The Mon Calamari.
These amphibious aliens share their homeworld with another race, the Quarren and have a
reputation as both industrious ship designers and impressive pilots.
They seem very much at home with the concepts of space travel but what makes them so?
Thanks for watching the Cultural Index and this episode we will be digging into the watery
home of this race and their culture.
One thing I personally like is when a Science Fiction race has its own name of its homeworld
and the Mon Calamari sphere has several.
To the galaxy it is called Mon Cala, or Mon Calamarain, the name’s routes being obvious.
Likewise with the title Quarrenese, from the Quarren species who share its oceanic depths,
but to both species it is known as Dac, located in the outer rim.
Despite imperial propaganda, the Mon Calamari have been a spacefaring race for many years.
Dac is mostly ocean, but has several island chains.
It was on one of these island chains that the Mon Calamari evolved, and as such the
Mkbuto Islands are considered sacred land and treated with a great deal of respect.
The Quarren species meanwhile developed in the depths of the great seas.
This early divide among their people was a persistent theme throughout their history
but numerous attempts to bridge the gap are repeated.
Evolving on land, but with an abundance of ocean life meant that the Mon Calamari developed
technology and industry faster than the Quarrens, allowing them to cultivate much of the natural
foods that the sea provided, pioneering in Aquaculture with vast underwater kelp farms
and fishing.
Dac however was a poor source for metals and as such they would have had to make do with
what little they could mine and carefully cultivating wood to be used as a primary construction
resource.
However, their planet was very rich in coral structures in the shallow waters and as such,
it seemed obvious to make use of these natural constructs leading to several cities being
developed along the gigantic formations.
Biologically, the Mon Calamari are evolved for the shallow waters of their homeworld.
Their eyes see in a slightly different spectrum of light to allow for sight in the water and
to make up for their binary star’s light.
They can breathe water in an emergency, however find the experience rather uncomfortable and
young Mon Calamari have been known to panic at the experience and drown.
To this end, most prefer to utilise artificial means of underwater respiration, such as the
Organically bioengineered gill.
Their skin tones vary from regional adaptation and they have “barbels” on their chin
which grow with age.
The Mon Calamari have the reputation of deep analytical thinkers but paired with a species
wide creativity that lent itself well to all sorts of innovations in the arts alongside
technological developments.
This proficiency for creative thought often allowed Mon Calamari to come up with creative
solutions to large problems.
In the year 4500 BBY, the Quarren and Mon Calamari went to war, the biggest in their
history.
The conflict resolved in the Mon Calamari’s favour due to their more advanced technology
however it was in the aftermath that we see the Mon Calamari’s tactical ingenuity play
out in a strange fashion.
To ensure that a war between their people never happened again, they kidnapped around
100 Quarren children and raised them immersed in their own culture.
When they children were grown, they were released back to the Quarren people, only to enact
a takeover and replace the ruling sections.
Ethical or not, indoctrination or ingenuous, the results were as intended, a lasting peace
was established between the people and they entered into a golden age of cooperation,
often this peace was tense or threatened to dissolve, but through the efforts of both
species, it endured.
It was during this time that many of their great cities formed, such as the planetary
capital, simply known as Coral City were built on both the surface and underwater.
With the relative rareness of mineral ores, they were mined wherever they were found,
even at bottom of a deep-sea trench, such as Sar Galva.
City construction continues on Dac well into post yavin years, by both of its resident
inhabitants.
Cities such as Foamwander, and the Crystal Reef.
Foamwander being a trade hub for galactic commerce and the Crystal Reef was a floating
city resort on the northern oceans.
Both these examples are centres for including other species in Dac’s societies and to
be expected of a culture always seeking to expand and prosper.
The Mon Calamari legends told of space as another ocean, with the stars being islands
sitting in its inky depths.
This comparison speaks volumes of its makers.
After all, they were at home in the oceans of Dac, whether by boat or by fin, they could
traverse their planet so why not the depths above them?
Again, this is shows their mixture of logic and creativity, practicality and dreams fuelled
by curiosity.
It wasn’t long before the first interstellar ships were invented to explore their own solar
system and soon after Q-Viza invented their first hyperdrive, giving them access to that
grand ocean they had always dreamed of.
