Tsu’tey te Rongloa Ateyo’itan

Pandora, also known as Eywa's Child by the Na'vi (Na'vi name: Eywa'eveng), is an Earth-like habitable extrasolar moon from the Alpha Centauri System, the closest star system to humanity’s own Solar System. It is the fifth moon of the gas giant Polyphemus, which orbits Alpha Centauri A. It is located 4.423 light-years (26 trillion miles) from Earth. The names of both the moon and its mother planet are coined by humans in reference to figures in Greek mythology.

Despite being almost as large as Earth, Pandora is only a moon of a planet that has thirteen other moons. However, due to the smaller mass, Pandora's gravity is 20% less than Earth's, although its atmosphere is much denser than Earth's due to the presence of heavier gases. Depending on the position of the various moons, two or even three moons can be seen at once in the sky of Pandora. This causes solar eclipses to happen on almost a daily basis. Pandora and its sister moons also cast large black shadows on Polyphemus.

Due to Pandora's lower gravity, most creatures on Pandora are hexapods (six-legged), although the Na'vi resemble humans and have only four limbs. Creatures roam the air and forest canopy below, similar to Earth's animals, but on a scale several times larger. One of the most domesticated creatures on Pandora is the direhorse, a gray-skinned, hexapodal herbivorous animal with bioluminescent qualities that the Na'vi ride when hunting, similar to the human usage of horses. The Na'vi also ride the mountain banshee to hunt from the air, but the hunter can become prey in the presence of the great leonopteryx. In the canopy below, other deadly yet exotic wild animals roam: vicious packs of viperwolves, thick skinned hammerhead titanotheres and the most fearsome predatory animal of all, the thanator.

Other than the richness of varying colors, the trees resemble those of Earth. They have the familiar trunks, branches and leaves, though due to the difference in gravity, many of the shapes appear strange to humans and the proportions are greater because of the lower gravity. The trees and plant life of Pandora have formed electrochemical connections between their roots and effectively act as neurons, creating a moon-wide "brain" that has achieved sentience, which is known to the Na'vi as Eywa.

Pandora's wildlife also has bioluminescent qualities. Pandora looks like a lush paradise by Earth standards during the day, but at night, virtually all life on the moon exhibits bioluminescent qualities in various shades of blue, purple and green. This possibly explains the Na'vi's blue skin color, which most likely provides them better camouflage at night on Pandora.

Pandora's atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide (>18%), xenon (>5.5%), methane, and hydrogen sulfide (>1%) and is about 20% denser than the atmosphere on Earth primarily due to the high percentage of Xenon; a heavy, colourless, odourless, and generally unreactive noble gas. The high concentration of carbon dioxide in the Pandoran atmosphere makes it extremely poisonous and unbreathable to humans, rendering them unconscious in about 20 seconds and causing death in about 4 minutes when they venture out unprotected by specialized breathing masks. The hydrogen sulfide present is also quite hazardous; concentrations over 1000 ppm (0.1 %) can cause immediate collapse with subsequent loss of breathing, even after inhalation of a single breath.

The Na'vi are overall humanoid in their anatomy, though they also possess feline features such as flat, bifurcated noses, large, round eyes, pointed ears that can move independently, and a long, prehensile tail used for gripping and balance. The neck is long and body slender, with a narrow, elongated waist and wide shoulders that create a V-shaped upper back. Despite their thin proportions, their musculature is sharply defined and they have roughly four times the strength of even the strongest human. The Na'vi use their superior strength, agility, and uncanny sense of balance to scale trees, rocks, and other obstacles with ease. In the unlikely case of a fall, they usually escape unharmed, as their bones are reinforced with a type of naturally occurring carbon fiber. Distinctly separating them from humans, native Na'vi possess only four digits on each hand and foot, including an opposable thumb and thumb toe.

The skin of the Na'vi is smooth and iridescent, appearing within the blue color spectrum, ranging from greenish-cyan and turquoise found in oceanic clans to deeper blues seen in jungle-fairing Na'vi such as the Omatikaya. The color is due to the presence of cyanin pigment which can "tan" to a darker purple color after prolonged UV exposure.

Clans have an average of 300 members and are traditionally led by an Olo'eyktan, a central leader responsible for overseeing and giving orders to the clan, and a tsahìk, a spiritual leader or shaman who communes with Eywa and nourishes the clan spiritually. It is traditional in certain clans for these leaders to be a mated pair, though this is not always the case, and the relationship between an Olo'eyktan and tsahìk can be highly varied. These leaders will also train an heir, whether it be their child (e.g. Neytiri) or an individual who has proven themselves capable of the role (e.g. Tsu'tey). Independent shamans do exist, however, which the Na'vi call "tiretu". It is not uncommon for Na'vi to switch clans, sometimes due to disagreements, exile, or even boredom and wishing to try a different lifestyle, as seen in cases such as Ateyo, Artsut, and Hawm. Because the Na'vi value autonomy and the ability for their people to have freedom and make their own life choices for their own happiness, the Na'vi are in no way obligated to live and die in the clan they are born in, and many Na'vi are independent travelers. Uturu exists as a universal Na'vi code, allowing weary travelers rest within a clan even if they are not accepted as a clan member.

Sky People are humans, and Dreamwalkers are avatar bodies made from the DNA of Na'vi and humans for humans to send their consciousness to and walk around Pandora without a respirator. The Dreamwalkers look like Na'vi but with five fingers and toes and eyebrows.

Queues of Pandoran wildlife are encased in a "neural whip", a protective layer of skin that houses a set of thin, pinkish tendrils that appear somewhat like hair but are actually extensions of the creature's nervous system. Most Pandoran life forms possess one or two queues. When a creature connects these tendrils with that of another being, an act known to the Na'vi as tsaheylu, it enables mental communication between the two entities and the sharing of information, including memories, emotions, and sensory input. This connection doesn't just happen between two creatures, as many florae of Pandora are capable of initiating tsaheylu as well, notably the Tree of Souls and Tree of Voices, which are access points to the Pandoran neural network.

Although the Na'vi possess a neural whip like most other creatures, it is most often hidden under a layer of hair that is painstakingly braided around the queue to protect it. This braid starts at birth and is maintained throughout a Na'vi's life.[3] Curiously, where most Pandoran creatures possess two queue structures, the Na'vi possess only one, a trait that is shared with prolemuri.

The queues of the Na'vi start at the top of their skull, but on an avatar, it is located at the base of the skull.

The bonding of queues, tsaheylu, with a mountain banshee is a rite of passage that all young Na'vi hunters of the Omatikaya clan must pass, known as Iknimaya. The bond created between rider and animal lasts for a lifetime after the first flight has occurred.

The linking of queues is an essential part of mating, although it is not the sexual act itself.