Eywa is the Way

Sometimes it would seem that the capital, in human capital, has trumped the human and the environment at the cost of all humanity. In the movie Avatar, directed by James Cameron, the Na’vi people reject the human capitalist mindset and instead embrace the way of Eywa. Eywa is a sacred deity that is the collective consciousness of the land of Pandora as well as a representation of the interconnectedness with the Na’vi people and their land. In the film, the world has been run down of our own natural resources so we outsource to a place called Pandora which is being threatened by the Resources Development Administration (RDA), with the use of a United States military group, who wishes to strip the land of a precious material, Unobtanium, which was believed to cost 20 million dollars per kilo. That money paid for the scientific explorations of the RDA and lined the pockets of the higher ups in charge of the operation. Money, a human construct, has become the most important resource on Earth, above all else; even if it means destroying their world, or any other world, to get it. The relationship the Na’vi people have with their land and deity, Ewya, presents a lifestyle, rooted in deep respect and honor for their environment, mirrors the natural mindset and lifestyle humans should have been living all along, acknowledging our inherent connection with nature that has since been forsaken. 

The Na’vi people respect their land and every living creature that inhabits it due to their strong connection to the deity Eywa. This deity seems to be the mother goddess of the entire planet of Pandora; all living things are Eywa and the Na’vi people are caretakers of the land. The Tree of Souls, known as the Vitraya Ramunong, seems to be the most sacred place on Pandora to the Omatikaya clan, as they consider it to be the closest physical connection to Eywa. When you mix culture, religion, and beliefs with nature, it is only natural for people to begin to care about whatever it is that is in the center of that; nature. Nature cannot speak for itself to gain the love and respect of humans nor fend for itself against the humanistic greed for money and power that has taken over the collective consciousness of the human race since the 1760s. The culture of the Na’vi people is the driving force of why they live in harmony with nature; they see everything on their land as living with value and a purpose. The trees, water, animals etc. all have a natural level of respect that they garner just by being a part of the environment. In this ideological thinking, humans, or in this case Na’vi, are not apart from nature but rather a part; they hold no more importance than the animals around them. In one of the early scenes of the movie Jake Sully, a human who is occupying an Avatar to visit Pandora, is surrounded and attacked by animals that are similar to hyenas on Earth. He seems to be moments away from his death until a Na’vi native comes in and kills the pact who threaten Jake and scare away the rest. After absorbing what had just unfolded, Jake tries to thank the woman but she ignores him and walks away. As he follows her he again tries to force his gratitude upon her until she turns around and strikes Jake saying “No thank for this; this is only sad. They did not need to die” Jake is confused by this as he protests that they attacked him so he is not the “bad guy” in this scenario. Ultimately, the woman, who we later know as Neytiri, is trying to convey the message that it was Jake’s fault for being in their environment; because of his ignorance, all of those animals died despite being in their own home. This represents a clear example of how the Na’vi understand that all living things have their own respect and regard on this planet; that they are a part of this harmonious land, not the sole ruler. In human culture, this sort of mentality is not mirrored as  we hunt for sport because we see ourselves as apart from our land and as more important than any other aspect of nature. This sort of thinking is what got the humans in this film in the position of outsourcing in the first place: by not respecting the environment around them it began to revoke its natural offerings. 

While the Na’vi live in harmony with nature, the humans in this film have often disregarded the interconnectedness naturally shared between humans and nature, leading to severe consequences. The Na’vi attempt to teach the Sky People, humans from Earth that inhabit Avatars, their ways but ultimately not every person is convinced leading to the ultimate destruction of their home. The military group goes in and destroys the Tree of Souls, as the Unobtainium recides underneath it. In one fell swoop, not only did they wipe away ample culture, spiritual importance, and people, but they depleted a land that was once full of life, energy, and resources. The tree was destroyed and with it the spirit of the Na’vi people. Throughout the film the entire forest glowed literally and figuratively with light, a light that was representative of the harmonious balance that was cultivated by the Na’vi people. If the humans in this film had an ounce of respect for their environment that the Na’vi had for their land, it would seem that humans and Na’vi could live fruitful lives in harmony with these new peoples and the environment, but instead they chose greed and destruction; destroying a land that has existed for a millennia. All of this destruction and pain for money, a human construct, a piece of paper that will not feed them, that will not give them culture, purpose. The humans in this film are representative of our society today, people who do not care for the environment, but only the parts that are of resource. This sort of thinking is exactly what led the humans to deplete their own world of its resources in the first place. By separating humans from nature, the humanity in humans is also detached; without the connection of being one with the environment, we are sure to one day destroy the world and ourselves with it. 

The humans in this film pose as a clear example of the human-nature conflict, the idea that humans and our advancement are paramount, neglecting the world we live in, or the one the Na’vi inhabit, in order to get there no matter the price. Humans have the capacity to understand the gravity of the decisions made against the environment but because there is such a huge disconnect between people and the environment, it would seem that one day the Earth will have to remind them of how interdependent we are on each other to live. By recognizing the differences between the Na’vi’s harmonious coexistence with nature it begs us as humans to reconnect ourselves with our environment in order to live a better quality of life for ourselves and future generations.