- "The m'iiyoom is the white flower that blossoms in the season of trine, the season when all three moons give their light. It's also called the nightlily."
- ―M'iiyoom Onith explains her namesake
M'iiyoom Onith, (Pronunciation ) also known as Nightlily, was a female H'nemthe from the planet H'nemthe. She spent her life on her homeworld until she was selected to travel the galaxy and find a mate from outside of her culture. During her journeys, she ran out of credits and became stranded in the spaceport city of Mos Eisley on Tatooine, where she was courted by the Gotal tax collector Feltipern Trevagg. Trevagg found Onith physically intoxicating and intended to desert her after a single night of passion, but won her affection by falsely proposing to marry her. Onith in turn fell in love with Trevagg, believing he had agreed to partake in her species' mating ritual: she would kill him immediately after the reproductive act.
After Trevagg showed her some of the sights of Mos Eisley, he brought her to a cantina and ordered her several alcoholic drinks. The two then went to the Mos Eisley Inn. As per H'nemthe custom, Onith used her razor-sharp tongue to eviscerate Trevagg immediately after they consummated their attraction. She soon after returned to her homeworld. Notorious for being the first female of her species to attempt mating with a non-H'nemthe, she began speaking publicly about her experience.
Biography[]
- "I can't believe that you would… would truly love me enough to wed. The males of my species… fear that commitment. That giving of all for love."
"The males of your species are fools." - ―M'iiyoom Onith and Feltipern Trevagg, misunderstanding the other's intentions
The female H'nemthe M'iiyoom Onith was born to an unwealthy family on the planet H'nemthe, the homeworld of her species. She was named for the m'iiyoom, a white flower that blossomed on the planet and that translated from the H'nemthe to Basic as "Nightlily." Onith lived with her mother and sisters, and because virgins were forbidden to leave H'nemthe, she remained on the planet[1] until she was selected to take part in an experiment to see how well female H'nemthe would fare at finding mates from outside of their native culture.[3] Onith left to visit her sister on Cona,[1] and was accompanied by a chaperone during her travels until she boarded the wrong ship during a layover at a transfer station. The scientist Mammon Hoole later believed that she may have done this intentionally in order to lose her chaperone.[3]
Before reaching Cona,[2] Onith ended up in the spaceport city of Mos Eisley on Tatooine, where officials claimed that her travel papers were not in order. Forced to pay a passage tax, she was unable to afford transportation back to her homeworld.[1] Onith lingered in Mos Eisley for several weeks, becoming a regular at a local cantina.[4][5] Eventually, she made her way to a tax collector's office in the city and was directed to the male Gotal Feltipern Trevagg. When she entered Trevagg's office, the Gotal glimpsed her and immediately desired her. In order to keep her on Tatooine for the night, he told Onith that he would speak to the captain of the passenger liner the Tellivar Lady, but in reality dawdled on his way to Docking Bay 9, allowing the ship to lift off. Trevagg then took Onith to lunch at Court of the Fountain, an expensive restaurant owned by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt.[1] While walking there from the tax office, he offered many compliments on her appearance, flattering her and winning some affection in return.[2]
Jabba the Hutt's chef Porcellus produced four courses of fruits and vegetables for Onith, as H'nemthe virgins were not permitted to eat meat. Trevagg claimed to have feelings for her while only intending to have one night together and viewing her as naive prey. Onith interpreted his declaration as a brave proposal to marry her and engage in her species' mating ritual, in which she would immediately kill him; in truth, he was ignorant of it.[1] The Gotal played along, kissing Onith, and promising her a union of body and soul.[2] Trevagg brought her back to his office and booked her passage from Tatooine on the passenger liner the Starswan. She hoped he would come with her to her homeworld and marry her before her mother and sisters, but he claimed he could not leave for a few days. He then brought her to the cantina she had visited several weeks before and continued lowering her inhibitions. Onith was excited at the prospect of marriage and happily followed Trevagg to the bar,[1] where he identified various species to her astonished eyes.[2]
The two sat at a booth with the Givin Elis Helrot,[6] but paid him little mind.[2] Onith and Trevagg discussed consummating their marriage immediately, and she was in awe that he was prepared to make that sacrifice for her. The Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and the young moisture farmer Luke Skywalker then entered the cantina, and Onith became frightened when the two skirmished with the Aqualish Ponda Baba and his companion Doctor Cornelius Evazan. Trevagg used the opportunity to fetch her another drink with a Love-Wallop pill in it. When the Corellian smuggler Han Solo killed the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo, Onith again grew frightened[1] and asked if they could leave.[2]
