The banana fruit, or utumauti, ‘canopy fruit’, grows high in the canopy and, by virtue of its inaccessibility, is considered to be a more special treat. It is considered very lucky to find this species uneaten on the ground, and many Na’vi will wait until they are back at Hometree to show it to others before eating. It is considered good manners to offer it to a friend or loved one. It is also customary to refuse such an offer while insisting that Eywa meant for the fruit to be enjoyed by the finder.
A common joke is to pretend to accept the offered banana fruit, and begin to take a bite before then declining and giving it back to the lucky ‘finder’.
Everyone laughs at this pretend social transgression, because to accept the gift would be extremely rude. In some young male circles, a would-be recipient pretends to start to eat the fruit, and the finder must wrestle it back in a good natured ‘fight’. On occasion, the utumauti is squashed in the process and no one gets it, negating any purported ‘luck’. This is uproarious to Na’vi adolescents.
