Headpieces

Headpieces are accessories worn by many people in the world to adorn their otherwise bare top-knots and other hair styles. These headpieces range from the humble adornments worn by normal citizens, to the golden five-pronged headpiece worn by the Fire Lord. The design of various headpieces can often serve as a marker of identity, indicating the wearer's nation, social status, and association with specific cultural groups.Throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.
== Water Tribe ==
=== Princess Yue ===
Princess Yue was one of the few members of the Water Tribe known to wear hair ornaments. She wore blue bands decorated with lighter blue medallions, which bore the Water Tribe insignia. These were used to hold up, tie, and decorate her hair.
Other members of the Water Tribes generally wear a variety of hair ties, hats, and beads rather than full-on "ornaments".
== Earth Kingdom ==
=== Beetle-headed merchants ===
The headpiece of the beetle-headed merchants is part of their general attire. Legend has it that their helmets mimic the appearance of the sour beetles to fend off giant gilacorns, to which the beetles were unpalatable.
=== Citizens ===
Many Earth Kingdom citizens wear their hair in top-knots, often held in place with a cloth tie or metal ring. These headpieces are typically green or gold in color and can be unadorned or decorated, depending on the status of the wearer.Throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender.
=== Earth King ===
The Earth King wears a distinct, conical crown that matches his elegant royal garments. The crown is round with a domed top and decorated with the Earth Kingdom insignia. At the very tip, it sports a small spike.
=== Earth Kingdom generals ===
Generals of the military of the Earth Kingdom wear a distinctive, large headpiece. Generals who wore headpieces include Fong, How, and Sung.
=== Female officials ===
The passport attendant and ticket woman both wore wide green hair claws on the top of their head, in line with their ears. These are similar to the ones worn by Toph and Katara when they dressed as high-society ladies.
The Joo Dees of Ba Sing Se all wore significant emerald green headpieces. These ornaments were horizontally long and protruded out from either side of their hair, extending into vertical end parts on both sides.
=== Kyoshi Warriors ===
The uniform worn by these warriors includes a headpiece. The group's leader during the Hundred Year War, Suki, used a golden piece similar to the headpiece used by the past Avatar, Kyoshi. The rest of the Kyoshi Warriors used a green headband with a golden emblem on the front. These emblems vary in shape and size and can be anything from a small circle within a large circle to a triangle on a crescent shaped headpiece.
== Fire Nation ==
=== Citizens ===
Fire Nation citizens often wear headpieces in their top-knots, varying from simple cloth ties to bands adorned with small, flame-shaped decorations. While members of the royal family sometimes adopt such decorations, they also have their own signature headpieces that are not worn by commoners.
=== Crown Prince ===
The Crown Prince headpiece is an ancient royal artifact of the Fire Nation meant to be worn by the Heir to the Fire Lord. The crown has two prongs, as opposed to the five pronged headpiece of the Fire Lord.
Crown Prince Sozin gave this headpiece to his then-best friend, Avatar Roku, right before the latter left to master the four elements. After Roku's death, the headpiece was perceived lost until it was found by Iroh, who eventually gave it to Zuko; the prince, however, was not known to have worn it before becoming Fire Lord.
=== Fire Lord ===
The Fire Lord's headpiece is an ancient royal artifact of the Fire Nation, which has been passed down for many generations. It is meant to be worn by the Fire Lord, the absolute ruler of the nation. The headpiece is shaped like the Fire Nation insignia, except it possesses two additional prongs to make it appear like a crown. It is worn in a top-knot.
=== Phoenix King ===
Although Ozai was the only person to hold the title of Phoenix King, he wore an intricate and ornate crown. The crown took the shape of an ornate helmet, being red in color with a gold phoenix and trim. It also bore a small red jewel on the forehead. The crown had a striking resemblance to Ozai's Phoenix King insignia.
=== Prince and Princess ===
Zuko and Azula both sported three-pronged headpieces in the traditional flame shape. While in the Earth Kingdom, Azula wore a simple red headpiece, but replaced it with a golden one when wearing her royal armor. While Zuko was the Crown Prince, he never wore the corresponding headpiece, nor did he wear any other headpieces during his banishment. He did not gain a headpiece until his return home. Ursa also sported a similar headpiece before she was banished.
== Trivia ==
* Almost all of the headpieces of the show are based upon real-life headpieces worn in China and other countries.
== References ==
== See also ==
* Crown Prince headpiece
* Fashion in the World of Avatar
* Fire Lord headpiece
* Royal armor
Category:A to Z
Category:Earth Kingdom
Category:Fashion
Category:Fire Nation
Category:Objects
Category:Water Tribes