Trevagg brought her to the Mos Eisley Inn.[1] Onith had fallen madly in love with him,[3] and they began to physically demonstrate their passion for one another.[2] After they had sex, Onith used her razor-sharp tongue to gut Trevagg in accordance with custom and left his corpse at the inn.[1] She returned to her homeworld, where she gained notoriety for being the first female of her species to attempt mating with a non-H'nemthe. She had also become free to travel offworld but preferred to remain on the planet and speak publicly about her experience.[3]
Personality and traits[]
- "Mating is such a solemn thing, such an awe-inspiring thing…"
- ―M'iiyoom Onith
M'iiyoom Onith came from a culture that placed a premium on true love.[3] While being courted by Feltipern Trevagg, who only desired her physically, she was swayed by his charms[1] and fell madly in love with him.[3] She was also excited at the prospect of marrying him after having only known him for several hours. After consuming some alcohol, she desired to mate with him,[1] which in H'nemthe culture only occurred in cases of true love.[3] Trevagg surmised from her conversation skills and her inability to see through his lies that she was unintelligent, which would make it easier to manipulate her; instead, he was ignorant that he had agreed to let her kill him.[1]
After having lived her entire life on her homeworld, Onith was enchanted by many of the sights that she saw in Mos Eisley, including the Court of the Fountain restaurant,[1] the cantina that she and Trevagg visited, and the many species present in the city. She was shy and modest, denying Trevagg's claims that she was beautiful and only mentioning her virginity bashfully.[2] Additionally, Onith was quick to frighten, and was uneasy entering the cantina,[1] wary of the dark thoughts and emotions within.[2] She relaxed when Trevagg promised her safety, however, as she felt completely comfortable in the presence of the Gotal.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
- "When we first saw Feltiperrn in the cantina, he was snuggling up to a beak-nosed alien who was giggling up a storm. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but this comely alien was given the unflattering on-set nickname of Yam Nose."
- ―Author Pablo Hidalgo, discussing the creation of M'iiyoom Onith
M'iiyoom Onith first appeared as a background alien in the cantina scene of George Lucas's 1977 film Star Wars, played by an uncredited actor[8] and seen snuggling up to the Gotal character Feltipern Trevagg. Onith was one of the scene's booth-dwelling aliens whose masks were designed by makeup artist Rick Baker,[7] created for supplemental shooting done during post-production when Lucas decided to liven the scene with more action and additional characters.[9] In the film itself, Onith was portrayed by Phil Tippett.[10] Given the on-set nickname of Yam Nose, Onith was intended to receive the proper name of Yamnoss, but the idea never saw the light of day.[7] However, a H'nemthe character in 1978's The Star Wars Holiday Special that re-used Onith's mask was eventually dubbed Yamnoss.[11] Onith's mask was also re-used for a H'nemthe character that appeared in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.[7]
Onith's name was established in 1995 with the release of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game's Premiere Limited set.[12] Her character was fleshed out by author Barbara Hambly in the short story Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale, which was included in the 1995 anthology Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina.[1] Ashley Albert voiced the character in the audio drama of Nightlily.[2]
Although Onith appears in the manga adaptation of Star Wars, she is standing with a group of assorted aliens rather than sitting with Trevagg and Elis Helrot.[13] The cover of The Mos Eisley Cantina Pop-Up Book depicts the Talz Muftak as sitting at the booth with Onith and Trevagg, and its interior shows a table populated by Onith, a Rodian, and an Aqualish.[14] Onith is one of several cantina aliens who appears in a 1979 Star Wars drunk-driving PSA set in the Mos Eisley Cantina.[15]
Appearances[]
- "Empire Blues: The Devaronian's Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
- The Mos Eisley Cantina Pop-Up Book
- Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (First appearance)
- The Star Wars Storybook
- Star Wars Manga: A New Hope 2
- Journey to Mos Eisley
- "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
- "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" audio drama
- Star Friends (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" audio drama
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
- ↑ "Empire Blues: The Devaronian's Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
- ↑ Star Wars: 30th Anniversary Collection (Pack: M'iiyoom Onith (H'nemthe)) (backup link)
- ↑ Givin in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Cantina Roll-Call: Shedding Light on Some Alien Aliases - Friendly Neighborhood Cullatran on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- ↑ "The Beastmaster!" — Star Wars Insider 126
- ↑ Tom Spina confirmed Phil Tippett and Penny McCarthy portrayed M'iiyoom Onith and Feltipern Trevagg
- ↑ The Star Wars Holiday Special Cantina: Who's Who on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Customizable Card Game — Premiere Limited (Card: M'iiyoom Onith) (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Manga: A New Hope 2
- ↑ The Mos Eisley Cantina Pop-Up Book
- ↑ Star Friends