Sandpeople

Sand People, sometimes referred to as Tusken Raiders, were a group of nomadic sapients indigenous to Tatooine. They acquired the name Tusken Raiders from their attack on one of Tatooine's earliest modern settlements, Fort Tusken.

The Sand People inhabited The Needles in the rocky Jundland Wastes and commonly performed raids on borderline colonist communities. Any creatures, particularly offworlders, were subject to the savage attacks of the territorial hunters. Riding on trained banthas, the Sand People would swiftly appear from the desert, riding in single file to conceal their numbers, and then reenter the cover of the dunes.

History
The Sand People were possibly the survivors of an ancient culture that defied the Rakatan Infinite Empire. This defiance was punished with holocaust as the surface of the once lush world of Tatooine was bombarded into little more than fused glass, which eventually crumbled and became desert sand.

Appearance
While clearly humanoid, scientific studies of the few dead Sand People found were inconclusive. To shield themselves from the harsh winds and intense heat of the Tatooine desert, Sandpeople covered themselves in sand-colored rags, robes and head covers. Except for their wedding night, Tuskens were forbidden to take off their protective clothing. Breaking this rule meant either banishment or death. Sand People were also recognizable by their fierce gaderffii and long-barreled slugthrower rifles.

Familial Structure
Sand People organized into clans and tribes, the former ranging between 20 to 30 beings, and the latter with no bounds. Males assumed the role of hunter and protector, while females cared for the young, known as uli-ah, and the temporary camps. After completing the rites of adulthood, Sandpeople were paired for marriage in a ceremony involving blood exchanges between the male, female and their banthas.

Rituals
Many rituals held Sand People society together. Adolescent Sand People were tasked with a ritual known as "bloodrite" whereby a young one proved his hunting skills by capturing a creature and fatally torturing it with techniques extending the pain for weeks before death. Most opted for creatures like bantha or desert wraid, but the greatest prestige was reserved for a hunter who performed the rite upon a sentient being. The final test of an adult male was to hunt and slay a krayt dragon.

Language
The Sand People spoke a guttural language known as Tusken that produced long individual names such as Grk'Urr'Akk, Grk'kkrs'arr, Orrh Or'Ur and Orr'UrRuuR'R. Shorter names also appeared amongst Sand People such as K'Sheek, although it is unclear if they are full names or shortened versions. Words include urtah (carrying pack) and urtya (light tent).

With no written language, the Sand People relied on oral history to pass down the legends and stories of their people. As such, storytellers were held in the highest regard and charged with the responsibility of memorizing by rote the story of every clan member and piece of clan history. For apprentice storytellers, the pressure to memorize the stories precisely was intense: a single mistake meant death. If an apprentice storyteller succesfully recites a story perfectly, he becomes the clan's storyteller while the old one wanders off into the desert forever.

Banthas
For transportation, Sand People domesticated the hardy bantha, a long-haired spiral-horned quadruped also found on Tatooine. They formed unique bonds with their bantha mounts, and when a mount died, the rider was often left behind to wander the desert alone. They held that if the fallen bantha's spirit wished for the rider to find a new mount, it would be so. If not, the rider would die amongst Tatooine's endless dunes.

Notable Sand People

 * A'Sharad Hett, Clone Wars era Jedi
 * A-Zulmun, tribal leader and slayer of Ranon Djlekh
 * Jundland Banshee, a rogue Sand People
 * Orr Agg R'orr, sniped Teemto Pagalies at the Boonta Eve Classic
 * RR'uruurr, attacked Luke Skywalker in the Jundland Wastes
 * Raito, known for his ability to hunt and slay Jedi during the Great Sith War era
 * Sharad Hett, Old Republic era Jedi, father of A'Sharad
 * Tahiri Veila, Jedi Knight raised by Sand People
 * URoRRoR'R'R, a skilled hunter who captured Luke Skywalker and R2-D2.

Appearances in Movies and Games
In Star Wars films, Sand People fire upon Pod Racers during the Boonta Eve Classic in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, killed Anakin Skywalker's mother in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and attacked Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: A New Hope

In the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, one of the side-quests requires that the player infiltrate a Sand People village. Upon doing so, an extremely long history of the Sand People is presented to the player. In the Xbox adventure game Obi Wan set during and a bit before the events of the Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi is forced to rescue The Queen of Naboo (or one of her doubles) after she is abducted by Tuskens during the layover on Tatooine. In the game Kenobi must even stalk through a communal Tusken burial site. As Obi Wan the player must track the Raiders through their extensive canyon dwellings among old scavenged shipwrecks turned to fortresses and eventually do battle with a Tusken war chief a significantly larger Tusken than the others, who intended to keep the queen as a trophy. A sequence of cultural interest depicts the Tuskens solemnly and ceremoniously conceding defeat after Obi Wan demands to be allowed to return to safety with the Queen since he has defeated the Tusken war chief. Grave Tuskens appear in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II as henchmen to the Dark Jedi Jerec and Maw on the planet Sulon. This is the only appearance of Sand People off Tatooine.