Gungan/Legends

"Gungans no dyin' witout a fight, Wesa warriors."

- Jar Jar Binks

The Gungans were humanoids native to the planet of Naboo. Prior to the Invasion of Naboo, the Gungans were a largely isolationist society. The Gungans were able to combine machinery with biology.

Individuals were called a Gung (eg. Militiagung)

Biology and appearance


The Gungans were separated into two races: the lanky orange or purple-skinned Otolla race, and the heavier green-skinned Ankura race. However, they all exhibited many of the same physical traits.

Starting life as tadpoles, Gungans developed into tall beings with extremely flexible cartilaginous skeletons (composed of resilient cartilage). Strong leg muscles allowed for powerful and quick frog-kick style swimming through water as well as a remarkable jumping ability while on land. Fin-like ears (called haillu) also aided them in swimming, as well as expressing emotions like aggression, friendship, and fear. They had partially retractable eyestalks with nictitating membranes when underwater.

Expressive faces and long bills with flaring nostrils were signatures of Gungan physiology. Lengthy muscular tongues and large blunt teeth allowed them to eat lesser amphibians, while a layer of tough skin on the head allowed for burrowing. As a result of the duck-billed mouth and strange vocal cord structure, all Gungans had a slight lisp in their speech; for example, while in Galactic Basic a Human would say "We are going to do it," the same phrase coming out of a Gungan's mouth would sound something like "Wesa goin to be doines it". A Gungan's arms ended in four digits, and their feet had three stubby toes. Females were smaller with sleeker faces and tended to tie their ears back. As male Gungans aged, some, like Roos Tarpals, developed prominent whiskers that looked sort of like catfish whiskers.

Gungans had nostrils that sealed when they entered the water. They also boasted very strong lungs, allowing them to both hold their breath for extended periods of time and to withstand the pressure of deep waters, along with well-padded kneecaps and powerful calves and legs for increased swimming speed. However, because they were so well-adapted to their watery environment, their skin dried easily in hot and arid climates, which Jar Jar Binks experienced during his visit to Tatooine.

The Gungans appeared to be related to the Gungan Glurrgs, whom they used as a worker caste in their society.

Society and culture
"My warning you, Gungans no liken outsiders, so don't spect a werm welcome."

- Jar Jar Binks

Long ago, explorers on Naboo discovered the Gung Slabs, a set of ancient stones engraved with Olys Corellisi on one side and Old Gungan on the reverse. These relics, coupled with the work of philologist Burro Flats of the Baobab Archives, helped the galaxy to better understand the culture and language of the Gungan people.

The later Gungan language was largely a pidgin dialect that most users fluent in Basic could understand. Gunganese, as it was commonly referred to, combined slightly-altered Basic words with the occasional Old Gungan term (i.e. "Seeks doopeewees isa berry good" is translated as "Six landspeeders are very good.")

Utilizing their own unique phraseology, Gungans established a rather successful history of scholarly excellence, albeit unknown to the galaxy at large. Among their achievements include the epic poem Das Depu Epu Sea, or Deep Dark Water. This ode to Da Beauty Al'Round was a source of great pride to these noble beings. Gungan alpha-males often exhibited a series of oral clicks when aggravated or angered. The Gungan military was made up of mostly male vounteers.

Gungans were basically a generous and peaceful people until the droids came and invaded. They loved to have vistors, and welcomed them with love and kindness; however, Gungans would be suspicious of them until the visitors had earned their respect.

Also, Gungans were not tolerant of anyone who threatened their peaceful culture. They had very strict laws, and would go to the extremes to punish anyone who had committed a minor crime. Vandals, for example, could be given a sentence of exile, caning, or even stoning.

If a Gungan was cast out of society, it was very difficult for them to return. If they did manage to return, they would often be subjected to large amounts of discrimination. This could make life very difficult for them and could go on for months or years, until their past offenses disappeared from memory.

Religion
"Your gods demand that his life belongs to me now."

- Qui-Gon Jinn



The Gungans worshiped a pantheon of deities, many of which were forces of nature. The chief deity and creator of all life was called Oma-Oma.

Like the Wookiees and Srrors'tok, the Gungans believed in the concept of the life debt. Under Gungan tradition, if the life of a Gungan was saved by another, that Gungan's life belonged to their savior. A known example was Jar Jar Binks' life debt to Qui-Gon Jinn. According to Gungan tradition, the gods lived in a beautiful underwater city called Ossorus, protected by enchanted sando aqua monsters and giant Gungan warriors on their kaadu mounts.

