Right lol? Why did everyone in that thread just gloss over the fact that the guru is a racist caricature of Hindus created by white men? People also love to ignore all the south Asian influences in the ATLA world, including the word avatar itself and the concept of 4 elements
When we talk about the amount of war crimes by Turkey People forget to mention how much Turkish invaders literally plundered India. Before all monarchs in India had rules to not attack civilians and then arrived barbaric Turkic invadors. They brutally murdered civilians. Turkey needs to be held accountable for these war crimes too. Idc how long it has been
disclaimer: i was raised culturally and religiously hindu, and though i've tried to do my research for this post and pair it with my own cultural knowledge, i'm not an expert on hinduism by any means. should i mess up, please let me know.
please also be aware that many of the concepts discussed in this post overlap heavily with religions such as buddhism and jainism, which might have different interpretations and representations. as i'm not from those religions or cultures, i don't want to speak on them, but if anyone with that knowledge wishes to add on, please feel free.
it's well-known that atla draws from indigenous, east and southeast asian influences, but something i rarely see discussed in the fandom is the influences the show takes from hinduism and south asia, and there are actually far more than i think people are aware of.
so here's a (non-exhaustive list) of the main inspirations atla drew from south asian culture and hinduism, starting with...
The Avatar
the title of the show itself is taken from the ancient language of sanskrit, often considered the sacred tongue of the hindu religion. in sanskrit, the word "avatar" means to "descend" or "alight".
the concept of the avatar is a very old one, referring to the physical incarnation of a powerful deity or spirit. the idea of the avatar is most often linked to the god Vishnu, one of three supreme hindu gods collectively called the trimurti, or trinity. the avatar is said to manifest upon earth primarily in times of great need, when balance must be maintained between the forces of good and evil.
atla borrows heavily from this idea in having aang be the incarnation of a divine spirit who returns to the world during a time of immense strife, and is tasked with defeating a great evil to bring balance back to the world. and though i don't know if it was an intentional reference, it's interesting to note that Krishna, the most famous incarnation of Vishnu was also reborn amidst a fierce storm and carried through a raging sea to a new home where he would be protected from the king who sought to kill him. sounds a little familiar, doesn't it?
Agni Kai and the Philosophy of Firebending
the word "agni" derives from the sanskrit name Agni, the god of fire, though it can also generally mean "fire".
the concepts of lightning bending and the sun being the source of firebending are likely also taken from the idea of Agni, since he's said to exist simultaneously in three different forms on three different dimensions: as fire on earth, as lightning in the atmosphere, and as the sun in the sky.
Agni is a significant aspect of many rituals, including marriage rites, death rites, and the festivals of holi and diwali. the concept of Agni is one of duality: life and death, rebirth and destruction. hindu rituals accept and celebrate both aspects, revolving around the idea that destruction is not separate from creation, but rather necessary to facilitate it. the cremation of the dead, for instance, is seen as purification, not destruction: burning away the physical form so the soul is unencumbered, set free to continue the reincarnation cycle.
this influence can be seen in the firebending masters episode, which discusses the idea of fire being vital to life. the sun warriors safeguarding the original fire and demanding that zuko and aang bring fire to the dragons as a sacrifice could also reference the ritual of Agnihotra - the ritual of keeping a fire at the home hearth and making offerings to it. the purpose of this ritual differs depending on which text you refer to, but it is generally believed to purify the person and atmosphere in which it is performed, similar to how zuko and aang must make offerings to ran and shaw and survive their fire before being deemed worthy and pure.
Agnihotra is said to serve as a symbolic reminder of the vitality and importance of fire as the driving force of life, a lesson that zuko and aang also internalize from their encounter with the dragons.
Bumi
bumi's name is taken from the sanskrit word "bhumi", which means "earth". it's also the name of the hindu goddess of the earth, bumi or bhudevi.
one of the things the original animation didn't do and which i really enjoyed about the live action was that they made bumi indian and added desi inspiration to omashu. it makes perfect sense for a king whose name is as hindu-inspired as they come.
NWT Royal Palace
chief arnook's palace in the northern water tribe takes inspiration from the gopurams of hindu temples, massive pyramidal structures that served as entrance towers to the temple.
gopurams were built tall enough to be seen for miles around, beacons to signal tired or weary travellers who wished for a place to rest that a temple was nearby. it's a nice touch that the chief's palace is located in front of the spirit oasis, a similarly symbolic entryway to a sanctuary housing otherworldly deities.
Betrothal Necklaces
to preface: i doubt this was an intentional reference, and this great post talks about other cultures that could have inspired the water tribe betrothal necklaces. given the desi influence in the nwt architecture however, i figured it was worth mentioning.
the idea of betrothal necklaces being given to women by their male partners is similar to the thaali, a necklace given to hindu wives by their husbands. during hindu weddings, grooms tie the thaali around their brides' necks to symbolize their marriage. once given, wives are expected to wear their thaali till the day they die, as doing so is believed to bring good luck, health and prosperity to their husbands.
Chi-Blocking
though chi-blocking takes primary inspiration from the art of Dim Mak, it is also influenced by the south indian martial arts forms of adimurai and kalaripayattu, both of which include techniques of striking vital points in the body to disable or kill an opponent.
kalaripayattu also shares parallels with firebending, being a very physically demanding, aggressive martial art that emphasises the importance of discipline and mental fortitude. control of the mind is essential to control of the body, a philosophy similar to that espoused by iroh across the show.
