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Avatar Relics

From Avatar Wiki, the Avatar: The Last Airbender database

The Avatar Relics

The Avatar Relics are four ancient toys used to identify the Avatar at a young age. The four toys represent the four Nations: a clay turtle symbolizes the Water Tribe; a fan symbolizes the Air Nomads; a wooden monkey represents the Earth Kingdom and the wooden hand drum represents the Fire Nation. These were once the toys of previous Avatars.

After the death of an Avatar, newly born children are put in front of thousands of toys, four of which are the relics. If the child chooses to play with only the four, it indicates that he or she is the reincarnated Avatar (the logic being that the real Avatar would subconsciously choose the four toys). Aang felt that he chose them because they seemed fun, but subconsciously he chose them because they were familiar. Ordinarily when the identified child reaches sixteen years of age, they are notified of their identity as the Avatar, and must depart to master the elements.

It is unclear if this particular method of identifying the Avatar is unique to the Air Nomads, though it seems unlikely given this method is based off the sole real-world way a suspected reincarnation of Tulku Lama is recognized in Tibetan Buddhism. If this is the case then it is probable that the other nations use different artifacts as these particular relics were still in the possession of the Monks over a decade after Aang had been identified as the current Avatar.

It is unknown if the relics survived the war.

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