Monuments and ruins, scattered throughout the planet, were built by the Elders. The largest of these ruins, located on the northern edge of the Lianorm Swamp, was identified as the Sacred Place. The Gungans viewed these ruins as sacred, and their builders as "guds".

A number of extremist Gungan religious groups existed, such as the Muskegs and the Ultragungans.

History


The Gungans were believed to be indigenous to Naboo, but this is uncertain. Because of their cloven feet, biologists believe the Gungans, wherever their original home, evolved originally as land-dwellers.

On Naboo, evidence of Gungan habitation extended for ages, as there are records of battles of survival with the woolly veermoks during an ice age around 500,000 BBY. However, the primary reason they developed warfare technology was the threat of the bursas that often attacked their settlements. The Gungans assembled a "Grand Army" to meet this threat, eventually driving the bursas into extinction. Their technology was peculiar in that everything, from tools to structures is not constructed, but "grown", each device being therefore organically unique.

Ancient starfarers told tales of great Gungan migrations across the plains of Naboo prior to their shift to more aquatic environments. The reason most commonly accepted for their flight to the water revolves around an alien civilization of reptilian humanoids remembered as the "Elders", who colonized Naboo around 7,032 BBY. They engaged in warfare with the Gungans, forcing them to retreat underwater, giving rise to modern Gungan civilization. Undoubtedly, the presence of healthful underwater plants and tasty gumfish did much to solidify their change in lifestyle.

The Ankura and Otolla branches of Gungans united, forming a symbiotic relationship. They dominated Naboo for millennia afterwards, though largely keeping to the swamps and waterways; the mountains and grasslands were considered 'desert-like'.

About 3,032 BBY, Gungans were separated in tribes that fought against each other (War of Gungan Tribes), until united under Boss Gallo. Gungans from various cities migrated to a new large city, Otoh Gunga, which was the major and capital city of Naboo (as far as Gungans were concerned).



The Gungans and the Human inhabitants of Naboo did not get along, as the Gungans believed the Naboo to be pompous cowards while the Naboo believed the Gungans to be barbarians. This attitude lasted until Queen Amidala united the Gungans and Naboo to fight the Trade Federation in the Battle of Naboo. Gungans, over the millennia of Human presence, have developed their own dialect based on their language, called Gungan Basic.

After the Battle of Naboo, the Gungans attained representation in the Galactic Republic Senate through Representative Jar Jar Binks. The Gungans also colonized the moon of Ohma-D'un, due to overcrowding on Naboo. A number of extremist Gungans colonized Naboo's other moon, Rori, at about the same time. During the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, a CIS biological weapon known as the "Swamp Gas" was unleashed on Ohma-D'un and wiped out much of the population. Later, a Jedi task force defeated the CIS forces on the moon during the Battle of Ohma-D'un, thus saving Naboo.

Following the end of the war, the newly formed Galactic Empire established a presence on Naboo. Fearing enslavement, the Gungans went into semi-seclusion. However, a few served the Rebel Alliance aboard Tantive V and they did come to the aid of the people of the city of Theed in temporarily ousting the Imperial presence. At least one Gungan worked on the nearby Rori Space Station. After the Empire's defeat at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Gungans and the Humans of Naboo banded together once more to oust the Imperial presence from their world, reclaiming the world as free for both species. As a result, the species began traveling in much larger numbers, across Naboo and the galaxy. During the New Republic era, the Chommell Sector was represented by a Gungan Senator.

Behind the scenes
According to an interview with George Lucas, the name "Gungan" came from his toddler daughter's name for big trucks on the road. Apparently, she would point and say, "Daddy, gungan?"

Gungans were partially modelled after hadrosaurs, duck-billed dinosaurs from the Cretaceous period.

The word "Gungan" can also refer to any member of an Australian genus of frogs, Uperoleia.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Star Wars Miniatures: Knights of the Old Republic ad
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Star Wars Miniatures: Knights of the Old Republic ad
 * Star Wars Miniatures: Knights of the Old Republic ad
 * Star Wars Miniatures: Knights of the Old Republic ad
 * Star Wars Miniatures: Knights of the Old Republic ad

Notes and references
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