Ewok/Legends

"We can safely ignore these contemptible little furballs."

- Imperial scout IX3244-B

Ewoks were sentient, furred bipeds native to the forest moon of Endor. They helped the Rebel Alliance defeat the forces of the Galactic Empire at the Battle of Endor.

Ewoks were curious individuals that stood about one meter tall; they were omnivorous and used spears, slings, and knives as weapons; they also used hang gliders, battle wagons, and bordoks as vehicles. Ewoks had large, bright eyes, small black noses, and hands that possessed two fingers and an opposable thumb.

Although extremely skilled in forest survival and the construction of primitive technology like gliders and catapults, the Ewoks had yet to progress past stone-level technology when discovered by the Empire. They were quick learners, however, when exposed to advanced technology with simple mechanical processes and concepts. Some Ewoks were removed from their planet and taken as pets or slaves. Others left voluntarily out of a sense of curiosity, especially after the Battle of Endor led to the establishment of New Republic trading posts on the Forest Moon.

History


Before the Galactic Empire arrived, visitors from other star systems were rare. Despite this, the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village led by Chief Chirpa and the medicine man Logray had surprisingly extensive contact with offworlders. These Ewoks helped the shipwrecked Humans Mace and Cindel Towani rescue their parents from a Gorax. Later, a group of Sanyassan Marauders who had crashed on the Forest Moon several decades earlier attacked the Ewoks, killing all of the Towani family except for Cindel, and taking several Ewoks prisoner. A young Ewok named Wicket W. Warrick helped Cindel and another shipwrecked Human (Noa Briqualon) defeat the Sanyassans, rescue the prisoners, and find the parts needed to repair Briqalon's ship. Finally, they helped stop an Imperial scientist named Dr. Raegar, who attempted to steal the sacred Sunstone and use it to take control of the Empire.

The Ewoks also had contact with the many other sentient species on the Forest Moon, such as the Yuzzums, Gupins, and Teeks. Their cousins, the swamp-dwelling Duloks, were rivals of the Ewoks, and often made trouble for them.

Nor, it must be realized, were Ewoks totally unknown in the wider Galaxy&mdash;on some planets, the phrase "a Rodian in Ewok's clothing" was proverbial to describe a duplicitously dangerous individual. Mon Mothma used the phrase in a speech she gave on Agamar before the Battle of Yavin.

When the Empire began operations on the moon of Endor, they dismissed the primitive species as harmless. Imperial operations were situated around the area near Bright Tree Village. Princess Leia Organa, part of a Rebel strike team, met and befriended Wicket W. Warrick, who took her back to his village as an honored guest.



Meanwhile, another group of Ewoks had captured Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Han Solo, R2-D2, and C-3PO. When these Ewoks saw the protocol droid C-3PO, they identified him as a long-prophesized god called "The Golden One". Despite Wicket and Leia's protests, Logray would have sacrificed them as a feast in C-3PO's honor. Skywalker's use of the Force combined with C-3PO's warnings soon changed Chief Chirpa's mind, however.

That night, Threepio told the Council of Elders the adventures of the Rebel heroes. The Ewoks accepted the Rebels into their tribe, and allied themselves to their cause. The Ewoks helped in the ground battle to destroy the Imperial shield generator on the forest floor, and their primitive weapons felled the stormtroopers and the scout walkers of the Empire, although they took many losses to Imperial blaster fire. This assistance paved the way for the destruction of the second Death Star and the Rebel victory at the Battle of Endor. Later that night, the Ewoks held a huge celebration that could be heard throughout the forest.

After the Battle of Endor, some Imperial propaganda stated that the Ewoks were driven into extinction due to the after effects of the battle. The Endor Moon Hoax uncovered by Ebenn Q3 Baobab may have been connected with this Imperial propaganda. In fact, the Rebel forces managed to stop the debris from the Death Star II from having a serious environmental effect on the forest moon.

After the Rebellion reorganized into the Alliance of Free Planets, the Alliance used Bright Tree Village as their headquarters for a brief period of time. Even with the Imperial forces gone from Endor, it was a turbulent time for the Ewoks. The Hiromi instigated a conflict between the Lahsbee and the Ewoks, which was resolved through the Alliance's efforts. Soon afterwards, a second battle was fought in the skies above Endor when the Alliance was attacked by Nagai and Maccabree forces led by the self-proclaimed Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya.

Though the Alliance forces left Endor soon after fighting off Lumiya's forces, the Ewoks had become part of the Galactic community. In the next few years, several Ewoks even found their way off Endor. Most Ewoks who traveled off-world were adventurous individuals, such as the smuggler Tarfang, or the Ewok soldiers who joined the New Republic forces at the Fourth Battle of Coruscant in 10 ABY. By 9 ABY, there was also a significant Ewok colony on the planet Svivren, although it is not known when or how they first settled there.

On Endor itself, the New Republic later set up semi-permanent outposts (such as Salfur's Trading Post) near Ewok villages. Through these seasonally staffed outposts, the Ewoks of Endor remained in intermittent contact with the outside Galaxy as non-participating members of the New Republic.

Tribal structure


The tribal structure of the Ewoks had a Council of Elders ruling over each village, headed by a chief. A medicine man also lived in the Ewok village, a keeper of mystical lore, and a healer to the injured. The warriors of the different tribes wore raggedy garments on the head to signify the Ewok's tribe. The warriors also wore wooden chest shields, the jawbones of tiny animals, and sharp teeth. Some decorated themselves with ornaments such as feathers, necklaces, and pendants, making their body look like a clutter of trinkets.

Prominent members of Ewok tribes carried totems to symbolize their rank. The lead warrior wore a headdress made of feathers called the "white wings of hope". The eldest son of the tribal leader's family wore a headdress called the "red wings of courage". The second son wore the "blue wings of strength".

Marriage
Unmarried male Ewoks spent much of their time living alone in the forest building their own small huts near enough to the tree city to assist the Ewoks in work. Unmarried females would leave gifts of food, clothing, or weaponry on the door-steps of unmarried males as a sign of their attraction and to tell how much the village missed them and wished they would come back as part of a family and as the female's mate.

If the male Ewok decided to take a mate, he had to build a family hut in the tree city where he and his mate could live. The construction of a new hut signaled that the male had decided to take a mate, at which point all of the unmarried females would try to woo him. Until his home was finished, the male did not decide whom he was taking. The chosen female had the right to refuse the male or the hut he had built.

Children


Ewoks were very closely attached to their fuzzy children called woklings. An entire Ewok village fawned over newborn babies. They always gave the children much attention and they considered the care of their children a shared responsibility. Woklings had few rights and the children had to learn many rituals and legends that would serve as moral guides throughout their lives. When the Ewok came of age, he or she attended the Festival of Hoods. This festival marked the transition from wokling to Ewok.

Tree village


Most Ewoks lived high among the trees of the forest moon, in villages built between the closely spaced trees. The basic design of a tree village had a "Central Village" of thatched-roof huts on the primary limbs. These huts were high enough above the ground to be out of reach from predators. Suspended bridges connected the gaps between trees, adjoining distant huts. Knotted rope ladders allowed access up or down.

In most tree cities, the village Elders ordered the largest huts built directly on the trunk of the tree. These central buildings belonged to the chief of the tribe. The chief used the largest open areas for village gatherings, meetings, council fires, and storytelling ceremonies.

Family groups kept their own dwellings in clusters on the outlying trees. Separate huts were also built for unmarried females, elders, and visitors. A sealed building was also created higher than the rest of the tree city and was used as the communities' food storage.

Bright Tree Village, where the tribe ruled by Chief Chirpa lived, was a typical example of an Ewok tree village.

Ground village


Some Ewoks of that Bright Tree Village tribe also at one time lived in isolated huts on the forest floor. They eventually moved back into the trees, however, because the ground villages left them open to attacks by the vicious Sanyassan Marauders.

Lake village
Ewoks also built homes on shallow, placid lakes. The lake Ewoks built their villages on stilts out in the water. The surrounding water protected the Ewoks from large predators. These Ewoks got most of their food by setting wicker traps to catch fish in the lake. The older Ewoks spent their time harvesting marsh grasses and drying them in the sun. They then took these dry grasses and made them into mats, clothing, baskets, and decorative tapestries. The young Ewoks loved to splash in the water and dig in the mud for buried shellfish.

