Tusken Raider/Legends

"Those Tuskens walk like men, but they're vicious, mindless monsters."

- Cliegg Lars

Tusken Raiders, sometimes referred to as Sandpeople or simply as Tuskens, were a culture of nomadic sapients indigenous to Tatooine. The term Sandpeople should need no explanation on this desert world, and was in use from at least around 4,000 BBY; but the alternative name of Tusken Raiders was acquired much later, due to a period of concerted attacks on the settlement at Fort Tusken in 98-95 BBY. Specialists studying the Sandpeople's past also used the term Ghorfa to denote an earlier sedentary phase of their culture, and lastly Kumumgah, for the earliest stratum of sapient civilization on the planet, believed by some to represent a common ancestry shared by the Ghorfa and the Jawas.

The Sandpeople were divided into small tribes or clans, and roamed widely across the desert surface of Tatooine, but the focus of their habitation-patterns seems to have been the Jundland Wastes, the one major area of rocky upland that rose clear of the shifting sands: in particular, the traditional sandstorm-season encampments of many clans were concentrated area known as the The Needles. They raided widely through both the Jundland and the Dune Sea, however, and any creatures, particularly offworlders, were subject to their savage attacks. Travelling on trained banthas, raiding parties would swiftly appear from the desert, riding in single file to conceal their numbers, and then disappear back into the cover of the dunes with trophies and prisoners.

Life in the desert
"They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals. I hate them!"

- Anakin Skywalker

Tusken culture was defined first and foremost by the climactic extremes of Tatooine: barren wastes stretching for days' journey on end, scoured by harsh, arid winds and searing heat by day; icy, deadly stillness after dark. Practical survival is the first priority in terrain like this, and to protect themselves, the Sandpeople learned early in their existence to cover themselves from head to foot in desert-colored rags and robes, leaving no bare skin exposed to the elements. It is perhaps no surprise that these outward trappings came to be the most basic tokens of Tusken Raiders identity&mdash;their mode of dress is, after all, a direct expression of their way of life.



Although Tusken garb varied from tribe to tribe, certain aspects of dress remained constant. The eyes of Sandpeople were covered with goggles or visors which shielded them from the harsh sunlight. Below the eyes two pipes protruded from the mask, most likely to facilitate breathing. A constantly open mouthpiece covered the area between the nose and jaw, while a moisture trap worn around the neck humidified the air taken into the lungs. Sand People were also recognizable by their fierce gaderffii weapons. While rejecting most examples of modern technology, long-barreled Tusken Cycler rifles and stoves made of scavenged or stolen metal were not uncommon.

All in all, the Sandpeople were frightening to behold. This fear was expanded upon by countless gruesome legends, and by even more gruesome truths, such as their tendency to spit streams of blood at their victims during attacks.

Female Tuskens wore variations upon the male Tusken garb, often incorporating womp rat tusks into their attire: in some tribes, their role seem to have involved maintaining the encampments while the males raided and hunted, but in other groups, perhaps more strictly nomadic in outlook, they may have lived and hunted more closely alongside their menfolk. Tusken children wore unisex masks; gender-specific coverings were not allowed until after they became adults.

Tuskens were forbidden to take off their protective clothing in front of others, except in a few very specific circumstances: at childbirth, on their wedding night and during coming-of-age rituals (two events which were often one and the same), and as adults, only in the privacy of their tents with their blood-bound mates. Breaking this rule meant either banishment or death, depending on the specific tribe rules.

The emphasis on outward appearance and concealment of physical form also enabled&mdash;and disguised&mdash;one of the most striking elements of Tusken culture: although the Sandpeople were regarded as alien savages by Tatooine's human colonists, an unknown proportion of the Tusken population were, at least by the last decades of the Old Republic, every bit as human as the settlers themselves.

Biology
There are of course, a number means by which human groups could have been introduced and absorbed into an initial nonhuman population: Sandpeople are known to have adopted settler orphans after raids on human settlements and convoys, and some outlanders, like the Jedi Master Sharad Hett, could win a place in their tribes by virtue of their warrior prowess; nor can we overlook the possibility that earlier colonists may have been forced to adopt the Tusken lifestyle to survive. However, it is a singular fact that there is not one Tusken Raider of whom it can be said with certainty that they were not human.

Scientific studies of the few dead corpses found were said to have been inconclusive, and while in part, the lack of detailed knowledge can be accounted for by the hostility of the Tatooine climate, and in part, by the hostility of the Tusken Raiders themselves, it should be borne in mind that our knowledge of the Sandpeople&mdash;or what we think we know about them&mdash;is very often based on uncertain and inferential evidence.

History
Tatooine is said to have once been a lush world with extensive oceans, home to a civilization known as the Kumumgah, until drastic climatic change reduced the planet to desert and split the native inhabitants into two groups: the Ghorfas and the diminutive Jawas. Some geological formations identified as producst of this ecological change, such as Beggar's Canyon, are dated to as early as 2,000,000 BBY, but stories also persist that the Kumumgah defied the Infinite Empire some time between 50,000 and 25,000 BBY, and were punished by orbital bombarment, which slagged the surface of Tatooine into little more than fused glass; this crumbled over the subsequent tens of thousands of years, and became desert sand. However, while the intervention of the Infinite Empire is believed to have provoked major ecological transformations on other worlds, as on Kashyyyk, it is not entirely clear whether the dramatic, species-wide divergence between the tall warrior Tuskens and the diminutive Jawas can have been accomplished in a matter of just a few tens of thousands of years.

After Tatooine was rediscovered by the Republic in around 5,000 BBY, early Human settlers are believed to have disrupted their water-supply of a settled cave-dwelling society known as Ghorfa culture, precipitating the transformation of the natives into the nomadic Sandpeople. To survive, they were forced to steal and adapt the technology of the the colonists, forging the distinctive desert survival gear by which they would subseuqently become so well-known. By around 4,000 BBY, they were also engaged in endemic low-level warfare with the settlers, raids which were among the factors that forced Czerka Corporation to abandon their attempts to operate Tatooine as a mining world, and which, incidentally, allowed the Jawas to take control of the miners' abandonned sandcrawlers as mobile clan fortresses, giving rise to the modern settlement pattern of Tatooine's second native sapient species.

Tatooine was, it seems, largely forgotten by the wider Galaxy for the next few thousand years, and indeed, the planet apparently had to be formally rediscovered in 1,100 BBY; but sources cite an incident around 550 BBY as a key moment in the history of the Sandpeople and their relations with the outlanders, when an off-world bandit named Alkhara occupied the desert fortress that would be used in later centuries by Jabba the Hutt. He and his gang allied himself with the Sandpeople to wipe out a small police garrison, but afterwards turned on their native partners-in-crime and butchered them. This, it is claimed, was the source of a subsequent blood feud between the natives and the outlanders.

However, it is unclear exactly what a "police garrison" meant on uncolonized Tatooine, or what the feud can have meant for the Sandpeople on a planet that had largely been abandonned by the wider Galaxy. Permanent settlement by offworlders&mdash;or outlanders&mdash;only seems to have resumed in 100 BBY, with the arrival of the settler ship Dowager Queen from Bestine IV. A new planetary capital called Bestine was founded, and a second settlement called Fort Tusken was established in at the northern tip of the Jundland range. At first, the new colonists seem to have been unaware of the Sandpeople, but a series of attacks between 98 and 95 BBY forced the abandonment of Fort Tusken, and from that point on, the human settlers of Tatooine referred to the natives as "Tusken Raiders".



Social Organization
Sandpeople organized into clans and tribes, the former being kin-groups of between 20 to 30 beings, and the latter being larger affinities with no strict bounds. In a typical tribe, the adult males typically assumed the role of hunter and protector, often leaving their camps for an extended period of time. Females, often accompanied by massif guard animals, cared for the children, known as uli-ah, and the seasonal camps. After completing the rites of adulthood at the age of fifteen, the uli-ah were granted full status within the tribe and paired for marriage in a ceremony involving blood exchanges between the male, female and their banthas.

