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Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 31, 2025, 8:02 AM

Director, Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation; Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government Director, Project on Indigenous Governance and Development and Julie Johnson Kidd Professor of Indigenous Governance and Development Democracy Visiting Fellow, AY2024-2025 Non-resident Democracy Fellow, AY2025-2026 Non-resident Democracy Fellow, AY2025-2026 Professor of Public Policy, James Bryant Conant University Professor Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

Jake Sully and his family find themselves up against a formidable, familiar-looking threat in Avatar: Fire and Ash When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. After three years away, we return to Pandora for another action-packed adventure in Avatar: Fire and Ash – and this time, it's not just whale-hunting humans Jake Sully and co have to worry about. Still reeling from the death of their son, Neteyam, the fractured family find themselves defending their home from the murderous Ash people, or Mangkwan clan, led by the vindictive Varang in the latest sequel. But why would Na'vi attack Na'vi?

In Avatar: The Way of Water, we saw that Ronal and the other Reef People didn't exactly welcome the forest dwellers with open arms, but they grew to accept (and even care for) their... So what's Varang's deal? We dive into all that below, so it goes without saying that there are major spoilers to follow! With Varang still breathing at the end of Fire and Ash, and the possibility of two more Avatar movies still to come, there's probably a whole lot of backstory and lore director James Cameron... In short, the Mangkwan clan's motivations are admittedly vague in the flick. But we'll unpack all that we know so far, anyway, from mentions of Varang's traumatic childhood to her sinister team-up with the RDA's Colonel Miles Quaritch.

Scroll on for more... The mission of the Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation is to develop ideas and foster practices for equal and inclusive, multiracial and multiethnic democracy and self-government. The Ash Center believes that diverse perspectives are paramount to better understanding and addressing real-world problems. As a global community that brings together students, faculty, staff, and fellows, with practitioners and policymakers from around the world, we focus on advancing excellence in democracy and self-government. We are committed to fostering an environment of rigor, curiosity, and integrity. As a Center, we therefore value and respect different opinions, lived experiences, and diverse research and policy areas and approaches.

We continue to strive for excellence while creating an equitable and inclusive community for all. The Ash Center is proud to be part of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Harvard Kennedy School’s mission is to improve public policy and leadership so people can live in societies that are more safe, free, just, and sustainably prosperous. By combining cutting-edge research, the teaching of outstanding students, and direct interaction with practitioners, we have an impact on solving public problems that no other institution can match. Students and alumni of Harvard Kennedy School are showing their commitment to public service in their countries, states, cities, and tribal governments around the world.

Archon Fung, Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government at Harvard Kennedy School, was appointed director of the Ash Center in July 2022. His research explores policies, practices, and institutional designs that deepen the quality of democratic governance with a focus on public participation, deliberation, and transparency. He has authored five books, four edited collections, and over fifty articles appearing in professional journals. He received two S.B.s — in philosophy and physics — and his Ph.D. in political science from MIT. Posted in: 20th Century Studios, Movies | Tagged: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Pandora has a lot of lore, and following the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, we have BTS featurettes focusing on The Matriarch, The Ash People, and the Tsyong. There is a lot you can say about the world of Avatar, but one thing that you can't say is that the world lacks lore. There is a lot going on here, and director James Cameron has always wanted to share it. Much like Middle-earth and Tolkien, it's probably only a matter of time before we get the Avatar version of The Silmarillion. Now that Avatar: Fire and Ash is out, we've been getting a steady stream of featurettes diving into the new aspects of this world that were introduced. The first one is about The Matriach.

There was a tweet that went around not long after the embargo came down about how this movie has way more whale court scenes than you would expect, and everything with The Matriarch is... Giant intelligent whales that are over everyone's drama. The Ash People are obviously a major part of this film. Over the course of three movies, we've seen several different tribes of Na'vi that focus on different elements. Initially, we followed a group which focused on the land, next the water, and now fire [with a little air as well]. The Ash People and how they fit into the different conflicts on Pandora, and who they eventually end up aligning with in Avatar: Fire and Ash, have a lot to do with how they...

