Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka

"But Latara, I do chores. Training to lead the tribe one day is a big responsibility."

- Princess Kneesaa

Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka was the princess of Bright Tree Village, daughter of Chief Chirpa and Ra-Lee, and younger sister to Asha. In her youth, she was part of the same circle of friends that included Wicket W. Warrick, Paploo, Teebo, and Latara. The young Ewoks had many adventures on the forest moon of Endor, involving such creatures as Gupins, Yuzzums, Duloks, and Morag the Tulgah witch.

Early life
When Kneesaa was just a wokling, she and her mother and older sister were attacked by a hanadak in the forest. When Chief Chirpa came later, only Kneesaa remained; Ra-Lee was dead and Asha was missing. So Chirpa raised Kneesaa by himself. But despite growing up an only child, and frequently wishing she could see her sister again, Kneesaa was not lonely.



As Kneesaa grew up, she became close friends with Wicket, Teebo, and Latara. More mature than her three friends, she frequently advised them when they were getting themselves into in trouble or embarking on foolish adventures.

The blue gem on Kneesaa's hood was a gift given to her by Asha on the day she disappeared. Kneesaa wore the gem on her pink hood during much of her youth.

One day, after her friends Paploo, Wicket, and Teebo had come back from their day's travels, they reported that they had seen an Ewok with red fur. Kneesaa, believing this mysterious Ewok to be her sister, went out in the middle of the night to search for her. Together with Wicket, she found Asha and took her back to the village, to the delight of Chief Chirpa.

Once, when picking berries with Wicket and Teebo, she stepped on a poisonous nightshade thorn. The poison would have killed her, but her friends Wicket and Teebo crossed the deadly Gorge of Fire to retrieve the liquid of a sunnydew flower and brought it back to the village, saving her life.



Soon after that, at a celebration for her birthday, Kneesaa received some very special gifts. One was a baby bordok whom Wicket and Teebo had spent many weeks training for her; she named him Baga. Another gift was one her father presented her: a ruling staff made from a branch of the Gemwood tree. Chirpa announced that if should anything ever happen to him, Kneesaa would become the new ruler of the village. This did not sit well with some of the elders; First Elder Kazak spoke out, saying that all Ewok leaders had always been men, and that "the leader of the Ewoks should at least be sturdy enough to carry a spear into battle!" This deeply troubled Kneesaa, but she was given an opportunity to prove herself soon enough: when a group of Zorbian space pirates attacked the village to steal the Gemwood tree, she led the women and children Ewoks and defeated the Zorbians without even a single Ewok being harmed. Her father was very proud of her, as were Kazak and the other elders. They admitted that they were wrong and said that Kneesaa would be, and already was, a strong leader.

Kneesaa proved her worth once again when she was shrunken and kidnapped by the Fleebogs. Despite the fact that she continued to shrink, she bested the ra-lugg beast and proved to the Fleebog that even small beings could handle big threats.

"Listen, Wicket. If you help the others, they will help you someday."

- Princess Kneesaa



Many years after their initial separation, Kneesaa was reunited with her sister Asha.

After the Battle of Endor
Kneesaa eventually married her childhood sweetheart, Wicket, who co-ruled Bright Tree Village with her after Chirpa's death.

Behind the scenes

 * In Star Wars: Ewoks, Kneesaa was voiced by Cree Summer in the first season and Jeanne Reynolds in the second.
 * A white-haired Ewok (probably female) wearing a red hood appears dancing with Wicket in the final scene of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. She may be Kneesaa, but this has not been confirmed.