Kyoshi Island

Kyoshi Island is the island which Avatar Kyoshi created. The island was originally a peninsula but in a face off with Chin she made the island as a home for her people. More about this here...

History

The Very Beginning

Kyoshi Island was originally a peninsula, where the biggest community was Yokoya Port. This was a community of regular people who led regular lives and who were bored by their monotonous work. It was a relatively isolated and unimportant area, with boats completely missing out the area.

Then, after being dumped on the streets by her parents, a young girl named Kyoshi (yes it's the Avatar). When the sage Jianzhu and another elder, Kelsung went to seek the Avatar, Kelsung ran into Kyoshi. Finding out that she had been abandoned, he provided for her and eventually she became a servant at the new mansion, erected for the fake Avatar, Yun.

After it was confirmed that Kyoshi was the true Avatar, she came back to Yokoya Port after witnessing Jianzhu kill Kelsung and sacrifice Yun.

Life as an Island

Many decades later, a warlord named Chin marched his army down to the Yokoya Peninsula. Chin was a tyrant, he had conquered all the Earth Kingdom (save Ba Sing Se) and he was now marching down with high intentions of conquering the Yokoya Peninsula. In order to protect her people, Kyoshi use a combination of bending techniques (including Lavabending) to separate the peninsula from the rest of the mainland. You can watch the video of her face off below⬇️

After Kyoshi's Death

Even after the death of Avatar Kyoshi, she was still widely associated with the island. Some people like Avatar Aang even believed that she had been born there.

Hundred Year War

Early

During the early stages of the Hundred Year War, Kyoshi Island wasn't attacked very much, partly due to the fact that it didn't posses any military advantages. You might think that the war might subdue people into seeking help from outside, but their want to stay on the island only grew.

Late

In the later stages of the war, crop failed, forcing the one of the Kyoshi warriors, Mingxia to appeal to the village's leaders to seek help from the outside.

End

In the year before the end of the war, Team Avatar visited Kyoshi Island. After a band of Kyoshi Warriors captured them as spies, the villagers were all over them once they found out that Aang was the Avatar. But Zuko had followed Aang. He burnt down Suki's village, causing the villagers to be more sure that they should live in isolation.

Then Katara and Sokka visited the island, when Aang's past life, the Avatar, Kyoshi was convicted of killing Chin Village's founder, Chin the Great. At this point in time, the Kyoshi Warriors like Suki left to fight in the Earth Kingdom's mainland.

Then, after the war, the Kyoshi Warriors went to serve as Fire Lord Zuko's bodyguards. They also helped teach a non-bending police force in Cranefish Town how to Chi Block.

Government

Since its founding, Kyoshi Island has been made up of many different villages, each one led by a governor who can be male of female. These individuals have none or little connection to the Earth Kingdom's imperial government. Each village has a small band of Kyoshi warriors to protect them.

Culture

The people living there have a lot of gender equality, nourished by the female Avatar Kyoshi. They are also very isolationist, with many of the villages believing in staying on the island at all times as their founder Kyoshi told them to. Although, this are just for few of the villages, others traded and interacted with the outside world.

Customs

The people of Kyoshi Island have many celebrations, the most notable of which is the Kyoshi Festival, which commemorates Kyoshi's defeat of Chin the Conqueror. At the same time, in Chin Village, Avatar Day is celebrated. In the Avatar Day celebrations, the people of Chin Village burn statues of Avatars Aang, Kyoshi and Roku.