Mandalorian

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Mandalorians are a fictional race in the Star Wars universe. According to Expanded Universe lore, they are the descendants of the Taung. The leader of the Mandalorians typically takes on the title of "Mandalore", which is also the name of their home planet. They have been the subject of various books and action figure sets, including The Mandalorian Armor by K.W. Jeter[1][2] and Hasbro's Star Wars Elite Forces figure sets Mandalorians & Omega and Republic Mandalorians & Clone Troopers. Karen Traviss, author of Hard Contact, expanded "the Mandalorian culture" for the novel, as explained in Star Wars on Trial.[3]

Contents

[edit] Hierarchy

The Mandalorians, being a culture of warriors, are ranked based upon their combat experience and skill. Higher ranking society members train the lower ones, and when the current leader, usually referred to as 'Mandalore', dies the next high ranking member succeeds him, unless he has already handpicked a new one to take his place. The Mandalorian society is also tightly based on family values. Only a Mandalorian can officially lead the Mandalorians, not a Jedi nor a Sith; however, many times in Star Wars history the Mandalorians have been drawn into the armies of the Sith, most notably during the Great Sith War.

[edit] History

Originally, the Mandalorian clans were led by the general Vistar "Mandalore the First" and were ranked among the best fighters in the galaxy, thriving on battle. They are known for their cutting-edge weaponry and strict code of honor. These Mandalorians wear crusader armor that differs from one soldier to the next.

Mandalore itself is a temperate, albeit desolate, world located in a rather overlooked and inconspicuous area at the edge of the Outer Rim. Making a living upon its surface requires one to constantly battle for survival, and thus the Mandalorians know no other way of succession. Most importantly, however, is the rare metal that is only found on this planet to date. It is called Mandalorian Iron, or beskar in the Mandalorian language, but more commonly known as Manda-metal. It is one of the few known substances that can resist the focused energy output of a weapon such as a lightsaber. The other few exceptions include cortosis ore, as well as vibro and phrik alloy.

  • (*)The original mention of Mandalorian Iron is invariably from Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith. In the series, The Sith Lord Exar Kun goes to the tomb of Freedon Nadd on Onderon's moon, Dxun. Nadd's grave is said to be made of Mandalorian Iron and Exar Kun attempts to pierce the metal at first and it is noted that his lightsaber's blow barely even scorches the surface. Kun then increases the intensity of his lightsaber and succeeds in entering Nadd's tomb.

The Mandalorians play a large role in the Great Sith War, which is portrayed in the Tales of the Jedi series. During the war between the Sith and the Republic, Mandalore and his forces attack and raid the Empress Teta system, drawing the attention of Ulic Qel-Droma. After being defeated in single combat by Ulic, the Mandalore pledges complete loyalty to the Sith apprentice. He and his warriors participate in many devastating raids and attacks on the Republic, including an attempted invasion of Coruscant. However, Mandalore is finally defeated at Onderon by local military forces and Republic reinforcements. With his mighty army defeated and shattered, Mandalore flees to Dxun but is killed by one of the many monsters that inhabit Onderon's moon. A Mandalorian warrior finds his fallen mask and inherits the position of Mandalore. The new Mandalore is manipulated by an unknown Sith faction into attacking the Republic, triggering the Mandalorian Wars.

After their defeat in the Mandalorian Wars at the hands of the Jedi Revan and Malak, the Mandalorians as a united culture are destroyed, their weapons and armor taken and destroyed. Their dissolution is completed when Revan hid the mask of Mandalore, preventing a new leader from rising. They gradually evolve and change into a culture of wandering mercenaries, rather than conquerors. Revan later tells his friend Canderous Ordo to unite the Mandalorians after he leaves for the Unknown Regions and tells him where to find the mask. Ordo then takes the mantle of "Mandalore" and gathers a new Mandalorian army on Dxun. These events are covered in detail in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, where Mandalore recruits and trains Mandalorians across the Galaxy, eventually encountering the Jedi Exile, with whom he begins travel. During this time, the Jedi Exile's group visits Malachor V, a planet bearing scars of the most atrocious battle of the Mandalorian Wars. Malachor V is the site of the single largest loss of life during the Mandalorian Wars, after the majority of Mandalorian and Republic soldiers where killed, due to an Iridonian technician, Bao-Dur, who creates and deploys a weapon called the Mass Shadow Generator. While attempting to enter Malachor V, the party's ship is downed due to Malachor's unusual gravity and vicious storms. Although they aren't seen again in the game, it is possible in conversation to make Darth Traya reveal their futures to you. She reveals that none of them die there, including Mandalore.

