Ritual songs can be described as way a’eoio, ‘ceremonial ancient song’. Communal ritual celebration of the home and mourning for the dead are universal across all the Na’vi clans on Pandora. They are also the most important ritual songs. Musically speaking, these are the simplest (and probably the oldest) of Na’vi songs. They are sung in unison, and in a meter of three, which is believed to represent the trilogy of Eywa, Kelutral, and the Na’vi. They are slow and solemn in nature and lyrically express the interconnectivity of the trilogy. There is no ornamentation of the melody because the Na’vi feel that, in this context, anything superfluous detracts from the purity of the message.
All way a’eoio begin and end on the first beat of the meter, which is the strongest and reflects the strength, shelter, and providence of Eywa. In the case of the Omatikaya clan, the third beat represents Kelutral, which always leads the singer back to the first beat, Eywa. The second beat is the weakest of the three. It represents the Na’vi themselves, symbolically nestled between Eywa and Hometree and drawing strength from both.
The songs also express the interconnectivity of the trilogy through the lyrics. For example, in the following song, which can be sung both in celebration and in mourning, the link among Pandora’s beings is clearly represented in the first line:
| Utralä (a)nawm,
Ayrina’ l(u) ayoeng, A peyä tìtxur mì hinam awngeyä, N(a) aysangek afkew, Mì pun, N(a) ayvul ahusawnu, M(ì) aynari, Na seze, A ’ong ne tsawke. Utralä (a)nawm, Ayrina’ l(u) ayoeng, A peyä tìrol m(ì) awnga. |
Of the Great Tree,
We are seeds, Whose strength is in our legs, Like the mighty trunks, In our arms, Like the sheltering branches, In our eyes, Like the blue flower, That blooms towards the sun. Of the Great Tree, We are seeds, Whose song is in us. |
The following lyrics from the Spiral Song also reveal the belief among the Na’vi that music is the prime cultural expression through which they identify and express the link between Pandora and themselves:
| Pamtseol ngop ayrenut,
Mì ronsemä tìfnu, Tengfya ngop säftxuyul, Mì hifkey. Chorus Awnga rol fte kivame, Kame fte rivol, Rerol tengkrr kerä, Ìlä fya’o avol, Ne kxamtseng. Aywayl yìm kifkeyä ’Ìheyut avomrr, Sìn tireafya’o avol, Na waytelemä hìng. |
Music creates patterns,
In the silence of the mind, Just as a weaver does, In the world. Chorus We sing to See, See to sing, Singing while going, Along the eight paths, To the center. The ancient songs bind the world’s Thirteen spirals, Onto the eight spirit paths, Like the threads of a song cord. |