Jinda

"A Jinda's life is fun and games, because work and play are just the same!"

- Bondo

The Jindas were a sentient species noted for their energetic nature and desire to entertain others with their natural performing skills. One group of Jindas departed Eriadu around 130 BBY aboard the starship Free Enterprise, bound for Kuna's Eye in the Moddell sector. However, their ship crashed on the forest moon of Endor and the survivors found themselves stranded. Over time, they became a nomadic tribe, wandering the surface of the moon and entertaining its other inhabitants.

Biology and appearance
Jindas were a bipedal sentient species which varied in size from slender to rotund. They could be recognized by their characteristic pom-pom tufts of red red hair and their black noses. Their red-banded necks had the ability to expand, making them appear larger than they actually were. This ability served two purposes; as a defensive mechanism when the Jinda was threatened or as a display which was used by males when attempting to impress a female. Jindas bore markings on their bodies, which varied between individuals and reached as high as the neck. Jindas had large mouths filled with blunt, cube-shaped teeth. The teeth marked them as a herbivorous species, and they were known to be fond of eating. Though they were a land-dwelling species, Jindas were able to swim in water and were known to do so recreationally.

Society and culture
Jindas were a genial species who were said to always have a smile for strangers and displayed a high level of energy, regardless of their physical condition. They had an inborn talent for performing, with skills including juggling, magic, dancing and music, and enjoyed using their talents to entertain others. Though they excelled in performing, Jindas were lacking in other abilities, displaying a poor sense of direction and a limited long-term memory. This poor memory and sense of direction was notable among the Jinda tribe living on the forest moon of Endor, who were notorious for getting lost. It was said among the native Ewoks that once the Jindas left a village, they would never return.

Jinda society was based around entertainment, using their natural performance skills to entertain others. They were very confident in their skills as entertainers and were willing to perform to even the most blasé audience. Jindas were also fond of storytelling, though their poor long-term memory gave them a habit of embellishing their tales. In this, their poor memory proved advantageous as the unintended exaggerations tended to make their stories more entertaining for the listeners. However, no matter how much a Jinda might exaggerate, their stories were always based around a central truth.

The Jinda tribe on Endor were initially a [farm]]ing community. They grew their own vegetables in fields ploughed using large beasts of burden and survived on meals made from the resulting crops. The Jinda love of food was evident in their cuisine, which the Rock Wizard considered to be the best he had ever tasted. The tribe later became nomadic, spending their time wandering the vast distances between settlements. They traveled aboard the same beasts who had once ploughed their fields, with their performing equipment and dwellings fastened to the beasts' backs. When stopped, the tribe would set up a temporary camp, using tents and portable huts as accommodation while their beasts rested. The Travelling Jindas used their talents to entertain the lifeforms they encountered on their travels, moving from town to town and putting on a performance for the inhabitants. In return for the entertainment, the Jindas asked only for one night's hospitality, though they would accept tips in any form. Though their performances were generally well received, some natives of Endor considered them to be freeloaders. They were a peaceful group, having no enemies on Endor, and often acted as neutral parties, carrying messages between the moon's warring inhabitants. Though not native to Endor, the group were able to communicate with native species, including the Ewoks and Duloks.

History
Jindas were known to the wider galactic community as early as 130 years before the Battle of Yavin. Around 130 BBY, several hundred Jinda and Tulgah settlers departed Eriadu, bound for Kuna's Eye in the Moddell sector aboard the colony starship Free Enterprise. The vessel never reached its intended destination, crashing on Endor and stranding both groups on the unfamiliar forest moon. The Jindas adapted quickly, however, and were able to make a new home for themselves. Jinda chroniclers later claimed that their people established a stable agricultural settlement on Endor, but they attracted the wrath of a Force-sensitive being known as the Rock Wizard and were forbidden to ever again settle down. The tribe became nomadic, taking the name "The Travelling Jindas" and wandering across Endor, using their talents to entertain the native species and trading with those they encountered, including Gupins and Duloks. Their poor sense of direction meant that encounters with the more hostile Dulok tribes were infrequent, but also made it difficult for them to find tribes of their favorite audience, the native Ewoks. As a result, the Ewoks came to refer to this as "The Curse of the Jindas" and adopted the name "Jinda" as a derogatory term for nomadic members of their own species who shunned their traditional sedentary lifestyle.

In 3 ABY, the Travelling Jindas, under the leadership of Bondo, came upon Bright Tree Village, an Ewok settlement on the forest moon. As they entered the village, Bondo was met by Chirpa, the Ewok chieftan, and offered to put on a show in return for the Ewoks' hospitality for the night. Despite some in the village considering the Jindas to be merely freeloaders, Chirpa agreed to let them stay and that night the Jindas put on a show for the Ewoks featuring performances by the animal trainer Chituhr, the magician Trebla and a group of female dancers. The show was well received by the Ewoks and Chief Chirpa thanked Bondo as the Jindas prepared to leave the following morning. One Ewok, however, was particularly inspired&mdash;the young Ewok musician Latara decided to leave with the Jinda tribe in order to learn from the tribe and sharpen her own skills. Only after leaving Bright Tree Village did the Jindas discover that Latara had stowed away in their equipment. Nevertheless, the tribe welcomed her into their number and Bondo soon put her to work washing their performing costumes.

The tribe continued on their way, unaware that Latara's presence had attracted pursuers&mdash;the Ewok shaman Logray had dispatched Wicket Wystri Warrick, Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka, Teebo and Paploo to retrieve the runaway Ewok, while a pair of Duloks sought to capture her to present to their leader, King Gorneesh. The following night, the Travelling Jindas stopped in a clearing in the forest and decided to perform for a group of choreamnos. Latara was enlisted for her first performance, as the assistant in Trebla's magic act. It wasn't long before Latara realized that Jinda life was not as she had imagined and asked Bondo to take her home, but by this point the Jindas were already lost and had no idea how to find Bright Tree Village. The other Ewoks soon caught up with the Jinda tribe, but Latara was already gone&mdash;kidnapped by the Duloks when she ventured away from the Jinda camp.

Bondo agreed to help the Ewoks rescue their friend. With the Ewoks disguised as Jindas, the Travelling Jindas headed for swamp where King Gorneesh's tribe resided and offered to perform for the Duloks in exchange for camping in the swamp that night. During the show, Bondo spotted the captive Latara among the audience and selected her to assist Trebla. Gorneesh agreed to allow it, unaware that the Jindas were planning an illusion that would allow Latara to flee with the other Ewoks, who were waiting atop the stage. However, when Paploo fell from the stage, the Duloks realized the deception and gave chase. Bondo turned the tribe's beasts of burden on the advancing Duloks, giving the Ewoks time to escape, before he and the other Jindas packed up their equipment and made a discreet exit.

The fate of the Free Enterprise remained unknown to the galaxy until the Travelling Jindas were discovered by traders from the Alliance to Restore the Republic following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY.

Behind the scenes
Jindas were created for "The Travelling Jindas", the fifth episode of the 1985 season of the Star Wars: Ewoks animated television series, written by Bob Carrau. Carrau later reused the species in the show's seventh episode, "The Curse of the Jindas." Early sources to reference the Jindas, including the second edition of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe and Star Wars Encyclopedia, described them as a tribe of Ewoks. The term "Jinda" was also used to refer to nomadic Ewoks in the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. Daniel Wallace's 2008 article Castaways of Endor established that the Jindas from Star Wars: Ewoks were just one tribe from a non-Endorian species which had become stranded on the planet.