That's kinda freaky...Jake Sully viewing his avatar's queue
A neural queue (Na'vi name: tswin/kuru)[1][2] is an appendage that is part of many species' anatomy on Pandora, including the Na'vi.
Description[]
Queues of Pandoran wildlife are encased in a "neural whip", a protective layer of skin that houses a set of thin, pinkish tendrils that appear somewhat like hair but are actually extensions of the creature's nervous system. Most Pandoran life forms possess one or two queues. When a creature connects these tendrils with that of another being, an act known to the Na'vi as tsaheylu, it enables mental communication between the two entities and the sharing of information, including memories, emotions, and sensory input. This connection doesn't just happen between two creatures, as many florae of Pandora are capable of initiating tsaheylu as well, notably the Tree of Souls and Tree of Voices, which are access points to the Pandoran neural network.
Although the Na'vi possess a neural whip like most other creatures, it is most often hidden under a layer of hair that is painstakingly braided around the queue to protect it. This braid starts at birth and is maintained throughout a Na'vi's life.[3] Curiously, where most Pandoran creatures possess two queue structures, the Na'vi possess only one, a trait that is shared with prolemuri.
The queues of the Na'vi start at the top of their skull, but on an avatar, it is located at the base of the skull.
Na'vi Culture[]
The bonding of queues, tsaheylu, with a mountain banshee is a rite of passage that all young Na'vi hunters of the Omatikaya clan must pass, known as Iknimaya. The bond created between rider and animal lasts for a lifetime after the first flight has occurred.
The linking of queues is an essential part of mating, although it is not the sexual act itself.
In Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, it is revealed that the Na'vi can connect their queues and access each other's memories. It is unclear if avatars can do this with Na'vi and with each other's avatars.
Feral Project[]
At one point before their expulsion and subsequent return, the RDA had experimented on Pandoran wildlife; they ran experiments as part of what was known as the Feral Project in an attempt to train animals to be vicious killers that could be controlled. For example, thanators and viperwolves had traumatic surgeries performed on them. Their queues, their sensitive neural whips, were forcefully removed. This has resulted in them exhibiting erratic behavior, not only severing their connection to Eywa but also with other animals.
Trivia[]
- During the Consciousness Transfer of Grace Augustine, a strange phenomenon was shown to occur at the Tree of Souls. Various tendrils formed a makeshift queue which attached itself at the back of Grace's neck. This can be interpreted as Eywa's immense power.
- Grace Augustine mentioned to Jake Sully that playing with his queue could make him go blind. If that is true or not is unknown, though it is likely a reference to the once widely-purported human belief that masturbation causes blindness. The reference implies that a Na'vi's queue may be considered an intimate area of the body.
- Removing the queue of Pandoran wildlife has been shown to have severe effects. Despite this, It is unknown what would canonically happen if a Na'vi queue was cut off, but it is still implied to be serious.
- In the original script, Lyle Wainfleet cuts off the queue of Tsu'tey during the final battle. Wainfleet mentions he hears that cutting a queue is worse than death, causing Tsu'tey to scream in agony because his nervous system explodes on overload.
- When Jake is being brought into the clan for the first time, one of the Na'vi holds his braid and has a knife against it.
- During the final battle, Jake also let out a pained scream when Miles Quaritch lifted him by his queue.
- In the Wii/PSP game, Kyuna seems to have a severed queue[citation needed] suggesting that Na'vi will still live if it is cut off. It is hidden while she stands still but can be seen when she runs. All the 2009 Avatar game are non-canon, however.