Lurmen

"Your species is smarter than you appear."

―Lok Durd^[6]

Lurmen (also known as Mygeetans) were a diminutive, pacifistic lemuroid species. They were native to the crystalline world of Mygeeto and also had a settlement on Maridun. Some Lurmen had the ability to curl up into a ball and roll along the ground, such as Wag Too. Lurmen were able to cover large amounts of ground at great speed.

Biology and appearance[]

The Lurmen were lemur-like humanoids,^[5] far smaller than a Human. Their bodies were covered entirely in fur, which ranged in color from a dark brown to a white-gray, though they did wear garments. The Lurmen had heads protruding perpendicular from their chest, with two large golden orange eyes, a nose and a mouth. Each Lurmen had a tail, and they communicated through speech; Lurmen were able to speak Basic.^[3] They had sharp ears to detect sounds of troubles,^[7]

They stood on two legs and had two arms,^[3] evolved for travel in trees,^[7] with five digits on each hand and foot. They could walk either upright on their two legs, and could also use their arms and legs for faster movement. Certain Lurmen had the ability to roll themselves into a wheeled shape; this allowed them to cover distances at great speed.^[3] They may have learned this ability from the native Amani on Maridun, on which a settlement of Lurmen was established.^[8] Wag Too was one Lurmen who possessed this rolling talent.^[3]

History[]

Mygeeto[]

The Lurmen found on the planet Mygeeto lived in groups within the natural crystalline towers that covered the surface of the planet.^[5] Despite their prosperity, the Lurmen of Mygeeto were enslaved by the Muun of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, a faction of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, when it took over Mygeeto. Mygeeto then became a planet within the Confederacy, before it came under attack from the forces of the Galactic Republic.^[9]

Maridun[]

The war comes to Maridun[]

"Your war turned our ol' home inta cinders. What choice did we have but t'leave?"

―Tee Watt Kaa about their exodus from Mygeeto.^[8]

During the Clone Wars, a group of Lurmen escaped^[8] from Mygeeto^[7] and colonized the planet Maridun,^[3] a world that was uncharted at the time.^[2] After being attacked by the native Amanin, they were forced to abandon their ship, which was their only way off the planet. The Lurmen's reason for this was that they would have to fight to get the ship back, the Lurmen cultural ethos being pacifist in nature.^[8]

Jedi Generals Aayla Secura and Ahsoka Tano with Ahsoka's master, Anakin Skywalker, crash landed on Maridun after their ship was heavily damaged by Separatist forces. Several clone troopers were also with them. With Skywalker badly injured, and the group having come under attack by numerous mastiff phalones, Secura, Tano and several clones arrived in the Lurmen camp. Requesting aid and healing for Skywalker, the Lurmen leader Tee Watt Kaa refused to have anything to do with the Clone Wars, or violence in general.^[3]

Lurmen Neighbors — Tee Watt Kaa, an elderly Lurmen, and two younger Lurmen

Watt Kaa demanded that the Jedi leave before they bring violence to his village and people. Tano, desperate for Anakin to survive, pleaded with Watt Kaa to help Skywalker. Relenting, Watt Kaa sent his son, Wag Too, to heal Skywalker. As a gesture of faith, Watt Kaa demanded that a Jedi stay behind, to prove also that Wag Too would not be kidnapped. Agreeing, Secura stayed behind. Watt Kaa also made clear that no clones and their blasters would be tolerated. As they returned to the camp, they found the camp under attack by two mastiff phalones. Wag Too, staying true to the Lurmen pacifism ethos, tied the creature up and stopped Tano from killing it. Taking Skywalker to the Lurmen camp, Wag Too began his healing process on Skywalker.^[3]

Separatist occupation[]

"I am General Lok Durd of the Separatist Alliance. You are now under the protection of the Separatist Alliance. I congratulate you on your good fortune."

―Lok Durd —

Listen (file info)^[6]

Lok Durd, General of the Confederacy, eventually came to the planet with a number of troops and announced the occupation of Maridun. Hiding Skywalker and his allies, the Lurmen refused to fight or use any form of violence against the Separatists, despite the Separatists ransacking their village. Watt Kaa and his Lurmen were informed by Durd that such searches for Republic contraband may happen again in the future. Despite his father's wishes to remain neutral, Wag Too assigns a Lurmen scout, Tub, to aid the Jedi in getting off world.^[6]

