Pashvi (species)

"They've got a system on the edge of Wild Space. I've been there a few times&mdash;there's a small but stable market for their art, mostly in the Corporate Sector."

- Dubrak Quennto

The Pashvi were a race of humanoids who had wider torsos and longer arms than Humans. They lived on a world in the Pashvi system in Wild Space whose surface was dotted with many thousands of rock pillars, atop which grew both the best edible plants and extremely dangerous flying predators. This led to the Pashvi becoming both attracted to and frightened of physical objects they lived with. They had "agreeable" mentalities and were known as poor fighters. Their homeworld was raided by the Vagaari some point prior to 27 BBY. Pashvi art had a stable but small market, mostly in the Corporate Sector.

Biology and appearance
"The artist is humanoid, proportioned differently from humans and Chiss, with either a wider torso or longer arms. There's something of a distance to his emotional state, too. I would say his people are both drawn to and yet repulsed by or fearful of the physical objects they live among."

- Thrawn, upon encountering Pashvi sculpture

Pashvi were sentient humanoids, although a typical member of the species had longer arms and/or a wider torso than a human. Crops made up at least a portion of the Pashvi diet.

Society and culture
"Their world is sprinkled with thousands of rock pillars. Most of the best food plants grow on the tops. Unfortunately, so does a nasty predator avian. It makes for&mdash;well, for pretty much just what he said."

- Dubrak Quennto

Pashvi were known to be an amicable and peaceable species with little inclination or skill at fighting or violence. Their homeworld's terrain was marked by thousands of scattered stone pillars. The tops of these received more sunlight than the bottoms, which made the food plants growing there more nutritious and thus highly desirable to the Pashvi, forming the staple of their diet. However, the tops of these natural formations were also home to a predatory species of avians. Accordingly, the Pashvi attitude toward the rock pillars was one of both reverence and fear. More broadly, their experience with the pillars led Pashvi to keep their distance emotionally from one another and from things of importance to them.

The Pashvi created sculptures. This art form came in diverse styles, including one that used blue and white materials. By 27 BBY, Pashvi artists had begun exporting some of this work offworld, and a small collectors' market opened up, particularly in the Corporate Sector. Despite the remoteness of their world, the species received occasional visits from outsiders, although their world was beyond the reach of the Galactic Republic or the Jedi in 27 BBY.

History
"I presume these Pashvi won't have put up much resistance to Vagaari raids?" "Hardly. They're a pretty agreeable people. Lousy at fighting."

- Thrawn and Dubrak Quennto

The Pashvi hailed from a planet in the Pashvi system, located on the frontier of Wild Space. Due to the fact that the rock pillars of the world provided both sustenance and potential death, the Pashvi developed a distanced emotional state that had them keep friends and valuables at a safe emotional distance.

At some point by 27 BBY, the Pashvi fell prey to pirates of the marauding Vagaari species. The invaders plundered thirteen sculptures from the Pashvi and placed them in the hold of their ship. Later, this vessel came under the control of the Chiss Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo&mdash;also known as Thrawn. The officer found the Pashvi sculptures in the ship's treasure hold and by analyzing the works' forms, surmised precise details about the Pashvi creators. The show impressed the Human smuggler Dubrak Qennto, with whom Thrawn was traveling.

Behind the scenes
Author Timothy Zahn for the novel Outbound Flight, published by Del Rey in 2006. Although no member of the species appears in the novel, Zahn's protagonist, Thrawn, discovers a cache of Pashvi artwork. Thrawn surmises from the Pashvi's art that they must be humanoid beings with either longer arms or a wider torso than that of a human or Chiss, a notion to which Quennto agrees. However, the book does not specify which of Thrawn's assumptions is correct or whether both are applicable descriptions of the species. The species is referenced in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, published in 2008.

Appearances

 * Outbound Flight

Notes and references
Pashvi