their citizens. In this episode, we find out how Kyoshi island was formed. Many years ago, the village where Kyoshi was born was located on a peninsula on the southwestern Earth Kingdom. In an effort to protect her village, Avatar Kyoshi decided to break off the peninsula from the mainland Earth kingdom. Using her bending abilities, Kyoshi separated the village from the main land. She moved the separated landmass into the middle of the ocean, creating Kyoshi island.
Kyoshi Island has managed to stay out of the Fire Nation's war for nearly a century, and has no intention of inviting unwanted attention. As a result, the chief and the warriors of the island are fiercely hostile towards any outsiders. Only recently have the Kyoshi Island warriors decided to leave and join the war.
Not surprisingly, the island has a shrine (formerly a temple) dedicated to Kyoshi containing relics belonging to the Avatar; they include her kimono, metal fans, metal headress, and her boots. Supposedly, these relics still embody some of the Avatar's spirit. In the nearby sea, there are elephant koi and a giant eel known as the Unagi.
During the time of Avatar Kyoshi, a conqueror known as Chin tried to rule the entire Earth Kingdom. Kyoshi managed to keep her people safe by using a combination of different bending techniques to separate their peninsula from the mainland and form an island. This left a cliff where Chin was standing, and he fell to his death as the rock beneath him collapsed when he cried out in frustration after Kyoshi's bending pushed the newly-formed island out of his reach. The village of Chin was founded near the cliff and has been known to be very antagonistic to Kyoshi and the succeeding Avatars until recently when Aang, the current Avatar, saves the village from some rhino-riding Fire Nation soldiers.
Omashu
The city of Omashu sits within a mountain range, surrounded on all sides by steep canyons created by Earthbending for defense. It is ruled by King Bumi. Omashu had developed a complex and efficient mail system that employed Earthbending and gravity using extensive ramps and chutes. Bumi and Aang used the ramps as slides in their past.
At the beginning of Book Two, Aang and his friends begin to travel to Omashu again so that he may learn Earthbending. "The Cave of Two Lovers" reveals that the city was founded many millenia ago and was named for Oma and Shu, a Romeo and Juliet pair from two warring villages who were the first Earthbenders. It is therefore likely that Bumi became king due to his immense Earthbending prowess. Since Aang, Katara, and Sokka's last visit, Omashu has fallen to the Fire Nation and has been renamed "New Ozai" by Princess Azula. The entire city is seen going under massive reconstruction to better suit the Fire Nation, and a huge statue of Ozai is seen under construction at the top of Omashu (though his face remains obscured). The normal citizens, however, flee the city under the guise of an epidemic shortly after Aang arrives.
Great Divide
The largest canyon in the world, the Great Divide is found in the Earth Kingdom and can be crossed in about a full day if one has an expert guide. It is said that the canyon was first formed by angered Earth Spirits who lacked proper sacrifices from local farmers. The canyon is home to various insects and arachnoid creatures, mostly those known as Canyon Crawlers. The creatures possess a superior sense of smell and will attack passers-by if they are carrying food.
Aunt Wu's village
Home to Aunt Wu, a fortuneteller whose fortunes are taken as gospel, it is situated at the foot of an active volcano. When Aang, Katara, and Sokka visit, the volcano is about to erupt, though the villagers refuse to believe them because Aunt Wu says otherwise until the trio manipulate the clouds and use Aunt Wu to tell the villagers the volcano will erupt.
Growing on the Mt. Matapu's rim are panda lilies, black and white striped flowers young men give to their Lovers, and wandering in nearby forests are platypus-bears.
Chin Village
It is revealed by Aang, Sokka, and Katara that while Avatar Kyoshi did kill Chin, it was in self-defense as he was conquering the continent (See Avatar Kyoshi). The current celebration of Avatar Day is to honour Aang's defeat of the Rough Rhinos attacking the town, complete with uncooked dough cookies in the shape of Aang to represent "how the Avatar was not boiled in oil", as this was to be Aang's punishment for Kyoshi killing Chin.
Ba Sing Se
Ba Sing Se is the capital of the Earth Kingdom. It withstood a six-hundred day siege led by the Fire Nation's General Iroh, which ended after Iroh's son, Lu Ten, died on the front lines and Iroh was in too much grief to continue. Judging from Admiral Zhao's speech in "The Blue Spirit," it is under attack by the Fire Nation again. After King Bumi surrendered Omashu, Ba Sing Se is the last great Earth Kingdom stronghold & last real barrier against the Fire Nation. Uncle Iroh has described the city's wall as "grand".
Sand Benders
Out in the Earth kingdom's desert, there is a small group of nomads with the ability to bend sand. Little is known except that they have boat-like vehicles which they propel with sand to move about the desert. Their clothes look middle-eastern. In "The Library," they captured Appa. In "The Desert," upon Aang and company found an abandoned Sandbender boat, leading them to a large beehive, and finally to one of the Sandbender tribes, where they found one of the people responsible for the capture of Appa. It was at this point that Aang, driven by intense rage, entered the Avatar State, at which point Katara embraced him, and Aang slowly slipped out of the Avatar State, with tears streaming down his face.
Influences
In many aspects, the Earth Kingdom is modelled on ancient Korea in terms of architecture and clothing (Earth Kingdom women wearing the Hanbok), and China in terms of combat style. The resident hippy, hillbilly, spectator sports fan, and Old Western cowboy stereotypes, however, suggest parallels to the United States of America. The desert sandbenders resemble that of Middle Eastern people, most likely the Bedouins. Given its sheer size, both in area and expanse the Earth Kingdom may well contain many different cultures and sub-cultures. [citation needed]
Notable figures
See also
| The Last Airbender (The Legend of Aang) |
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| The Legend of Korra |
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| Chronicles of the Avatar | |||||||||||||
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