Wan Shi Tong's Library
the library draws inspiration partly from the taj mahal, the famous mausoleum constructed by shah jahan during the mughal empire as a monument to his beloved wife, mumtaz mahal.
i'll end this post here since it's getting too long as it is, and the following section will be even longer. for while atla treated the concepts in this post with respect, the same unfortunately cannot be said for its depiction of guru pathik and combustion man - both of which we'll be discussing next.
I did not have high expectations to begin with, but I am genuinely blown away by how much I despise NATLA. Every moment reeks of cynical corporate cowardice. "We can't have Sokka be sexist, people will think we're endorsing sexism!" "We can't have Katarra be angry, people will think she's a nag!" "We can't have Aang abandon his responsibilities on purpose, people might think he's bad or flawed instead of the perfect good hero!" Just, decision after decision that demonstrates not only a complete misunderstanding of the source material, but a lack of understanding of, like, stories in general. Of why they work. Of why we even bother to tell them. Every decision made in NATLA feels like it was born in a board room and designed to make the characters and world a more palatable product, something they could more easily sell, something that will go down smooth and not offend anyone. Well, newsflash, assholes; I'm pretty fuckin' offended, and I'm not alone. You're too cowardly to give your characters flaws they need to work to overcome, but you have no problem showing a genocide onscreen, that's fine. Character development is bad! Let's replace it all with pointless action scenes and the dryest, most sleepily delivered exposition in the history of film! Fun? We can't show our characters having fun. Fun is for children. What's that? Our characters are children? Well, too bad, our target audience is people who liked Game of Thrones, so those kids are just gonna have to learn to be miserable.
Alright, I gotta stop talking about this or I'm going to choke someone, possibly myself.
You also forgot to mention how they actually thought that brown people are interchangeable and no representation of North East Indian...why you atla fans always excluding. The whole omanshu was so disappointing. They should do better
Avatar the last Airbender fans talk so much about perfection in casting of accurate descent actor but Avatar is rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism also originated in India . Buddha was born in Nepal ...so the casting of Aang should have been from Nepal/North Eastern/ Tibetan descent. Why does this fandom always erases ancient India influence. Also saying Buddhism influence is never going to take away from ancient Indian influence. India originated Buddhism. Especially ethnicity I belong to ,they spread it .My ancestor helped in Buddha achieving his enlightenment. You people were mad about sokka casting why was their not fight enough for Indian subcontinent representation? You people fought a lot for water tribe casting. People are just hypocrites and also racist towards South Asian in atla fandom. Considering how racist are east Asian and SEA region people towards South Asian.. oh well the casting...
And dear westerners croony sjws of atla fandom please get in your head easily that Asians are not interchangeable..
PS: there is no hate for any actor being cast Gordon is the loveliest kid .I am just angry at casting and atla fandom (who are not so woke and as educated). Lack of enthusiasm and acknowledgment towards this is very very disappointing. Especially this fandom really throws their half baked ideologies on others. Just do better
THANK YOU I’VE BEEN SAYING THE SAME THING FOR AGES
there is no desi or hindu-coded rep other than maybe guru pathik, despite so much of the lore coming from hinduism and buddhism, two dharmic religions
and I might get hate for this but I’ve seen a decent enough number of people try to correct this by trying to add muslim rep on fanon or in fics or whatever and no!! that’s nowhere near the same thing! we are not interchangeable, ESPECIALLY when it comes to this!
Why should they hate when they spoke so strongly about Inuit being casting as water tribe. When it comes to hinduism why people act so passive. I did not even like what they even did to omanshu with whole middle eastern influnence. And why do other brown people suddenly want westerner to think we are interchangeable. There was so much debate during Ms Marvel casting and I am bringing the same debate here But showing zero enthusiasm towards being perfect ethnicity casting towards aang. Casting of more Indian ( mostly north eastern) or Nepalese. The core of avatar is hinduism because it does believe in soul/ incarnation. It's just upsetting to see people don't acknowledge it
Avatar the last Airbender fans talk so much about perfection in casting of accurate descent actor but Avatar is rooted in Hinduism and Buddhism also originated in India . Buddha was born in Nepal ...so the casting of Aang should have been from Nepal/North Eastern/ Tibetan descent. Why does this fandom always erases ancient India influence. Also saying Buddhism influence is never going to take away from ancient Indian influence. India originated Buddhism. Especially ethnicity I belong to ,they spread it .My ancestor helped in Buddha achieving his enlightenment. You people were mad about sokka casting why was their not fight enough for Indian subcontinent representation? You people fought a lot for water tribe casting. People are just hypocrites and also racist towards South Asian in atla fandom. Considering how racist are east Asian and SEA region people towards South Asian.. oh well the casting...
And dear westerners croony sjws of atla fandom please get in your head easily that Asians are not interchangeable..
PS: there is no hate for any actor being cast Gordon is the loveliest kid .I am just angry at casting and atla fandom (who are not so woke and as educated). Lack of enthusiasm and acknowledgment towards this is very very disappointing. Especially this fandom really throws their half baked ideologies on others. Just do better
THANK YOU I’VE BEEN SAYING THE SAME THING FOR AGES
there is no desi or hindu-coded rep other than maybe guru pathik, despite so much of the lore coming from hinduism and buddhism, two dharmic religions
and I might get hate for this but I’ve seen a decent enough number of people try to correct this by trying to add muslim rep on fanon or in fics or whatever and no!! that’s nowhere near the same thing! we are not interchangeable, ESPECIALLY when it comes to this!
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