Tipani

Sym­bol of the Tipani

The Tipani were one of the first clans to have cont­act with humans on Pan­do­ra. While they are a very spi­ri­tu­al clan, they are also cun­ning and high­ly dan­ge­rous in com­bat, known for their fier­ce and vir­tuous war­ri­ors and natu­ral­ly skil­led hun­ters. The Tipani rely hea­vi­ly on their keen sen­ses and pre­da­to­ry instincts for sur­vi­val. During their ado­le­s­cent years, strict focus is set on deve­lo­ping both the mind and body for batt­le under the gui­dance of the clan elders.

Their sta­tu­es­que pre­sence, bru­te strength, astu­te sen­se of hea­ring, and sharp eye­sight enable the Tipani to walk the land wit­hout fear. Sure and light-foo­ted, a Tipani goes easi­ly unde­tec­ted. The most expe­ri­en­ced Tipani war­ri­or can stalk their prey with such pre­cis­i­on that the hun­ted scar­ce­ly rea­li­zes its dan­ger until only moments befo­re its unfort­u­na­te demi­se. This silent hun­ting style is reflec­ted by the Tipani’s other­world­ly deme­an­or. A Tipani rare­ly speaks, but when one does, it is with careful con­side­ra­ti­on and often car­ri­es con­sidera­ble weight.

The Tipani are the only clan known to live in more than a dozen sepa­ra­te vil­la­ges, across a vast txan­lo­k­xe (clan ter­ri­to­ry). Tipani lea­der­ship con­sists of one tsa­hìk who also ser­ves as olo’eyktan, with seve­ral lea­ders below the tsa­hìk in various villages.

While many clans have a hand in fashio­ning armor, the Tipani are the only ones to wear the­se pro­tec­ti­ve pie­ces regu­lar­ly. In fact, the­re is a ward­ro­be of various armors for spe­ci­fic pur­po­ses such as hun­ting, trai­ning and batt­le, and less aggres­si­ve­ly, sin­ging and dancing. The armor is most­ly made of bones, shells, plants, insects and even claws of decea­sed ani­mals. The Tipani belie­ve the ani­mals’ pre­da­to­ry and sur­vi­val instincts are trans­fer­red to the war­ri­or who wears the armor.