Kiffar/Legends

The Kiffar were a species of Near-Humans from the planet Kiffu. As such, they were sometimes mistakenly called "Kiffu".

Abilities
About one in a hundred Kiffar had the ability to read the memories of inanimate objects—including formerly animate objects like corpses—by touch, an ability known as psychometry. It was not, however, normal for a Kiffar to be able to read the living. Quinlan Vos was a rare exception to this rule because of his training under Count Dooku.

Culture
The Kiffar resided on the planets of Kiffu and Kiffex, and their skin came in as many varying shades as that of Humans.

Visually, they were comparable to any Human except for their distinct facial markings. These markings, called qukuuf, applied as tattoos when young, were passed down through families on the mother's side, except for on those rare occasions where an individual's mother was not a Kiffar, in which case the father's markings were taken on. Such was the case of Korto Vos, the son of Kiffar Jedi Master Quinlan Vos and Human mother Khaleen Hentz. Clan membership seemed to be passed down on the father's side, although it is unclear what occurred when the father was not a Kiffar, as with the case of Ailyn Vel. These tattoos also identify which clan a Kiffar might be in, but these clans were at war or in high tension partnerships for most of the Kiffarian history. But since the Imperial annexation of the Kiffars' homeworlds, 3,500 standard years before the rise of Darth Vader, this race has since diminished in numbers greatly, along with the clan heads and other instigators of the clan-feuds.

The traditional colors of the facial tattoos were red, yellow, and green. Various patterns and designs were used to identify the clan.

Behind the scenes
Jan Duursema has written on her forum that Kiffar markings are not applied as paint. She says, "Yes, the Kiffar tattoos are permanent tattoos and not paint. They do use both a design and color system to identify the clans. We have dealt mostly with the Vos clan who have the yellow tattoos--though I recall one of Quin's cousins having a more greenish tattoo."