Summary

• Aang's past with his Air Nomad parents remains a mystery in both the animated series and the live-action adaptation.
• Air Nomad culture emphasized detachment and equality, shaping Aang's upbringing and relationship with his parents.
• Aang's bond with Monk Gyatso was like a father-son relationship, but ultimately led to his separation and the start of his journey as the Avatar.

While Avatar: The Last Airbender did show snippets of Aang's past with the Air Nomads, the identity of his parents wasn’t explored. The Nickelodeon animated series, and now, live-action Netflix adaptation, focus on Aang's journey to train as the Avatar and restore balance to the world. Along the way, he makes a trusted group of friends and amasses allies, but the identities of his parents are never addressed. Aang doesn't speak much about his past beyond his training as an airbender.

Not much is known about Aang’s life before he was frozen in an iceberg. The lack of information might be due to the Air Nomad culture and how they dealt with the existence of the Avatar among their numbers. Unlike the other three nations, the Air Nomads were a monastic order with a specific set of traditions and beliefs, and this shaped Aang’s past and his relationship with his parents (or lack thereof).

Air Nomad Culture May Have Separated Aang From His Parents

Aang Never Mentions His Parents In The Series

Air Nomads believed in equality, pacifism, preserving nature, and fostering detachment.

Just like real-life martial arts inspired Avatar's bending powers in the show, the Air Nomads were based on Hindu and Tibetan monks. Before they were wiped out by the Fire Nation, they were a pacifist society run by monks and nuns. When they were not out flying around the world on their sky bison, they stayed in their four temples. Each temple had a Council of Elders, which ruled over its citizens. At their core, Air Nomads believed in equality, pacifism, preserving nature, and fostering detachment from the physical world.

Their strong spirituality also provides a hint as to why Aang’s parents weren’t present during his childhood. It’s possible that once an Air Nomad baby was born and reached a certain age, he or she was taken to another air temple to be raised by either monks or nuns, depending on the baby’s gender. This would help the children learn air bending techniques by letting go of earthly attachments and focusing on their spiritual journey.

In the case of Aang, this separation would be even more important because of his identity as the Avatar. As a baby, he selected the Avatar relics from thousands of toys, proving he was Roku’s successor. After the test, he was taken away to be trained by the monk Gyatso, who became Aang’s guardian.

Monk Gyatso Raised Aang Among The Air Nomads

Aang Calls Gyatso His Best Friend

Aang and Gyatso were very close, forming a bond similar to father and son. They played games together and Gyatso helped Aang during difficult times. However, it was their closeness that led to tragedy. Because Gyatso was against accelerating Aang’s training, the Council of Elders decreed that he was too attached to the boy and that they had to be separated from each other.

Once Aang heard this, he ran away, ending up trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years. The council's reaction to Gyatso and Aang’s bond proves Air Nomads do not approve of close relationships, especially if they are affecting a child’s training.

The Netflix live-action adaptation changes Aang's reasoning for running. Gyatso finally tells Aang about his destiny as the Avatar, and the pressure of the role is why Aang runs instead.

What else is known about Aang’s parents? His parents were definitely airbenders, as all Air Nomads were born with bending powers. His mother either lived in the Eastern Air Temple or Western Air Temple, because both of those exclusively housed nuns and female Air Nomads. Meanwhile, his father was likely living in the Northern Air Temple, the other male-only monastery, since the Council of Elders would likely want to keep him separated from Aang, who spent most of his childhood in the Southern Air Temple.

With the world of Avatar still expanding with comic books and animated movies, it's possible fans of the franchise could learn more about the culture of the Air Nomads and Aang's parents, but it's just as likely they could remain a mystery for Avatar: The Last Airbender.