Tusken Raider

"Those Tuskens walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters."

- Cliegg Lars

Tusken Raiders, less formally referred to as Sand People or simply as Tuskens, were a culture of nomadic, primitive sentients indigenous to Tatooine, where they were often hostile to local settlers.

Culture
Tuskens lived in huts in the wilderness. They kept Massiffs as pets, and rode Banthas.

Male Tusken Raiders brandished gaderffii sticks in combat, and used projectile rifles to fire on vehicles they spotted.

Females can be distinguished by their elaborate jeweled masks with eyeslits and torso-covering sand-shrouds. Tusken children wear unisex cowls and simple cloaks.

History
A month before the Battle of Geonosis, Tusken Raiders attacked the Lars homestead and kidnapped Shmi Skywalker Lars, whom they imprisoned and tortured. Her son, the Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker, returned to Tatooine to rescue her, but after finding her, she died of her injuries. The vengeful Anakin proceeded to slaughter every nearby Tusken, even the women and children.

Over twenty years later, Anakin's son Luke was attacked by the Tuskens after venturing from the homestead to retrieve R2-D2. Fortunately, Obi-Wan Kenobi warded off the Tuskens by imitating the cry of an animal they feared.

Behind the scenes
The Tuskens appeared initially in the second draft of Star Wars: A New Hope, as Imperial spies deployed as a platoon onto the surface of Tatooine to search for whatever had brought Deak Starkiller to that planet. They appeared to be humanoid, with red eyes, and drove distinctive landspeeders. They became a native people of Tatooine in the third draft.

When a Tusken speaks, they sound like the sea lions of Earth, but in actuality their sounds were fashioned by Ben Burtt from donkey brays.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope