Pav-ti Tano

"You must face death, Ahsoka. Do not fear it."

―Pav-ti Tano, to her daughter Ahsoka, during her child's first ritual hunt^[1]

Pav-ti Tano was a Togruta female from the planet Shili who was the partner of Nak-il Tano and the mother of Ahsoka Tano. Living in a small village, she believed in the traditional ways of her people and wanted to take Ahsoka on her first hunt in 36 BBY, when she was just a baby. Venturing into the forests and hunting a kybuck to teach her daughter about life and death, Pav-ti was able to kill the creature, but a predatory raxshir soon arrived and took Ahsoka.

Pav-ti was distraught, and the village sent several members to search for her missing daughter. That night, Ahsoka returned, riding on the back of the beast, who delivered her back to the village before silently departing. As a relieved Pav-ti and Nak-il comforted their daughter, the village elder Gantika proclaimed that Ahsoka was a Jedi. Later, in 33 BBY, Ahsoka was taken from the family to be trained by the Jedi Order.

Biography[]

Motherhood[]

"Ahsoka."

―Pav-ti Tano speaks her daughter's name for the first time^[1]

Pav-ti Tano was a Togruta^[1] female^[2] from^[1] the planet^[4] Shili who lived in a^[1] small,^[3] quiet^[5] village. One night^[1] in 36 BBY,^[6] Tano gave birth to a daughter whom^[1] she^[3] bore with her partner Nak-il Tano. Many villagers came to visit the mother and her newborn on the evening of the baby's birth, including the village elder Gantika. It was then that Pav-ti announced that she had named her daughter Ahsoka.^[1]

One year later, Pav-ti decided that, as per traditional Togruta custom, Ahsoka had reached the age where she was ready to join her mother on her first ritual hunt in the forests of their homeworld. Donning a blue cloak, carrying a backpack, and securing her baby across her chest, Pav-ti walked outside as Nak-il was working on their roof. Her partner was unsure if their young daughter was ready for the adventure, although Pav-ti strongly believed in her people's traditions. Nak-il believed the old ways were for the elderly and not for the couple, but Pav-ti was resolute in her stance and warned Nak-il not to offend the spirits of their ancestors. Nak-il smiled and accepted his partner's beliefs, wishing her and Ahsoka a good hunt.^[1]

The hunt[]

"Look, Ahsoka. Everywhere there is life. Value it. Honor it."

―Pav-ti Tano, to Ahsoka^[1]

Togruta ritual — Pav-ti prepares to take Ahsoka on her first ritual hunt with the blessing of Gantika.

On their way into the forests for the hunt, Pav-ti and Ahsoka encountered Gantika, who marked the foreheads of both mother and child with blue paint for luck. During their journey through the forest, Pav-ti emphasized the value of the life surrounding them to her daughter. Eventually, Pav-ti discovered a herd of kybuck in the long grass and shot one with her blaster rifle. With the kybuck incapacitated, Pav-ti approached and told a distressed Ahsoka that she must face death. The mother then comforted the animal before plunging a knife through its heart, causing a quick death for the beast.^[1]

Pav-ti prepared to take its body back to the village when a predatory raxshir approached her and her child. Pav-ti attempted to ward off the feline before fighting it off with the butt of her rifle. When the raxshir noticed Ahsoka, however, Pav-ti began to fire at it. The sounds of her rifle alerted the villagers of trouble, and a group of them rushed into the forest to help her. She then used her knife to try and scare the creature off, although the raxshir managed to knock Pav-ti to the ground.^[1] As the raxshir went in for the kill, Ahsoka distracted the creature, saving her mother's life.^[7] The Togruta's people then arrived and attempted to shoot the beast. The raxshir leaped away but not before grabbing Ahsoka by the scruff of her collar, leaving Pav-ti in much distress and Nak-il to comfort her. Several members of the village began the search for Ahsoka.^[1]

A gifted daughter[]

"Gantika, how could this be?"
"Jedi. Ahsoka is Jedi."

―Pav-ti and Gantika^[1]

By the evening, the Togruta had still not managed to find Ahsoka or the raxshir, leading Nak-il to suggest going out in force to rescue his infant daughter. It was then that the villagers heard the raxshir approaching them, but upon closer inspection, they discovered that Ahsoka was riding the beast. In disbelief, Pav-ti cautiously approached the raxshir and, as the creature bowed, took her baby from the raxshir's back. She thanked the animal before it departed and returned to the forest. Nak-il ran to his partner and daughter's side as their people surrounded them, and Pav-ti asked Gantika how her daughter's seemingly miraculous return could have happened. Gantika smiled and promulgated that Ahsoka was a Jedi, shocking her parents.^[1]

In 33 BBY, a young Ahsoka was discovered by Jedi Master Plo Koon and taken to the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant to train as a member of the Jedi Order.^[6] As she grew into adulthood, Ahsoka did not remember either of her parents well. When asked about her upbringing by the young farmer Kaeden Larte on the moon Raada^[8] in 18 BBY,^[9] Tano, wanting her identity as a former Jedi to remain a secret, replied that she had been adopted.^[8]

Personality and traits[]

"Are you sure she's ready?"
"Nak-il, it is custom."

―Pav-ti and Nak-il Tano discuss the prospect of Ahsoka's ritual hunt^[1]

LifeAndDeath — A nurturing mother, Pav-ti is profoundly grateful when Ahsoka is returned safely.

Pav-ti Tano was a Togruta female with orange skin, white-and-blue patterned lekku and montrals, and blue eyes. She also had white markings on her face. Pav-ti strongly adhered to her people's old traditions and practices—unlike her partner Nak-il, who was more laidback. Pav-ti was able to speak both Togruti and Galactic Basic Standard. A gentle and caring mother, Pav-ti was fiercely protective of her family. She felt her people's values of recognizing life and facing death were important, taking Ahsoka on her first ritual hunt to teach her of their ways despite Nak-il's initial protests.^[1] Ultimately, Pav-ti's lesson to Ahsoka about valuing all forms of life helped her daughter connect with the natural world and, by extension, connect with the Force.^[10] Although Ahsoka would not remember much about her mother as she grew older,^[8] Pav-ti's lesson would stay with her throughout her many adventures.^[11]

Skills and abilities[]

Pav-ti was proficient with a blaster rifle,^[3] managing to incapacitate a kybuck in one shot.^[1] She was also adept with a knife,^[3] which she used to stab the kybuck through the heart, causing it a swift and painless death. Pav-ti was also able to fend off and survive an attack from the raxshir.^[1]

Equipment[]

Pav-ti wore a white long-sleeved shirt, a blue cloak, light blue pants, and brown boots. She had a belt with pouches attached to it. During the hunt, Pav-ti made use of a walking stick while venturing into the forest. She later used both a blaster rifle and a knife on the hunt, wielding both weapons capably.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

Debut[]

"If you're just down to have fun, you get roped into things. Because it's a giant galaxy but it's actually cared for by a very small village."

―Janina Gavankar, on becoming Pav-ti Tano^[2]

JaninaGavankarCelebrationPhoto — Janina Gavankar, the voice of Pav-ti, at Star Wars Celebration.

Pav-ti Tano was first indirectly mentioned in the 2016 novel Ahsoka, written by E. K. Johnston.^[8] She was later identified as Pav-ti in an article published on StarWars.com following Star Wars Celebration Anaheim on May 29, 2022,^[2] in the leadup to the animated television series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, where she first appeared in the series' first episode, "Life and Death,"^[1] released on Disney+ on October 26, 2022.^[12] Her surname of Tano was later given in the StarWars.com Databank.^[13]

Pav-ti was voiced by Janina Gavankar,^[1] who had previously portrayed Imperial Commander Iden Versio in the 2017 video game Star Wars Battlefront II.^[14] Gavankar was announced as having the role at Celebration Anaheim on May 28, 2022, at the show's panel.^[15] As someone with previous work in the Star Wars franchise, Gavankar described herself as a caretaker to the story and was happy to help further it in new and exciting ways. She described the show as minimalistic, quiet, and reserved.^[2]

Development[]

"It was really, really interesting to see Ahsoka's backstory as a baby and to see everyone in her town. I always wanted to know her backstory. I remember Dave being coy about it. What I gathered from his answers was that it was a story that he always wanted to tell. So, it's very cool that he finally got the chance to tell it."

―Ashley Eckstein^[5]

Life and Death Poster — A poster for the episode "Life and Death," in which Pav-ti Tano first appeared.

Although Pav-ti did not appear until Tales of the Jedi,^[1] a reference to Ahsoka Tano's mother was first thought of by the show's supervising director, Dave Filoni, during script-writing for the fourth season of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, specifically for the episode "Escape from Kadavo,"^[16] which premiered January 6, 2012, ten years before Tales of the Jedi.^[17] In an early version of the script, Filoni included a scene of the Togruta governor Gupat Roshti telling Ahsoka that he knew her parents, implying that Ahsoka's instinct to save the people of Kiros was thanks to them. However, the idea was dropped because the writers did not want to flesh out Ahsoka's backstory. Filoni also stated that he felt that Roshti saying that felt like a "mean" thing to do.^[16]

Ashley Eckstein, who voiced Ahsoka in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, had always been curious about her character's backstory and had asked Filoni about it. His reluctance to fully elaborate on it made Eckstein feel that Filoni had ideas about it that he wanted to use in a story. Eckstein found it interesting to see Ahsoka's community.^[5]

Concept artist Molly Denmark created several lighting concepts for the episode that included Pav-ti, including depictions of the Togrutan village,^[18] the surrounding forest,^[19] and Pav-ti and Ahsoka during the hunt.^[20] Artist Chris Madden worked on concept art of Pav-ti's character design.^[21] Associate storyboard artist^[1] Justin Bruce Lee created storyboards for the episode that included scenes of Pav-ti and Ahsoka during the hunt as well as Pav-ti's battle with the raxshir.^[22]^[23]