Their first interstellar colonies were Mantan and Ruisto, established by the year 4200 BBY.
With their inclusion as an interstellar race, they gained a lot from trade and commerce
and in turn had plenty to offer.
Exporting seafoods and much of their arts, in return they were able to obtain materials
that they had been short of before, primarily metals.
This led to another burst of development, more cities, new ship designs and a greater
prosperity for their peoples.
In fact Mon Calamari ships were regarded as some of the best in the galaxy with their
fluid-organic design and every vessel was said to be crafted by hand.
This meant that despite following schematics, every ship ended up slightly unique with several
patch jobs.
However, this is not to say that the ships were hodge-podge, or haphazardly put together
like some Corellian freighter.
The creativity and care with which a Mon Calamari put into any project ensured that the vessel
ended up being treated as a mixture of art and science.
This level of dedication to a construction was true on every level of their culture and
a by-product of their commitment to a task or cause.
Dedication was a well-known facet of their species and one respected by many.
Heh, “If the job’s worth doing, it’s worth asking a Mon Calamari to do it.”
Generally however, they disliked dishonesty or unlawful behaviour as it was often seen
as counterproductive to their society and often exhibited distain for underhanded tactics
and criminal behaviour.
All this changed however with the rise of the Galactic Empire.
A story for another time, but the Empire eventually subjugated Mon Cala with the intent to force
its populace into fleet construction for them, however, the defining traits of a Mon Calamari
coalesced into a decisive course of action.
Their sense of lawful obligation, their dedication and their creative ingenuity all came together
as they became one of the few outspoken supporters of the Rebel Alliance.
They taught themselves how to prosper as a people, but it was the crucible of the empire
that turned them into soldiers, tacticians, admirals.
Having tamed the oceans of Dac, the Mon Calamari found the experience of piloting capitol ships
in space very familiar, even enjoyable.
As said, they have fought in wars before and several families had long military histories
of which they were proud, serving the interests of their monarchy.
The Monarch of Dac would have the responsibility of making decisions based on the betterment
of all the planet’s citizens, and although the position was hereditary, it did require
endorsement from several political parties including the Quarren chieftains or risk another
civil war.
Being the surface species of Dac, the Mon Calamari are the ones more often seen in galactic
affairs with their planet often being called Mon Cala and the monarchy being a traditionally
Mon Calamari bloodline.
With all this focus on them, it’s no wonder that the Quarren eventually did enter into
another civil war during the clone wars, however this was fuelled by CIS involvement and a
relatively short lived affair.
The Mon Calamari are generally well respected as a people due to their adherence to traits
often considered good and their dedication to a cause.
Though this can translate into a sense of stubbornness, most Mon Calamari maintain the
philosophies of “the needs of the many” and an innate desire to explore and expand
as a people and a society.
They willingly share their arts with others, such as their opera, theatre, clothing, and
ship design and in return prosper from galactic trade, using that to bolster their own cultural
development.
In idealistic people who maintain a curious streak, their species seems to lack much in
the way of religion.
This makes sense as a species possessed of a pioneering spirit it’s likely that they
found the idea of believing in something without proof, faith, an odd concept, preferring to
analyse, create and explore their way to understanding.
This includes force-sensitive individuals who are afforded no special status in their
society as the force is a tangible erm…force….that can be observed.
One thing is for certain, the Mon Calamari are a very prominent race of the Star Wars
universe and remain relevant as a species due to their continual development in industry,
science and the arts, always aligning themselves as a species by their own moral compass.
Once they have a cause or task in mind, they are dedicated to its resolution in whatever
form that takes.
Thanks for listening to this index, the Mon Calamari seem to be a fan favourite an it
seems for good reason.
A lot of their history is now legends material, but some of it hasn’t exactly been contradicted
and it adds more flavour to them.
As a species, I mean.
Flavour…Not a dish….ahem.
The choices for the next video are possibly the Cylons of Battlestar Galactica or perhaps
the Ocampa of Star Trek?
Thanks again for watching and unitl next time, I’ve been Ric, goodbye!