What is a tulkun? What does Toruk Makto mean? Before going to see “Avatar: the way of the water”, review your Na’vi and check that you know the meaning of these 8 words.
12 years after the first Avatar, as the second installment of the saga hits theaters this Wednesday, December 14, your next trip to Pandora is fast approaching. Before following in the footsteps of Jake Sully and Neytiri, the time has come to check that you have mastered the basics of the Na’vi language. Between Eywa, tulkun and Toruk Makto, here are 8 words you will need to know before diving into The Way of the Water.
Omaticaya
20th Century Fox
This is the name of one of the many Na’vi tribes that live on Pandora: the one encountered by the humans of the GDR in the first Avatar, released in 2009. The Omaticayas (who live in the forest, and more precisely in the gigantic Tree-House) welcome the Marine He and Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) learn their customs, going so far as to accept him as one of their own.
tulkun
Walt Disney Company
Absent from the first Avatar, these huge whales that live in the oceans of Pandora have created powerful bonds with the members of the Metkayina clan, who live on the coast, and who are visited by Jake, Neytiri and their children. Like the Metkayina, the tulkun sport tribal tattoos on their fins. They can measure up to 90 meters in length.
Ikran
20th Century Fox
Called “banshees” by humans, these flying dragons that nest in the Hallelujah Mountains (or “Floating Mountains”) of Pandora, serve as companions and mounts to the young hunters of the Omaticaya tribe. To become a full clan member, Jake Sully must choose one and learn to ride it after “bonding” with it.
Olo’eyktan
20th Century Fox
This term refers to the chief of a Na’vi tribe. In the first Avatar, the Omaticaya clan is led by Eytukan (Wes Studi), Neytiri’s father, then by Tsu’tey (Laz Alonzo). At the death of the latter, it is Jake Sully who takes the head of the tribe. As for the Metkayina clan, which we meet in Avatar: The Way of the Water, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) is the Olo’eyktan.
Tzahik
20th Century Fox
Spiritual leader of the clan and wife of the Olo’eyktan, the Tsahik is a bit like the shaman of a Na’vi tribe. She takes care of the ceremonies, and has a special link with Eywa. Among the Omaticayas, it is Mo’at who assumes this role before passing it on to his daughter Neytiri. As for the Metkayina, who are at the center of the second opus, their Tsahik is Ronal… interpreted by Kate Winslet.
Metkayina
Walt Disney Company
Led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), the Metkayina tribe dwells on the shores of Pandora and cultivates a deep and special connection with the planet’s oceans and the many creatures that inhabit them. Besides the gigantic tulkunthe Metkayina live in contact with ilu and skimwing. In Avatar: The Way of the Water, they welcome Jake Sully, Neytiri, and their children.
Toruk Makto
20th Century Fox
the Torukor Greater Leonopteryx (nicknamed “the last shadow”) is a specimen ofIkran particularly imposing and powerful, feared by all Na’vi warriors. Whoever manages to tame it – even if such a feat has only been accomplished on very rare occasions in the history of the Omaticaya people – is therefore called Toruk Makto, that is to say “rider of the last shadow”. It is by accomplishing this feat that Jake Sully regains the trust of the tribe, and that he can unite the Na’vi clans against the RDA, at the end of the first Avatar.
Eywa
20th Century Fox
Divinity of the planet Pandora venerated by the Na’vi, Eywa participates (according to them) in guaranteeing the ecosystem of the planet by uniting all living beings to each other, like the neural connections which interact in a single and same brain. At the end of the first Avatar, she thus allows Jake Sully to leave his human body to definitively integrate that of his avatar.