These Ewoks also built wooden sail boats and oars.

Cliff village
Some tribes of Ewoks made their homes on a rock face beside a spraying waterfall. Ewok engineers created an intricate set of waterwheels, driven by the force of the waterfall. These waterwheels drove large wooden gears that rotated grindstones, operated conveyor belts from one side of the village to the other, and ran a set of wooden elevator platforms that moved up and down the cliff.

Culture
"They tend to poke spears in your direction, but don't panic&mdash;it's their way of showing interest."

- Ebenn Q3 Baobab

Music
The Ewoks enjoyed singing and playing music during celebrations, festivals, and rituals. Ewoks also believed that music enhanced their work. Ewoks were resourceful and tended to make use of everything they could get their hands on, so they used a variety of drums, horns, and other simple instruments in their music. During the Ewok and Rebel celebration after the destruction of the second Death Star, one Ewok used a series of Imperial stormtrooper and naval trooper helmets as drums, producing a variety of tones. Ewok music also used primitive harmony.

Language
The Ewok language was known as Ewokese. It was a relatively primitive tongue related to many others on Endor, including the Yuzzum language. These relationships allowed Ewoks to communicate relatively easily with many other beings on Endor. Ewok physiology allowed them to learn and speak most other languages as well, including Galactic Basic Standard.

Hunting and trapping


Ewoks ventured to the forest floor to hunt, using stone-tipped arrows and spears as well as elaborate traps to catch their prey. Ewoks considered themselves to be great hunters.

A single hunter could snare small animals but an entire Ewok hunting party could catch animals as large as a boar-wolf. The Ewoks had created effective ways to hunt these monstrous animals using spears and poison darts. The Ewoks first set up a trap with scraps of bloody meat from a previous hunt and then they would set a vine net on the forest floor. When the wolf ran towards the meat, it would get caught in the net. Then, from the underbrush, the Ewok warriors charged at the trapped wolf. One of these boar-wolves would provide enough meat to feed an Ewok village for days.

Smaller game was killed with small sling nets. When a creature stepped into a loop it set off a pressure trap. A pinned sapling would break free and fling the animal into the nearest tree. Tek swee was a trap translated into Basic as "head hitter". This trap was a common defense against the Gorax. When a Gorax attempted to raid a Ewok village, the Ewok warriors would let loose a massive log roped onto trees. The log would swing into the Gorax like a giant battering ram. Many of the various traps set for Goraxes were used against the Empire in the battle of Endor.

Another food source for the Ewoks were mattberries that they squeezed for juice. These juices were mixed with water and fermented into a bitter brew.

Recreation
The "Tribal Games" were a series of games that Ewoks from scattered tribes came to play. There was much dancing and storytelling, but there were also far more dangerous events. Tree-jumping was a very popular game among young Ewoks. The Ewok would climb to the highest lifetree and leap off the highest limb. They had to catch themselves on the lower limbs until they descended all the way to the ground. If an Ewok missed, he could be seriously injured.

Religion
"They're using a very primitive dialect, but I do believe they think I am some sort of god."

- C-3PO

For the forest dwellers, the surrounding giant trees played an important cultural role. These hunter-gatherers were a deeply spiritual people. They believed themselves to be descendants of the Great Tree, a sacred tree in the forests. The Ewok religion was based on nature worship. Many religious ceremonies were arranged to please various gods of weather, trees, the hunt, engineering prowess, and fertility. There were also darker spirits that symbolized the dangers of the forest. The Ewoks held magnificent festivals of rain sun, spring flowers, and fruits. There were also "Dark Rituals" involving bloody sacrifices. The rituals were held at night under the light of burning bonfires. The shamans tossed the leaves of herbs into the fire that caused the Ewoks to have vivid dreams.

Shamans


Every village appointed its own male or female mystic or shaman. The shaman was sometimes simply the village con-artist, who made up answers about what the gods wanted and how they could be pleased. Others had genuine abilities, sometimes showing abilities similar to Force-sensitives. For the shaman's services, the village gave the shaman anything he or she may have wanted, including crystals, shells, polished skulls and other treasures the shaman found interesting. Many shamans wore large animal skulls on their heads.

