Aunt Wu
From Avatar Wiki, the Avatar: The Last Airbender database
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|---|---|
| Aunt Wu | |
| Biographical information | |
| Nationality | Earth Kingdom |
| Physical description | |
| Gender | Female |
| Hair color | Gray |
| Eye color | Gray |
| Personal Information | |
| Allies | Meng, Aang, Katara, Makapu Village, more... |
| Enemies | Fire Nation |
| Chronological and political information | |
| Profession |
Fortuneteller |
| First Appearance | |
| Voiced By | Tsai Chin |
Aunt Wu is a fortuneteller who resides in Makapu Village near the active volcano Mt. Makapu. Well-regarded for her free and accurate readings, every prediction she makes is taken as gospel by the village at large. Her methods of divination run from palmistry to oracle bones and cloud reading. She is also helped in her hut by her assistant, Meng.
[edit] History
When Aunt Wu's cloud readings predict the nearby volcano will not destroy the village, Katara and Aang accept the reading, while the more skeptical Sokka grows frustrated with the populace's blind faith. After an expedition to the volcano proves that the volcano has become dangerously active, the three find the only way to convince the villagers of the impending danger is to manipulate the clouds through waterbending and airbending, deliberately shaping them to elicit a more accurate reading. After the village is convinced the town is in danger, they help Aang and the others successfully protect the village from the volcano's fiery lava. Since the town was not destroyed just as Aunt Wu predicted, the villagers believe in Aunt Wu's fortune telling all the more, much to the displeasure and frustration of Sokka.
Unlike her brother, Katara becomes enthralled by the mysticism of fortune telling and the notion of knowing her future. Her reading predicts that she will one day marry a powerful Bender, which sends an eavesdropping Aang into elation. Sokka later notes on the immensity of Aang's bending power as he saves the village, which causes Katara to make a connection between Aang and her fortune.
Surprisingly, Aunt Wu freely admits that she does not believe in any kind of predestination, claiming that her predictions will come true only if a person wishes them to. She also appears to find Iroh attractive (as many older women tend to do).
[edit] Notes
- Aunt Wu first appears in "The Fortuneteller". She also makes a short appearance in "Bato of the Water Tribe".
- Aunt Wu's prediction of Katara marrying a powerful bender will probably come true, considering the beginning of her relationship with Aang in "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang".
- Aunt Wu's name is probably derived from a class of priests from the agrarian Shang Dynasty of ancient China that specialized in divination and aristocratic rituals. These priests were called Wu Priests, and one of their divination techniques was the reading of oracle bones- which Aunt Wu demonstrates in the show.
- Coincidentally, "woo" is also a slang term used by skeptics to describe superstitious nonsense such as astrology and fortune telling.
- Aunt Wu greatly annoys Sokka with her predictions as he claims that there is a scientific explanation for all of what happens, and tried to point out the failed logic, such as Aunt Wu predicted that the volcano wouldn't destroy their town that year, later the volcano erupted and almost destroyed the town. When Sokka tried to expose Aunt Wu as a fraud no one believed him, they were far too loyal to Aunt Wu, as though the volcano erupted it didn't destroy the town, thanks to Aang and his friends.