[edit] Mandalorian Civil War

Shortly before the fall of the Republic, the Mandalorians became split and they began fighting among themselves. The cause was the new Mandalore, Jaster Mereel, who urged the Mandalorians to give up their mercenary ways and become honorable again. He formed the True Mandalorians faction, while those resisting Jaster's changes formed the Death Watch. During a battle on Concord Dawn, Jaster Mereel's forces were retreating and were hidden by the local "police officer", a man named Fett. For helping Jaster's men, the Death Watch killed the entire family, except the youngest son, who was spirited away by Mereel. The young boy, Jango Fett, became Mereel's protege, and was witness to Mereel's death at the hands of Vizsla shortly after the betrayal of his bloodthirsty second-in-command, Montross. Jango took command of the remaining True Mandalorians, but unkowingly led them into a trap at the Battle of Galidraan, resulting in the complete destruction of the True Mandalorians at the hands of the Jedi. This greatly reduced the number of Mandalorians active in the galaxy. Fett escaped and became a bounty hunter, eventually making such a name for himself that he was chosen by a mysterious man named Tyranus as the genetic source for the clone army being created on Kamino. Moreover, clone "trooper armor and equipment is based in part on the battle gear of the Mandalorian..."[4]

[edit] Post-Imperial Times

Twenty-three years after the Battle of Yavin, Boba Fett became Mandalore after Fenn Shysa's death on the planet Shogun and continues the tradition of leading the Mandalorian Protectors. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Fett led the Mandalorians in the defense of Mandalore and liberated numerous planets like Tholatin and Gyndine; however, this effort came at a huge cost to the Mandalorians. The Yuuzhan Vong retaliated and attacked Mandalore, damaging the capital city of Keldabe severly in the process. Though the Vong are eventually defeated, the attack permanently scarred Mandalore and leaves over a million Mandalorians dead, nearly a third of their entire population in the galaxy.

During the peak of Mandalorian culture, one of their production factories, MandalMotors, spawned branch plants on a few other planets, and this corporation continued to operate in limited capacity. Only two known examples of the Mandalorian battle armor existed, worn by the bounty hunters Boba Fett and Jodo Kast. Fett killed Kast for imitating him and soiling his name. Fett inherited his armor from his father's mentor, Jaster Mereel, and placed his father's into storage. Jodo Kast procured his armor when he killed the Mandallian Giant bounty hunter Feskitt Bobb, whose suit of Mandalorian armor made Kast initially mistake him for Fett.

Nevertheless, as revealed in the Legacy of the Force series, the Mandalorians still exist and maintain a presence in the galaxy. There are numerous small communities and clans scattered around the galaxy, with the majority centered around Mandalore. Also, the ending of the second book in the series, Bloodlines, implies that Boba Fett will use his position as Mandalore to restore the power and glory of the Mandalorians.

After returning to Keldabe, Boba Fett immediately begins instituting reforms to rebuild Mandalore. He begins by recalling all Mandalorians to return to Keldabe. As a result, one of the returnees, a geologist, discovers a huge vein of Beskar. Ironically, this vein was revealed after the vicious Yuuzhan Vong attack. Fett quickly exploits the situation, using the Beskar to rearm the Mandalorians and increase their economic power. Currently, Mandalmotors can now produce the Bes'uliik, a heavy fighter that outclasses the X-Wing. Fett has also forged a mutual defense and technology deal with Roche, a major Verpine technology corporation. The Mandalorians have now become an economic and military powerhouse that could destabilize both the Galactic Alliance and Confederation. Though as a result of attacks on Roche by the Imperials and the Mandalorian retaliation, the Imperial Remnant moffs create a nano weapon that targets the Fetts only. For this reason Boba Fett, the current mandalore, has been exiled from Mandalore.

[edit] Language

Mandalorian
Mando’a
Created by: Karen Traviss  started in 2005 
Setting and usage: The Mandalorians of Star Wars
Total speakers: —
Category (purpose): constructed languages
 artistic languages
  fictional languages
   Mandalorian 
Category (sources): constructed languages
 a priori languages
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: art
ISO 639-3: –
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.
The Mandalorian Alphabet
The Mandalorian Alphabet

The Mandalorian language (Mando’a) is currently being developed into a working language by Karen Traviss.

Portions exist in the Republic Commando video game and its spin-off books, Republic Commando: Hard Contact , Republic Commando: Triple Zero, Republic Commando: True Colors, and Republic Commando: Order 66. Online samples include fan-created dictionaries, web logs by Traviss, and two downloadable guides from StarWars.com. A recent article in Star Wars Insider contained a guide to the language, and online audio clips have been released as well.

The language started as Republic Commando game lyrics by Jesse Harlin at LucasArts, and it is from that that Traviss has begun developing the language.

[edit] Vocabulary

In keeping with the people who speak it, they have no word for hero, but have a dozen for stab. They have numerous expressions for numerous situations,such as osik, for "crap", and shebs, for "backside". Kote is glory, and aruetiise is outsider, traitor, or non-Mandalorian.Dar'manda is the state of eternal death that Mandos believe all aruetiise suffer.

[edit] Grammar

Mandalorian grammar is simple and bears many similarities to English/Galactic Basic. It is primarily a spoken language, so ease of pronunciation is a key factor. One notable feature of the fictional language is that it has no gender, relying on context to convey the proper message. Word order in Mandalorian is Subject Verb Object (SVO).

[edit] References

  1. ^ A.L. Sirois, Review of The Mandalorian Armor Book 1 in The Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy, The SF Site (1999): http://www.sfsite.com/01a/star48.htm
  2. ^ "Review of The Mandalorian Armor"
  3. ^ Keith R.A. DeCandido, Tanya Huff, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Star Wars on Trial: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time, ed. David Brin Matthew Woodring Stover (Benbella Books, 2006), 164.
  4. ^ The Complete Visual Dictionary of Star Wars: The Ultimate Guide to Characters and Creatures from the Entire Star Wars Saga (Hardcover) by DK Publishing (DK CHILDREN, 2006), 104.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links