Finally, we have the Tsyong, which is going to tap into anyone's fear of squids if they have one [hello, my roommate from college]. A bunch of very fast, very large squid-like creatures that run in packs? These guys play a big part in the water aspect of the final battle in Avatar: Fire and Ash. Open Daily from 6AM - 10PMBreakfast 6:00 AM - 10:30 AM Alder & Ash is located at the corner of 7th and Pike in heart of downtown Seattle. Located in the Central Business District across from the Seattle Convention Center Arch, Alder & Ash is the perfect place for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a late night cocktail.

We are open during our service changeovers with limited food menus and welcome all guests at these times. The clan rejects Eywa and resents her. Members of the clan are violent raiders and hostile towards other Na'vi clans, such as the Tlalim and the Aranahe whom they attack. They act as pirates and pillage for resources. Following the Second Pandoran War, the Mangkwan joined forces with the Resources Development Administration to take down the Resistance and claim Pandora. They aim to dominate all other Na'vi clans and spread their fire across the whole moon.

The Mangkwan clan once lived in ways not much different from the Omatikaya. However, they had a history of hostility and were avoided and shunned by most Na'vi.[2] There once was a gigantic hometree in the center of their village. However, a volcanic eruption had befallen them, turning their hometree into a charred stump and their village into a desolate place of ash. This incident horrifically killed many of their clan members, and they suffered brutal ends as people died from burning to death, experiencing great suffering.[1] The Mangkwan prayed and begged Eywa for help, but she never came, and the clan began to wonder what the purpose was of honoring a deity and a force that was unable to save...

Located in the heart of downtown Seattle, Alder & Ash is a stylish and bustling bar and grill featuring New American cuisine and craft cocktails infused with the spirit of the Pacific Northwest. We are located at the corner of 7th and Pike. Just steps from local theaters, shopping and the Seattle Convention Center Arch, Alder & Ash is the perfect place to gather with friends, family or colleagues for lunch, dinner or drinks. We look forwarded to seeing you at Alder & Ash! Executive Chef Jason Stratton has joined Alder & Ash to bring our Pacific Northwest inspired New American cuisine and regionally inspired dishes to Seattleites and travelers alike. The innovative spirit and passion for excellence in our dishes shine through with fresh, local ingredients and relationships with local purveyors providing the very best our region has to offer.

Choose from properly mixed classic cocktails and creative signature drinks. We're also pouring long lists of regional wines and craft beers. Cheers! In the season finale, author and political theorist Laura Field joins co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer to unpack the ideas and beliefs of the New Right and their impact on elections, race, and... Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer unpack the latest developments in the Epstein saga and explore what they reveal about shifting political alignments, growing demands for accountability, and the relationship between power and public... Co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer look back at the last five months of headlines as they celebrate the twentieth episode of Terms of Engagement.

Ash Center Seminar Room 225, Suite 200, 124 Mount Auburn Street 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST In science fiction, there's a tendency to depict alien races as having a monoculture. Take "Star Trek," where Vulcans are logical by nature, Klingons are bloodthirsty, etc. Allegorical sci-fi, like "Trek," will often use aliens as coded versions of real human cultures, after all. Yet that impulse to alien-code sows the trope's folly; in real life, we humans have many different cultures, so why wouldn't aliens be the same? James Cameron's "Avatar" films are ahead of the curve here.

The Na'vi species are split among different tribes, each with unique cultures and aesthetics, and each "Avatar" film has introduced a new Na'vi tribe. The 2009 original focused on the Omatikaya clan, or the "Forest People," which Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) joins. The 2022 sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water" switched focus to the semi-aquatic Metkayina clan, "Sea People," who live in a coastal village and commune with the whale-like tulkun. Now the third film, "Fire & Ash," has brought in a third and much more violent Na'vi people: the Mangkwan, "Ash People," who ally with the human colonists against Jake and his family. The Ash People, fittingly, live in a burned out volcano. Once their home was lush, before an eruption destroyed it.

Thus, they turned their back on Eywa (the living super-intelligence of Pandora) while their leader, a witch named Varang (Oona Chaplin), learned to master fire herself. Cameron recounted in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that the Ash People were inspired by his trip to meet the Baining people of Papua New Guinea. The Mangkwan's fire-dancing and burned out village are ripped right from what Cameron witnessed while visiting the Baining people. In "Fire & Ash," the Mangkwan are seen fire dancing after they capture the Sully family children. Like Varang's other rituals, the dance appears to involve some sadomasochism, including slight blood spilling. Real fire dances as conducted by the Baining people do involve running through fire and kicking sparks all around where they can singe flesh.

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