A History of discovering the name for Ikeyni & the tayrangi

The Eastern Sea Olo’eykte (clan leader) is one of the most intriguing and visually interesting characters in  Avatar. The character is played by stunt woman and actress Alicia Vela-Bailey. Since Avatar released we knew very little about this character, yet she  has a lot of fans in the Avatar community. Her red war paint looks fierce against her blue body, and we see her fearlessly lead her clan into battle after Toruk Makto comes and asks for their help. However after we see her fly into battle we don’t see her again. So who is this red painted warrior who stands out in Avatar 1, will we see her again? What is her clans name?

In early 2017 Avatar.com updated some information on their website. One of the  things added were bio’s on some of the new Na’vi clans. Some clans we had previously seen in Toruk: The First Flight, others we had seen in James Cameron’s: Avatar The Game, and some had been in Avatar the movie. For now we are only going to focus on one of those clans, the Tayrangi.  Below is the Avatar.com information posted about them.

In early 2017 Avatar.com updated some information on their website. One of the  things added were bio’s on some of the new Na’vi clans. Some clans we had previously seen in Toruk: The First Flight, others we had seen in James Cameron’s: Avatar The Game, and some had been in Avatar the movie. For now we are only going to focus on one of those clans, the Tayrangi. 

The very first thing that stood out is that this photo listed under "The Tayrangi," is of the Eastern Sea Olo’eykte, and her clan. This screenshot that Avatar.com used is taken from the final battle, shown in Avatar 1. Also the bio above describes what little we know of the Tayrangi clan to this point. In the movie their sole mention is by Jake, who calls them, “the ikran people of the Eastern Sea.” I don’t think based on this information alone its much of a reach to assume our red painted warrior is the clan leader of the Tayrangi, and that the Tayrangi is the clan referred to as “the ikran people of the Eastern Sea.” She also shows up in the comic, Avatar: Tsu’tey’s Path, in the very last issue, however no new information is given. So we are getting somewhere, we have a clan name for this previously unnamed clan leader.

Here is her appearce in Avatar: Tsu'tey's Path. Which is simply what we saw in Avatar 1 as Toruk Makto is gathering clan's to come fight the RDA. Sadly we don't get confirmation of her being part of the Tayrangi, or a name.

This brings me to the next piece of information that surfaced. This is from Avatar: Pandora Rising, again the now cancelled mobile game. A new character bio for Tsentey may provide a clue. His bio says he is husband of “Ikeyni.” At this time we don’t have a bio from the game of anyone named Ikeyni, but since they mention her it makes me think she is someone of more importance than simply being his wife. It’s just a guess but I think Ikeyni may be our red war paint Tayrangi leader. The only other thing that might support this is the fact he is a veteran ikran rider, and I’m going to assume our red paint Tayrangi leader is also someone who is also a veteran of her clan. With what we know of the Na’vi culture I doubt the Na’vi select young clan leaders unless the older veteran leader has died or become unable to lead. So it would make sense that if our Tayrangi leader has a husband, they would both be veterans of their clan.

Taking all that we know at this point into consideration, it isn’t much of a stretch to come to the conclusion that Ikeyni is the Tayrangi clan leader, and Tsentey’s wife. This is based on what little information we have so far, however the information all comes directly from official sources. I'm simply connecting the dots that haven't been expressively spelled out for us yet.

From November of 2019 until June of 2020 the above information is all we had on the Tayrangi clan, and their Olo’eykte (clan leader). However, just this week with a new update to Avatar: Pandora Rising we now have proof the red painted ikran leader is from the Tayrangi clan, and finally confirmation of what her name is, Ikeyni.

Ikeyni’s backstory. Olo’eykte of the Tayrangi clan of the Eastern Sea, is one of the most strategic and tactical leaders on Pandora. Additionally, she’s an extraordinary banshee rider and warrior.

So there you have it after ten and a half years (at the time of discovery), straight from an official Avatar source, we can confirm Ikeyni is the name of the Tayrangi clan leader. It’s great to have the official name after all of this time for such a cool character.

Ever since I first saw Avatar 1 in theaters on January 1, of 2010, I was drawn to this characters design, and she is one of my favorites to this day. Originally this information was all posted on www.Ikeyni.com as we discovered new information the website was updated. However after the mystery was solved I took down the site, but I didn't want to loose the journey of how we discovered Ikeyni's name, so I decided to add the information here on Avatar Sequels.

Special thanks to the following Learn Na’vi Discord members, Exostrike for personally sharing game updates, Tsu’rat for sharing Tsentey’s bio, and to Olly for posting Ikeyni’s bio.

The mystery of Ikeyni's name however isn't the end for this character. In the lead up to Avatar 2, McFarlane toys released a mountain banshee called "Ikeyni's Banshee," which you can pair up with a figure of Ikeyni from a blind box. Yes we got a figure of Ikeyni and her ikran, something I didn't think would ever happen.

We next see Ikeyni show up in the three part comic series Avatar: The High Ground. On page 60 of issue one, she shows up as a member of a War Council, called by Jake Sully and we see her welcome Neteyam to the council. We then see her again on page 54 of the third issue. She is part of a group that helps the Sully family escape the RDA.

We also learn that they indeed live on a cliff, over looking the Eastern Sea. They have mastered the art of banshee diving, as a means to fish. Plus we now know they lay their dead on the cliffs, where small banshees consume the bodies, and are then consumed by the larger banshees.