Despite having already searched the village, the Separatists returned soon after their initial visit. The Separatists, under Durd, intended to use the Lurmen's known pacifism as a means to test an experimental weapon. As well as Skywalker, Secura and two clones soldiers, Rex and Bly, Wag Too and Tub witnessed the weapon's test firing. Skywalker recognized that the next target for the Separatists would be the Lurmen. Tub, having seen this and the Separatists returning to the village, sent word to Wag Too. Tee Watt Kaa, when he heard of this, stated that there was no reason to believe that the Separatists would attack them, to his son's frustration.^[6]

The Republic forces on the planet, having stolen a Separatist shuttle, arrive at the village and inform Tee Watt Kaa that the Separatists are planning to destroy them. Watt Kaa, however, refuses to use violence to fight them off, instead stating that he and the Lurmen would rather die than resort to violence. Despite Watt Kaa refusing to allow the Lurmen to fight, the Republic built defenses out of seed pods around the outside of the Lurmen village. Despite Watt Kaa's stance, many of the Lurmen, including Wag Too, wanted to fight. After the Separatists fired their weapon, Skywalker and the Jedi raised a shield around the village, preventing the weapon from causing damage. Durd, having seen this, orders the battle droids of the Confederacy to attack. The Lurmen, still remaining without violence, watch as the Republic defends their village.^[6]

As droids fight past Skywalker and his allies, however, the Lurmen became vulnerable to attack. Wag Too, gathering those who did not believe in Watt Kaa's absolute pacifism, attacked the droids and tied them up for the Republic to destroy. The droids, having been defeated, left the village. Despite his ideals conflicting with those of his son's, Watt Kaa thanked the Jedi. Wag Too and the rest of the Lurmen did the same.^[6]

Society and culture[]

"We will not fight them at all. We would rather die than to kill others."

―Tee Watt Kaa^[3]

TeeWattKaa-DoP — Tee Watt Kaa, tribal leader of Lurmen refugees on Maridun.

The Lurmen that emigrated to Maridun used fallen seedpods from the giant trees as shelter and home. Living near the trees proved too dangerous, as the falling pods could be deadly. Instead, the Lurmen dragged the pods into a clearing and used them as huts.^[3] They also extracted essential oils from the pods for nutrition and healing medicines.^[5]

Most Lurmen were pacifistic by nature and refused to fight or run even in the face of death. They often would hide instead of using violence. As pacifists, they carried no weapons but carried farming tools or ropes. When some Lurmen fought the Separatists, they refrained from ever destroying or killing the enemy. Their farming tools were used mostly as a leverage tool in these tactics and to provide something to tie the rope to, though sometimes they were used as a weapon for striking an enemy.^[6]

The greatest native threat to the Lurmen on Maridun were the Amani and the mastiff phalones, raptor-headed quadrupeds that hunted in groups. However, even in defeating these beasts the Lurmen attempted to remain true to their pacifist ideals, and not inflict any injury to the creatures. Instead, when cornered by a mastiff phalone, an agile Lurmen would try to unbalance the creature by tying a rope around its stout legs. For speedy movement, Lurmen could curl into a wheel-shape and roll along the ground.^[5]

The Lurmen on Mygeeto had the intelligent ability to be able to make profit and be prosperous, until the time of the invasion and occupation by the Banking Clan and, later, the Separatists.^[9]

Behind the scenes[]

Creation[]

Lemurpeople4iy2 — Concept art of a Mygeetan Lurmen

During story exploration for Episode III, George Lucas had the Art Department concoct a wide variety of planets, locales and species as inspiration for storypoints. Among one of his most favored designs which survived multiple iterations were a species of lemur-like people, a design dating back to 2002. According to Sang Jun Lee, Lucas was inspired by a flag touting a lemur exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo. Lucas liked the look of the species, but struggled to find a place for them in the evolving story.^[5]

At first, they were to reside on Utapau (or "Utapo" as early notes suggest), living within the massive sinkholes of the windswept planet. They were transplanted to Mygeeto, but then ultimately eliminated from the movie in 2003.^[5]

The Clone Wars' appearance[]

The Lurmen made their first appearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "Jedi Crash".^[3] In the earlier drafts of the episode, the native creatures encountered by the Jedi were originally meant to be the savage Amanin. However, the story's theme would focus on pacifism, and how the Jedi were seen by peaceful cultures as perpetrators of war. Such an outlook didn't fit with the depiction of Amanins in their most well known appearances. With the opportunity for Lucas to dust off old favorites, the lemur design was finally used.^[5] While the Amanin are nowhere to be seen in the episodes,^[3]^[6] they made an appearance in the tie-in webcomic The Clone Wars: Neighbors.^[8]