Shamans were also the tribal healers, usually relying on vile-smelling herbal medicines. Many types of fungus, lichens, roots, berries, flowers, epiphytes, and bark were used, with varying medicinal effects.

Soul trees
The massive coniferous trees that filled the forest moon were called "Soul Trees" or "Life Trees" by the Ewoks. The Ewoks had a deep religious connection with these trees. For every baby Ewok born, a new seedling was planted by the village. Throughout that Ewoks life, he or she was linked to their totem tree. When the Ewok died, it was believed their spirit would go to live inside their own totem tree.

In times of crisis, the village shamans would attempt to contact the ancient spirits that lived within the oldest trees for advice and guidance. The shamans insisted that it was a private ritual. The Ewoks never questioned the sacred advice brought back by the shamans, though they had never heard these ancient voices before.

Deities
The Ewoks worshipped a massive pantheon of gods that included the following spirits:


 * Great spirit of the forest
 * Light spirit
 * Night spirit
 * Batcheela
 * Boozie
 * Brother sky
 * Ceel
 * Chituhr
 * Deej
 * Denlett
 * Ephram
 * Fashkaa
 * Flitchee
 * Galeer
 * The Golden One
 * Grael
 * Heesh
 * Hexprax
 * Ilbath
 * Jahjee
 * Kazak
 * Leeni
 * Mopiee
 * Oosa
 * Oshlin
 * Rabin
 * Ralee
 * Rillish

Behind the scenes
George Lucas intended that a primitive race should overthrow the Empire in the final episode, and had originally planned to use Wookiees, but decided against it after it had been established that Chewbacca was proficient with technology. His answer was to create a new race called Ewoks, which is "Wookiee" with the syllables reversed. A little-known fact is that the Ewoks are never referred to by name in Return of the Jedi's dialogue; the name only appeared in the script directions, the novelization, the movie's credits, and other spin-off and promotional materials.

It is believed that Ewoks are modeled after Hobbits, the short and easily overlooked people who caused the dark lord Sauron's demise in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Lucas chose the word Endor for the moon's planet to honor this, since it is the Elvish name of Middle-earth, the setting of most of Tolkien's stories.

Historical parallels
Some fans have drawn parallels between events in real history and the Ewoks' defeat of a better-equipped, technologically superior foe through guerrilla tactics and superior knowledge of the local terrain. The Vietnam War, where the North Vietnamese forces used guerilla tactics against the more conventionally organized American military, is one of the most common parallels drawn. Since early draft screenplays which eventually became the first Star Wars film contained a similar victory won by Wookiees, and were also written during the mid-1970s, it is possible that the Vietnam War influenced George Lucas's writing. However, Lucas has never commented on the link between the Battle of Endor and the Vietnam War.

Fan reaction
Some fans of the Star Wars series dislike the Ewoks, believing that the scenes with them defeating a legion of the Emperor's best Stormtroopers (the 501st) stretch credibility even for a space opera, and that their cuteness was purely an attempt to introduce opportunities for merchandising rather than a serious addition to the story&mdash;criticism repeated nearly twenty years later about Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace. Other viewers see the triumph of the Ewoks as a reflection of one of the repeated themes of the Star Wars saga, where spirit and a desire for freedom triumph over larger, more technologically advanced evils. These viewers thus view the Ewoks in a more positive light.



The later television appearances of the Ewok tribe from Return of the Jedi &mdash; the cartoon series Star Wars: Ewoks (1985 – 1987) and two television specials, Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) &mdash; are not always considered part of Star Wars canon by fans, although Cindel Towani, a character from the TV movies, has appeared in the later novel Tyrant's Test, and Lucasfilm does consider them canon.

Fate
Some fans have argued that the Ewoks must have been driven to near-extinction due to environmental devastation resulting from the destruction of the second Death Star. This is supported by physical analysis of the films, which can be used to estimate how much debris would have fallen on Endor, and by a few ambiguous Expanded Universe references. Other fans dispute this, pointing to Expanded Universe appearances of an intact forest moon, and in some cases questioning the physical analysis. The case of the Endor Holocaust remains somewhat controversial.