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Lore Update: Jawas



Exotic aliens are par for the course in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but even in a Mos Eisley Cantina of diversity, Jawas stand out from the crowd. Most readers will be at least somewhat familiar with Jawas as the droid traders who sell R2-D2 and C-3PO to Luke's uncle Owen in A New Hope. In this Lore Update, we will examine this iconic species so that we can better understand them as we run into them in the deserts of Tatooine - even if we just use that understanding to know where to shock them to find out which one jumps the highest.
Physically, Jawas are quite short, and given the traditional hooded robes they wear, that is about all that most people know about them. As a culture, Jawas tend to keep to themselves. Their reticence and reputation for cowardice both stem from the fact that Tatooine, their home planet, has an overabundance of large predators. In order to survive, Jawas became masters of scattering at the first sign of trouble. This fact, combined with their incredibly pungent smell and a certain reputation for thievery, is enough to keep most other species at a distance.

The strong smell that is so offensive to other species is an integral part of Jawa communication; they use a number of pheromone cues to include information about their emotional states, lineage and maturity. Their innate strong smell is further compounded by the chemical solution Jawas dip their robes in to help conserve moisture. Both these smells and the Jawa practice of caking damp sand on their faces attract several species of flying insects to Jawas, which only serves to increase the distaste other species have for them.



There is a great deal of controversy regarding what Jawas look like under their robes. Some xenobiologists speculate that Jawas descend from humans or perhaps distant relatives to Sand People. Others claim that Jawas are actually vaguely rodent-like in appearance. What everyone agrees on is that their trademark glowing eyes are the result of the small gemstones the Jawas use to protect their eyes from the harsh light of Tatooine's double suns.

Clan life dominates Jawa culture, with the clans controlled by female shamans. Bartering and haggling are an important part of Jawa society. These natural traits, together with their natural mechanical and electrical aptitudes, have seated them in the niche they currently occupy: consummate scavengers and traders.



Some 300 years before the Treaty of Coruscant, Jawa scavenging made its greatest breakthrough to date. When Czerka Corporation discovered that the minerals they were hoping to mine were too unstable and abandoned their operations on Tatooine, the Jawas adopted Czerka's sandcrawlers as their own. In the centuries since, these sandcrawlers have become emblematic of Jawas.

Tatooine is a location rich in Star Wars lore, and Jawas are one of the many memorable races that populate it. With the widely-appreciated addition of Blizz, the Bounty Hunter's Jawa companion, BioWare has already demonstrated that Jawas will be more than just scenic background. Who knows what new information about these reclusive scavengers will come to light in The Old Republic?

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