- "It's not wise to upset a wookiee."
- ―Han Solo
| Wookiees | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Statistics | |
| Name | Wookiees |
| Aliases | Wookie (common mis-spelling) |
| Continuity | Star Wars |
| Category | Alien |
| Status | Existing |
| Homeworld | Kashyyyk |
| Stellar System | Kashyyyk system |
| Galaxy | Unnamed galaxy |
| Biology | |
| Body type | Anthropoid |
| Average lifespan | Several hundreds of years |
| Average Height | 2.1 meters |
| Average Weight | Unknown |
| Limbs | 4 |
| Eyes | 2 |
| Fingers | 10 |
| Toes | 10 |
| Special adaptations | None |
| Social Structure | |
| Native language | Shyriiwook; Xaczik; Thykarann |
| Sub-groups | None |
| Representatives | Chewbacca; Attichitcuk; Black Krrsantan; Lobacca; Lumpawaroo; Mallatobuck; See Wookiees for a complete list |
| Allies | Old Republic; Alliance to Restore the Republic; New Republic |
| Enemies | Galactic Empire |
| Appearances | |
| First Appearance | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) (Chewbacca); Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) (other wookiees) |
Wookiees are a sentient race of long-lived anthropoids nominally indigenous to the mid-rim world of Kashyyyk. They are characterized by their immense height and body mass and are completely covered in course hair of varying colors (usually brown).
Culture[]
Wookiees are an arboreal race by nature, preferring to live in small tree huts than on the ground. They communicate through a complex system of grunts and growls, which often leads others to mistakenly believe that wookiees are primitive and savage, when in fact, they are an extremely intelligent species despite their fearsome appearance. Wookiees are known to have a longer life span than most other races and wookiees in the prime of their life are sometimes more than two-hundred years old. Wookiees cherish life and have a strong sense of respect with regards to other life forms. Once every three years (Kashyyykian calendar), wookiees celebrate a festival known as Life Day. The holiday is a time of rebirth and renewal in wookiee culture and it celebrates the life-cycle of the planet itself. Regardless of one's location, a wookiee was expected to be at home with their family so as to honor Life Day and pay tribute at the Tree of Life. [1]
Another important element of wookiee culture is known as the Life Debt. If a wookiee's life was saved through the actions of another, whether they be wookiee or some other alien species, the wookiee in question was honor-bound to serve them as guardian and friend, even to to the point of sacrificing their own life if need be. As the title implies, the wookiee is obligated to observe the life debt for the entirety of their savior's lives. In many cases, the life debt may be extended to include their savior's loved ones, friends or family members. Other alien cultures practice the institution of the life debt including the Gungans of Naboo and the reptilian Trandoshans. [2]
History[]
The Clone Wars[]
In 26 BBY, prior to the onset of the Clone Wars, the Trade Federation imposed increased levies against the Wookiee Trading Guild, forcing the wookiees to take up opposition against them. The wookiees played a major part in defending their homeworld against Battle Droids and Super Battle Droids deployed by the Trade Federation at this early stage of the Separatist Crisis. [3]
By 19 BBY, the war between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems had been taking place for more than three years. The wookiees aided the Grand Army of the Republic and a complement of Jedi masters in a skirmish known as the Battle of Kashyyyk. The wookiees succeed in defending their shores from the Confederacy's Separatist Droid Army. [4] One of the civilian fighters during this battle, Chewbacca, would later go on to become a hero of the Galactic Civil War and a devoted member of the Rebel Alliance.
Wookiees of note[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- In the 2008 comedy Meet the Spartans, Sean Maguire's King Leonidas taunts the Persians by making wookiee sounds.
- In season two of the Netflix original series Stranger Things, the character of Dustin Henderson makes a trilling sound to show off his new teeth. In the after-show series Beyond Stranger Things, actor Gaten Matarazzo says that he was trying to imitate a wookiee.
See also[]
Media
The World of Star Wars
Star Wars miscellaneous
Appearances[]
- Solo: A Star Wars Story - Chewbacca plus other wookiee slaves.
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Chewbacca and others)
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars Holiday Special (1st wookiees other than Chewbacca)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
References[]
- ↑ Star Wars Holiday Special
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- ↑ Star Wars: Battlefront
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
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