Destruction of Otoh Sancture

"No! Mesa people are bein destroyen!"

- Gallo

Close to the year 3,000 BBY, a massacre took place in the Gungan city of Otoh Sancture on the planet Naboo during the war that had broken out between the various tribes of the amphibious Gungan race. Before the massacre, Otoh Sancture had been a peaceful city and its leader, Boss Gallo, had taken a pacifist stance in the war and refused to fight other Gungans. However, this concerned Boss Rogoe, the Gungan Boss behind the war, who believed that if Gallo joined the fighting he would drastically change the tide of it. To ensure this wouldn't happen, Rogoe ordered a colony of bursas, a dangerous semi-sentient species native to Naboo, to destroy Otoh Sancture and kill Gallo. However, Gallo happened to be away from the city out on a hunt for animals for the Sacred Feast, a Gungan thanksgiving celebration, when the bursas arrived and destroyed the city. Gallo observed the attack from afar, mourning the loss of his city without the knowledge who was responsible. He then retreated into the forests and discovered that it was Rogoe who had destroyed his city, prompting him to raise a small army to take Otoh Sancture's ruins back from the bursas, beginning his campaign to destroy Boss Rogoe, unite the Gungans, and bring peace to Naboo.

Prelude
"All the Gungan tribes were always poundin' the other, but Gallo refusen to raisen his arms against hisen fellow Gungans"

- Rugor Nass

Around the year 3,000 BBY, a large war took place on the planet Naboo, in which the amphibious Gungan tribes ceaselessly fought each other. Otoh Sancture was the only Gungan city that had refused to take part in the war, a stance enforced by Boss Gallo, the city's leader, who believed that the Gungans should not have been killing each other. However, this action concerned Boss Rogoe, the warlord who controlled the war, because he believed that if Gallo took a side in the war, Gallo would destroy him. To ensure this wouldn't happen Rogoe ordered a colony of carnivorous semi-sentient bursas under his influence to attack Otoh Sancture. At the time the city was about to enter into its Sacred Feast, a Gungan celebration of thanksgiving to the Guds, the Gungan deities. Tradition ruled that Gallo, as the Boss of Otoh Sancture, was to venture out into the forests to find some nerfs, antlered animals that would be suitable for the feast. Due to the hunt, Gallo was away from the city when the bursas arrived and the massacre began.

The massacre
"Oh no, Bursas! Wesa under attack! Help!"

- One of Otoh Sancture's citizens

The bursas began to attack the city not long after its Boss left. Gallo returned to discover his city was under attack but found himself trapped at the river crossing between the forests and his city, unable to do anything to save his people. The residents of Otoh Sancture were completely unaware of why they had been targeted by the bursas. The creatures destroyed everything in Otoh Sancture; no Gungans were left alive and even the city's glurrgs, non-sentient workers used in most Gungan cities, were killed. Gallo eventually had to turn away and retreat into the forest as the bursas demolished the rest of the city.

Aftermath
"Hesa sent thosa Bursas to pound yousa for good."

- One of Boss Rogoe's militiagungs to Gallo, referring to Rogoe



The bursas that had attacked the city took residence on the ruins and created several nests. When Gallo retreated into the forests he met Captain Marsune, a rogue Gungan whom Gallo told of what had happened to his city. He also encountered a scout party that worked for Boss Rogoe, who told Gallo that Rogoe had ordered the bursas to attack Otoh Sancture. After that meeting, Gallo built a small settlement and eventually raised an army large enough to defeat the bursas living in Otoh Sancture's remains. Marsune then returned to join Gallo in his campaign to defeat Rogoe and unite the Gungan tribes, which they succeeded in. Gallo then built Otoh Gunga, the Gungan capital city in memory of those killed in Otoh Sancture. The events of Gallo's fight against Rogoe, including the massacre, were later chonicled by Gallo's descendant Rugor Nass.

Behind the scenes
The Massacre appears in the video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, released in 2001, and its expansion, Clone Campaigns, which was released a year later. Before that the massacre had been mentioned in the game's strategy guide. In the game itself it is the first event that happens in the Gungan campaign in the level "Otoh Sancture". When the level starts the player can only control Boss Gallo and is on a different side of a river than Otoh Sancture, meaning they can't actually send Gallo there. The massacre begins at whatever point the player finds the nerfs, and ends when they reach Marsune's camp. After that the player has to make a base and attack the bursas living on Otoh Sancture's ruins. When they finish this the level is completed. The massacre was also mentioned in multiple entries of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, a 2008 Star Wars reference book published by Del Rey.

The massacre is noteworthy for reintroducing bursas into the Star Wars universe. The creatures had been indirectly created by George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, who said that the Gungans at some point in their history had created an army to end a conflict with "bear-like creatures". These were going to be identified as bursas by author Daniel Wallace in the book The Essential Guide to Episode I, which did not reach publication. However, the creators of Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds used the creatures in their game, thus reintroducing them into Star Wars canon.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * ''Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns