Abyssin

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"When their elderly grow too old to regenerate, beat them to death, the Abyssin do, to conserve their resources."

―Yoda, to Qui-Gon Jinn^[4]

Abyssins were a cycloptic (single-eyed), sentient race native to Byss. They had the ability to regenerate lost limbs and could live for nearly 300 years. Notable Abyssins included Myo, a patron of Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina in Mos Eisley, Tatooine, and Gor Koresh, a gangster and gambler who hunted Mandalorian coverts for their beskar armor.

Biology and appearance[]

Abyssins were a sentient species of cycloptic bipeds^[5] native to Byss.^[4] Their physical characteristics included a swarthy-greenish^[1] or dark blue-black^[2] skin, green and white hair, and a single-pupiled eye in the center of their forehead.^[1] They also had the notable abilities of regrowing missing/amputated limbs and living to be 300 years old.^[3] Some Abyssins possessed three, claw-tipped digits on each hand,^[1] while others had four, more human-like fingers.^[6] According to Jedi Grand Master Yoda, the Abyssin would beat their elderly members to death in order to conserve resources.^[4]

Abyssin in the galaxy[]

During the late Republic Era, the Count of Serenno, Ramil, hired a group of mercenaries to invade Serenno, including Oster and another Abyssin (both of whom were later killed by Jedi Master Dooku).^[7]

Jackar Bowmani, a male Abyssin, worked in the Jedi Temple as a munitions expert during the Clone Wars, and was secretly fed modified explosive NM-K reconstitutor nano-droids by his wife, Letta Turmond, to use him as a bomb against the Jedi. Bowmani later self-detonated inside of the Jedi Temple hangar, killing six Jedi and numerous Republic clone troopers, among other hangar workers in the process, destroying all but one of his arms.^[6] Another Abyssin named Myo^[5] was a patron of Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina in Mos Eisley when Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first met Han Solo and Chewbacca, shortly before the Battle of Yavin.^[1] The Hutt crime lord Jabba the Hutt used a large hoversled as a throne that was decorated with several statues of Abyssin heads.^[8]

During the New Republic Era, an Abyssin gambler and gangster named Gor Koresh profited from underworld gladiator matches^[9] at his own arena^[10] while also hunting Mandalorian remnants for their beskar armor. At one point, during a fight-to-the-death between two Gamorreans. he met with Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin, who was in search of others of his kind, at his arena. Koresh apparently had information on where other Mandalorians could be found, but he attempted to trick Djarin into a bet which could scam him of his beskar armor. Djarin refused the offer, prompting Koresh to pull-out a gun and hold Djarin at gunpoint, along with three armed guards who were on standby. In the chaos, Koresh ended up shooting and killing one of the Gamorrean fighters in the ring, saying he didn’t want to lose a bet. Djarin concurred, and subsequently defeated Koresh's guards, who fled amidst the fighting. Djarin intercepted Koresh outside the arena in the dimly-lit streets, capturing him with a rope around the foot and hanging him upside-down from a streetlight. Djarin continued pressing Koresh for the information he desired. After Koresh gave in, Djarin walked off, saying that letting him go wasn’t "part of the deal". Instead, Djarin fired at the streetlight above Koresh, rendering it useless and thus darkening the surrounding street, which enticed a pack of ravenous, nocturnal wild dogs.^[11]

Behind the scenes[]

An Abyssin first appeared in the 1977 movie Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.^[1] The name "Abyssin" itself was only coined in the Legends roleplaying game sourcebook Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races in 1984.^[12] The first canon source to use the species's name was the reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations, released in 2016. Although the name was misspelled as "Abbysin" in that book,^[5] author Jason Fry has confirmed this is merely a typographical error.^[13]

The Abyssin were also considered to fill the role of the Confederacy of Independent Systems's alien guards for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, becoming a predecessor design to the Neimoidian Royal Guards seen in the final film. Dubbed the "Separatist Alien Guard," the concept art of the Abyssin soldier was later included as part of the Star Wars: The Complete Saga collection.^[14]