Gaara is about 12 years old (at the start of the series), and he enjoys killing people that stand in his way (his way of having fun - he hates people and loves only himself). Long ago, when he was around the age of six, his father, the Kazekage, sent assassins to kill off Gaara because he believed Gaara was becoming too dangerous (after killing a man that passed him in the street). But the attempt failed, and later ninja's were sent...who were all killed by Gaara.

Yashamaru says that he is Gaara's mother's brother (that would be an uncle for all you slow people out there). He also tells us, as he is dying, that Gaara's father, the Kazekage (leader of the Village Hidden in the Sand, like Hokage is for the Village Hidden in the Leaves), ordered him to kill Gaara. Yashamaru admits that he could have turned down the mission but chose to do it. Yashamaru had "adopted" Gaara due to his obligation to his sister, but could never get over the fact that Gaara's birth resulted in his sister's death. Gaara's father was killed by Orochimaru, who took his body and posed as him during the tournament. They find his body after the tournament, and find out about Orochimaru's plot. Gaara has two older siblings, his brother Kankuro and sister Temari, who are with him in the chunin exam.

Gaara's gourd is made of sand and the blood of the victims, which he says gives him power. In battle, he takes out sand and uses it to kill off his enemies by means of the techniques called Desert Coffin and Desert Funeral. The gourd itself is also made out of sand, as is his armor. He has a sleep spell that gives the demon Shukaku the ability to manifest (just check out the dark lines around Gaara's eyes). Gaara doesn't sleep because if he does Shukaku will take control. Garaa becomes the fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure (village Hidden Among the Sand) after he leaves Konoha, after the chunin exam. Itachi's group kills Gaara by taking the demon from his body, but Naruto and Chiyo end up bringing him back to life. In Japanese Kanji, Gaara's name is spelled "‰äˆ¤—…". The kanji on Gaara's forehead, ˆ¤ ("ai"), means "Love", and is the second kanji character is his name. The first kanji in his name means "self", and the third means "carnage". Thus, his name literally means "self-loving carnage". Additionally, before Yashamaru dies, he says that Gaara's name means "demon who cares only for himself". I'd say that matches up pretty good.