Sandbenders - Culture

Sandbenders.

Sandbenders are the product of their environment, seemingly selfish, greedy and thieves. the Value survival above all things, having learn to make do with less, Sandbenders are experts at putting every thing to use, what some might see as junk becomes vital necessities to a sandbender. Sandbenders horde water and supplies form rival tribes and in harsh seasons ether from other members of their own tribe. Despite what other members of the earth king believe not all Sand benders are thieves, some tribes choosing to cultivate cattle, or work as merchants, in the years after the 100 year war one tribe has even been known to work as tour guides, leading rich earth kingdom tourists on safari. The Stereotype that Sandbenders are raiders and thieves are well founded however, Several Tribes Exist solely on taking the belongings of travelers and other sandbender tribes, Freely taking water, cattle, valuables, and in some cases even people as ransom or slaves. even in Tribes that officially disdain from this dirty work, members looking to increase their own fortune will indulge in this banditry

Sandbenders are very spiritual, Believing all of Si Wong desert is the mortal coil for a Great spirit who protects and punishes them accordingly. many Shamans and spiritualists walk straight out into the desert wearing nothing. if they can survive for 3 days they know the great spirit watches over them. Individual Tribes also pay tribute to individual spirits like totems for example a Tribe favoring Wisdom would pay tribute to Wan Shi Tong and venerate owls.


Sandbenders have a seemingly old world view on gender. Women generally aren't fighters, and rarely do the venture from the Sandbender communes, Outsiders mistake this as a misogynist society. this is a false assumption as in Sandbender communities Women hold most the power all Shamans and Village leaders are women, and their secrets are guarded closely, the secrets of sandbending belong to them, and it is they who teach the younger generations the lore of the spirits, the customs of the people and the secret to controlling the sands. one of the few rules sandbenders Exercise is when conducting raids on other Tribes is to never attack the shamans and Chieftains, doing so would allow them to fight back, the sight of a fully trained shaman or chieftain sandbending has been compared to a howling Sandstorm.

Sandbending resembles water bending and airbending because of the fluid nature of the rock but their is more to it then that, to truly master sand one must master their concentration. a master sand bender learns to feel ever sand grand as he bends it. Despite its similarity to other bending arts the idea of neutral jing, is stil lvery much present in sandbending, because sand flows so freely a sandbender learns fell how the sand will flow and bend it in the way he desires.

Are The Sandbender tribes part of the Earth Kingdom? On the one hand they are earth benders, they live with in the earth Kingdoms border, and they do use Earth kingdom currency (amongst other things). However They Do not pay taxes, they do not respect the authority of the Earth kingdoms ruling body. the thing that probably gives a best answer to this is that Man Sandbenders hate the Earth kingdom and its rulers, and the Feeling is shared by the denizens of the Earth kingdom. There have been attempts on both sides to mend this but they always end in failure. Because of the scattered and tribal nature of Sandbenders and the vastness of the desert they cannon be conquered as a people. This also means the Sandbenders cannot unite to decide a common coarse for their people. Not helping this are the Sandbenders perceived nature as thieves and killers, and the the tribes to willing to live up to this stereotype. Because the Sandbender Shaman pass down all their tales orally, the Sandbenders remember every slight the Earth kingdom has inflicted upon their people. There are many tales of Criminals, Refuges and Political enemies exiled into the desert as punishment, to be adopted by or even become whole sandbender Tribes.
Many stories of aid sought for Plague disease and famine being met with apathy and violence persist even into the current age.