as iāve been working on my silly little sky bison post, iāve been thinking quite a bit about air nomads and fiberworks
i love that one air nomad fiber art post (iām sure yāall know the one) and i definitely think that pretty much all fabric and fiber used by the air nomads came from their bison. if only because theyād make So Fucking Much of it
not to mention it has quite a bit of cultural backing. yak wool is an extremely important fiber in tibetan culture and they make so many things from it
anyway, just some random thoughts and headcanons that i may or may not expand on later (definitely not doing this because iām procrastinating on my homework hahahaā¦):
- bison have a top coat and undercoat, which are used for different things. the top coat fibers are very long and coarse, so theyāre best for things like rope, heavy outerwear, saddle pads, and other things that require large but not necessarily comfortable swathes of fabric, like tents, tapestries, etc. the undercoat fibers are much softer and more delicate, so they would be used for clothing, blankets, bedding, rugs, diapers, etc
- with the amount of wool being harvested, they would also have a rather excessive amount of lanolin (a waxy substance produced by animals with wool). itās extracted when the wool is washed, so itās a natural byproduct. lanolin has a lot of uses, including but not limited to: waterproofing, cosmetic care such as lip balm, healthcare (could be used underneath bandages to keep a wound moist or mixed with herbs for a topical treatment), diaper rash prevention, and even lubricant (test this one out at your own risk though lol)
- air nomads do a tonnnnn of spinning and weaving. itās a fantastic way to pass the time on long journeys, a way to use up whatever fur their bison sheds, and even provides them with fiber products to trade or barter with if needed
- a baby bisonās first molt is an incredibly important tradition. the wool is highly prized as it is the softest it will ever be. this event is when a young air nomad learns to work with wool ā from start to finish, giving them an appreciation for the craft and itās importance
- every few years a massive festival is held to celebrate the sky bison and their massive importance to air nomad culture. the nomads spend months creating the most beautiful, intricate, colorful decorations possible to adorn their bison best friends, then participate in a flying parade to show off their hard work (iām 100% including this in a future fic btw)
- i like to think that while there are techniques shared amongst all air nomads, each temple also has its own fiber āspecialtyā. like, the northern air temple does knitting, the western temple does crochet, the southern temple does embroidery, so on and so forth. or whatever type of fiber art you want. definitely something i want to do more research on as iām sure there are tons of other techniques i donāt know about
anyway uh. post dedicated to my new crochet skills š
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