Hey everybody and welcome to Leia’s Lair. Today’s video will be a continuation
of a series we are working on about the most famous species in the galaxy.
The species we will be going over today are Tusken Raiders.
Tusken Raiders, also known as Sand People or Tuskens
were a primitive sentient species native to the planet Tatooine, a desert planet
located in the outer rim territories in grid square R-16 on the standard galactic grid.
Tatooine’s harsh environment led the Tuskens to being xenophobic and territorial of their native
resource, often attacking outsiders who wandered into their territory.
Tusken Raiders were characterized by their mouth grills and eye covers which they wore to keep sand
out. They never unmasked themselves in front of each other, and no outsider ever saw behind a
Tusken’s mask and lived to tell the tail. Tuskens averaged 1.9m in height and 89kg in weight.
Tusken Raiders lived in clans of approximately 20-30 individuals.
Tuskens had two sexes, male and female. Males tuskens were the warriors of their clans and
wielded gaderffii sticks in combat, and used cycler rifles to fire on vehicles they spotted.
Each warrior made their own gaderffi stick, therefore making each one unique to the wielder.
Females held a number of roles amongst the clan. They could be distinguished by their elaborate
jeweled masks with eye-slits and torso-covering sand-shrouds. Tusken Raider children were known
as Uli-ah. At the age of 15, a Tusken became an adult, and had to slay a krayt dragon and cut out
the precious pearl found in its stomach to gain their adult role in their tribe. They wore unisex
cowls and simple cloaks and could not dress like males or females until they were adults.
Tuskens viewed themselves as the original inhabitants of Tatooine
and everyone else as trespassers. They believed that all water was
sacred and promised to them. This led them to attacking moisture farms set up by colonists.
Tusken Raiders and banthas shared a close, mystical bond. During warrior initiation rites,
a young Tusken was given a bantha matching their own gender[ and learned to care for it, with the
pair becoming extremely close as the youth earned a place in its clan.When Sand People married,
their banthas also mated, and, should its rider die, their bantha usually perished shortly after.
Tusken raiders spoke the language of Tusken. It was a combination of vocal sounds and sign
language. As a rule, Tuskens also possessed a rudimentary knowledge of Huttese and Jawaese,
as they came into contact with these languages quite frequently.
Tuskens appear many times in the canon universe.
The first time we see them is in Episode 4. We see them fairly frequently in the movies
when characters go to Tatooine. They famously kidnap Anakin Skywalker’s mother Shmi who died
due to their torture. The Mandalorian Din Djarin meets Tuskens in Season 1 of the Mandalorian
when he encountered them on the way to capturing assassin Fennec Shand.
Interested in learning what species you would be in the Star Wars Universe,
check out one of our many quizzes here.
And there you have it! Thanks for watching everyone! What do you think of Tusken Raiders?
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