Mustafarian

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Mustafarians were an insectoid sentient species native to the volcanic planet Mustafar. They were divided into two subspecies: the taller, thinner northern Mustafarians, and a smaller, stockier, and hardier southern Mustafarians.

Biology and appearance[]

An insectoid sentient species,^[1] the two subspecies of Mustafarians had different physiologies as well as different roles in their society. The northern Mustafarians were significantly taller than their southern cousins and physically weaker. Because of their frail physiology, those who served as sentries commonly had their limbs enhanced with cybernetic prosthetics.^[3]

The southern Mustafarians were stronger and shorter in stature than their northern cousins. They handled the "heavy lifting" jobs of the their planet's lava mining, and could withstand higher temperatures than northerners.^[3] Since they spent more time near the lava, they wore breath masks and thick armor to compensate.^[3]

There were similarities between the two subspecies, though. Both were hard-shelled arthropods with long snouts and insectoid eyes. Their exoskeletons lay in plates over leathery skin, serving as protection from the heat they experienced on Mustafar.^[3] Unlike most species of the galaxy, they had very little water in their bodies.^[3]

Society and culture[]

The Mustafarians were an egocentric people who wanted nothing more than to squeeze any resource they could off their volcanic planet.^[source?] They were generally unconcerned about the affairs of outsiders, and were not commonly seen off-world. If they were, it was usually for trade or business reasons.^[source?]

A Southern Mustafarian holding a lava skimmer.

They fashioned armor from lava fleas to protect themselves from the hotter lava flows on the surface which separated Mustafarian townships such as Fralideja. Even without lava flea armor, Mustafarian skin was tough enough to resist standard blaster bolts, so they used weapons which fired bolts of kinetic force instead. They were not a naturally aggressive species, but used the weaponry as protection.^[3] Northern Mustafarians also domesticated lava fleas to serve as mounts, and had a manhood ritual that required youth to jump a lavafall on a lava flea without protective clothing.^[source?]

Mustafarians spoke a buzzing, insectoid language^[2] and had a highly symbolic culture. Their architecture was based on the shape of the kahel cave fungus, and they lived and worked in saucer-shaped buildings near mine entrances. These buildings extended several levels below the ground, often utilizing empty mines that no longer produced ore.^[3] The cooler hollows of dormant volcanoes also served as dwellings.^[source?]

Southern Mustafarian miners rode harvesting platforms skimming over the active lava flows, extracting metals with large, pole-mounted cauldrons.^[3] Mustafarians also worked in industrial complexes which took advantage of their planet's abundant mineral resources and geothermal energy.^[source?]

History[]

A northern Mustafarian riding a lava flea

The Mustafarians evolved from extremophilic arthropods whose natural habitat was the slightly cooler hollows and caves inside Mustafar's dormant volcanoes.

When the Techno Union arrived on Mustafar about three hundred years before the Clone Wars, the Mustafarians signed a trade treaty with the off-worlders. Technology gained through trade allowed the Mustafarians to survive even the harshest conditions on their homeworld and increased their living conditions. In return, the Mustafarians helped build and manage operations on Mustafar to extract minerals for the Techno Union.^[3]

Because of this, they obtained membership in the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and the movement used their planet as one of its main headquarters.^[3] During the Clone Wars, the Separatist Council enlisted the Mustafarians to build a climate-controlled fortress which was to be used as a protective retreat in the event that the Republic prevailed. After Darth Vader's massacre of the Separatist Council and Techno Union leaders in 19 BBY, the Mustafarians were happy to have gained control of the fortress and were left to manage their own affairs.^[3]

However, it is believed that the fortress was decimated by orbital bombardment by the Galactic Empire when the renegade Geonosian Separatist Gizor Dellso retreated there, refusing to surrender to the Empire.^[3]

During the Galactic Civil War, certain Mustafarians, though they kept to themselves, supported the Empire.^[6]

Mustafarians in the galaxy[]

Notable Mustafarians included Chief Armstrong, Foreman Chivos, Urup Fal'co, and Chief Ulon Glost. At least one Mustafarian became a bounty hunter; Jabba employed this hunter in an attempt to kill Tyber Zann, but the hunter failed and was killed by Urai Fen.

Behind the scenes[]

Some of the original designs for the Mustafarians were much more humanoid. These designs were later used for the Pau'ans.

The Mustafarians look very similar to the Kubaz, leading some to believe that they were one and the same species. Though this is not the case, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary depicts a Mustafarian wearing a Kubazian skirt, which may point to a relationship between the species (similar to that of the Duros and Neimoidians).