The bantha was another vital element of Tusken culture, a large, shaggy-coated quadruped capable of surviving for long stretches in the harsh terrain of the deserts; some banthas roamed wild, but the Sandpeople had learned to domesticate them. Every Tusken had their own mount from childhood, and they rode bantha-back for journeys of any length: small scouting parties of two or three mounts, or entire clan communities on seasonal migrations, they travelled through the dunes and rock-formations on the shoulders of their mounts, in single file.

Tuskens subsisted primarily on hubba gourds, and moisture farmers took great humor in the fact that they became intoxicated on just a few sips of sugar water. It is unknown if there was a carnivorous facet to their diet, but their violence would certainly suggest as much.

While leading a lifestyle that was primarily nomadic, there were two exceptions to the rule: when the hot season was at its height, semi-permanent camps would be constructed; and particular caves or hollows, spiritually connected to certain clans (usually where the dead would be buried or special ceremonies would be held) were frequently visited. Special water wells such as the one in Gafsa Canyon, sacred due to their rarity, were often vehemently protected.

Rituals
Many rituals held Sandpeople society together. In many tribes, adolescent Sand People were tasked with a ritual known as "bloodrite", in which a youth proved their hunting skills by capturing a creature and fatally torturing it with techniques extending the pain for weeks before death. Most opted for creatures like bantha or desert wraid, but the greatest prestige was reserved for a hunter who performed the rite upon a sentient being. The final test of an adult male was to hunt and slay a krayt dragon. Oftentimes, members of the tribe would create spirit masks out of natural materials for use in the ensuing ritual and celebration. During this ceremony, the leader of the tribe, the High Urr'Ak, would bestow upon the successful youth his first gaderffii. This was a time of great honor for the young tribesman, but it also represented a great responsibility. If the youth lost his gaderffii, he would be banished forever.

Additionally, Tuskens occasionally enjoyed firing upon podracers who participated in the Boonta Eve Races, as a sort of sport and show of marksmanship.

A unique bond existed in Tusken culture between the riders and their bantha mounts, and when a mount died, the rider was often left behind to wander the desert alone. They held that if the fallen bantha's spirit wished for the rider to find a new mount, it would be so. If not, the rider would die amongst Tatooine's endless dunes. The bond worked both ways, as accounts have been told of riderless banthas intentionally stampeding over cliffs.

Language
The Sand People spoke a guttural language known as Tusken. Many individual names are long and marked by numerous stops, such as Grk'Urr'Akk, Grk'kkrs'arr, Orrh Or'Ur and Orr'UrRuuR'R. However, shorter names like Sliven are also recorded in some clans, and some Tuskens, like A'Sharad Hett and his mother K'Sheek bore patronymic (and perhaps matronymic) names formed from a parent's given name and a prefix: A meaning "son of" and apparently K', "daughter of. Known Tusken words include urtah (carrying pack) and urtya (light tent). As a rule, Tuskens also possessed a rudimentary knowledge of Huttese and Jawaese, as they came into contact with these languages quite frequently.

With no written language, the Sand People relied on oral history to pass down the legends and stories of their people. As such, storytellers were held in the highest regard and charged with the responsibility of memorizing by rote the story of every clan member and piece of clan history. For apprentice storytellers, the pressure to memorize the stories precisely was intense: a single mistake meant death. If an apprentice storyteller successfully recites a story perfectly, he becomes the clan's storyteller while the old one wandered off into the desert forever.

