Taung

The Taungs, later known as the Mandalorians, were a warlike Near-Human species with gray skin that dominated the planet Coruscant thousands of years before the rise of Humans. The Taungs and the thirteen native Human nations, the Battalions of Zhell, eventually battled for control of Coruscant. Though the Zhell were nearly exterminated in a volcanic explosion, they managed to drive the Taungs from Coruscant. Due to the two years of darkness caused by the ash, the Taungs named themselves the Warriors of the Shadow (Dha Werda Verda).

The Taungs fled to Roon, where they remained for thousands of years, until, under the leadership of the legendary Mandalore the First, the Taungs conquered another world which they renamed in honor of their leader, Mandalore. The species as a whole then also took the name, becoming the Mandalorians (or Mando'ade in their native Mando'a).

Eventually, as the Mandalorian species became extinct, their name became associated with a multi-species organization of warrior clans, who, regardless of species, adhered to the tenets of the Mandalorians. These Mandalorians, who were mostly baseline Humans, held the legacy of the Taungs in high regard.

Behind the scenes
The name Taung may be a reference to the Taung Child, a fossil skull which was the first known example of the early hominind Australopithecus africanus. A. africanus are thought to have been remote ancestors of Humans, just as the Taung of Coruscant were precursors of the later Mandalorian culture.

Appearances



 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear