The Na'vi

Music

As soon as they are able, Na'vi children begin to learn the skills they will need to survive as adults. Many of those skills are taught to them using simplified versions of adult social songs. In many cases, play games with song, chant, or rhythmic accompaniment teach actual skills like hunting, riding, fire-making, weaving, and food preparation. One of the most important rhythmic practices that children must learn are the warning rhythms played on the warning drum.

Many of the songs deal with the plant and animal life of their world. Through these, children learn the ecology of their world: which creatures are friendly and which are not, what things to eat and what to avoid, and the need to respect for all living things.

Other songs, sung by parents and children during quiet family time, teach the mythology and history of the Na'vi as well as the close connection between the Na'vi and their world.

Musical skills are not taught, but are picked up by children through practice and imitation of adults. On their own, children will imitate adult musical styles but will make up their own lyrics, usually teasing other children or bragging about themselves.

Hunt songs are often used to accompany rights of passage, including a precursor to the moment when a Na'vi first bonds with his or her banshee. They may be sung in unison, but more often are chanted breathlessly. During Uniltaron, in which a Na'vi seeks their spirit animal during a chemically-induced trance, each Na'vi expresses himself musically as the spirit moves.

Other hunt songs focus on hunting activities, extolling the strength of both hunter and hunted, praying for worthiness of the hunter, speaking to the spirits of the forest creatures, etc. These may be sung in many contexts: before or during a hunt, prior to battle with external forces, and during social events.

All tutean tìrol have a strong pulsating rhythm. However, one interesting aspect of Na'vi music is that, in certain cases, the same song lyrics may be performed in different styles, depending on the specific context in which they are used.

Many of the songs for puberty rituals and hunting are performed as non-melodic group chanting in a very forceful, rhythmic grunting style. In this style, the glottal stops and ejective consonants inherent in the Na'vi language are emphasized. (See lyrics below). It is believed that this chanting or grunting style is the oldest extant Na'vi expressive style, because of the way that the song style incorporates and emphasizes these linguistic elements.

Songs sung during pre-hunt rituals are chanted, accompanied by numerous different sizes of sturmbeest gongs. When used as social dance songs, they are sung in unison, accompanied by various drums, including pole drums. Unlike Hometree music, here the vocal range is typically limited to an octave and a half (in Earth terminology).

Uniltaron, or "Dream Hunt" songs are especially interesting. While under the chemically-induced effects that mark the Dream Hunt, a Na'vi may utilize any kind of expression: standard social song structures, imitations of domestic cascading vocal style or children's songs from deep in their memories, wildly improvised songs, or chants. The only type of songs never heard in this context are personal songs or the ritual songs of mourning.

The Na'vi people have no indigenous musical theory; they do not analyze or codify their musical creations. Like many aboriginal cultures, they believe that their music was given to them by Eywa, the great spirit of Pandora. Songs come to the Na'vi through dreams, while wandering alone, or while linked with the consciousness of Pandora through their queues. Na'vi do not claim ownership; the songs belong to all.

After the establishment of communication with the Na'vi, Terran researchers came to the moon to observe and investigate Na'vi life. Xenomusicologists came along on later excursions to Pandora and, through the avatars, began to analyze the musical performances, musical instruments, song structures, and musical function. What they found was in some ways typical of Earth's aboriginal cultures (the predominance of vocal music and drums), but they also discovered some significant differences such as the use of numerous different scale structures, many different textures, and divergent yet simultaneous singing styles.