Notable Tusken Raiders



 * A'Sharad Hett, a Clone Wars-era Jedi (actually Human)
 * A-Zulmun, tribal leader and slayer of Ranon Djlekh
 * Hoar, the only known Tusken to master the ancient art of Teräs Käsi
 * Jundland Banshee, a rogue Sand Person
 * Orr Agg R'orr, sniped Teemto Pagalies at the Boonta Eve Classic
 * RR'uruurr, attacked Luke Skywalker in the Jundland Wastes
 * Raito, known for his ability to hunt and slay Jedi during the Great Sith War Era
 * Sharad Hett, Old Republic-era Jedi, father of A'Sharad (actually Human)
 * Sliven, foster father of Tahiri Veila
 * Tahiri Veila, Jedi Knight raised by Sand People (actually Human)
 * URoRRoR'R'R, a skilled hunter who captured Luke Skywalker and R2-D2.
 * Grave Tuskens, a group of Tuskens on Sulon, perhaps the only known case of Tusken presence off-Tatooine.

Behind the scenes



 * In Star Wars films, Sandpeople fire upon podracers during the Boonta Eve Classic in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, killed Anakin Skywalker's mother in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and attacked Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Humorously enough, they are accurate enough with their fire to actually hit one of the podracers, in spite of Obi-Wan's Episode IV comment, "these blast points... too accurate for sandpeople. Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise" (although Stormtroopers are notoriously atrocious shots in the Original Trilogy, but this can be attributed to their rifles).
 * In the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, one of the side-quests requires that the player infiltrate a Sandpeople village. Upon doing so, an extremely long history of the Sandpeople is presented to the player.
 * In the Xbox adventure game Star Wars: Obi-Wan set during and a bit before the events of the Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi is forced to rescue the Queen of Naboo (or one of her doubles) after she is abducted by Tuskens during the layover on Tatooine. In the game, Kenobi must even stalk through a communal Tusken burial site. As Obi-Wan Kenobi the player must track the Raiders through their extensive canyon dwellings among old scavenged shipwrecks turned to fortresses and eventually do battle with a Tusken war chief a significantly larger Tusken than the others, who intended to keep the queen as a trophy. A sequence of cultural interest depicts the Tuskens solemnly and ceremoniously conceding defeat after Obi-Wan demands to be allowed to return to safety with the Queen since he has defeated the Tusken war chief.
 * Grave Tuskens appear in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II as henchmen to the Dark Jedi Jerec and Maw on the moon of Sulon. This is the only appearance of a Sandpeople group off Tatooine, although Hoar from Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi did travel offworld to learn that martial art from Arden Lyn.
 * Tuskens also appear in Mysteries of the Sith in the Ka'Pa mission. The level vaguely resembles Tatooine, although the game doesn't specify the name of the planet the level takes place. It is possible we have another example of non-Tatooine Tuskens
 * In the PC game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and its sequel, there is a hidden easter egg in the first Chewbacca campaign; over in the far right corner of the first mission, under the fog of war, is a scene similair to the Obi-Wan mission above. This can only be accessed by a combination of Cheat Codes dissipating the fog of war. And success in the mission is not lost if the side-mission is failed.
 * When a Tusken speaks, they sound like the sea lions of Earth, but in actuality their sounds were fashioned by Ben Burtt from donkey brays.
 * In Star Wars Republic 62: No Man's Land, an image is shown of a Tusken without a mask, although this may just be Anakin Skywalker's mental image of the Sandpeople, rather than an accurate portrayal.
 * Ghorfa is the name of the type of grain storage structures in Tunisia used for filming the slave quarters in Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Appearances

 * ''Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars Republic: Outlander
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Galaxies
 * Star Wars: Obi-Wan
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Jedi Power Battles
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars Republic 50: The Battle of Kamino
 * Star Wars Republic 62: No Man's Land
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * The Last One Standing
 * Star Wars Empire: Darklighter
 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars: Force Commander
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Pearls in the Sand
 * Tatooine Ghost
 * Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood
 * Children of the Jedi
 * Darksaber
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Anakin's Quest
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Vader's Fortress
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Kenobi's Blade
 * Adventure in Beggar's Canyon
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (game)