Ewoks

Ewoks
Designation	Sentient
Height of average adult	1 meters
Planet of origin	Forest Moon of Endor

Ewoks were sentient furred bipeds native to the Forest Moon of Endor who helped the Rebel Alliance defeat the forces of the Galactic Empire in the Battle of Endor.

Overview

Ewoks were curious individuals that stood about one meter tall; they were omnivorous and used spears, slings, and knives as weapons; they also used hang gliders, battle wagons, and bordoks as vehicles. Ewoks had large, bright eyes, small black noses, and hands that possesed two fingers and an opposable thumb.

Although extremely skilled in forest survival and the construction of primitive technology like gliders and catapults, the Ewoks had yet to progress past stone-level technology when discovered by the Empire. They were quick learners, however, when exposed to advanced technology with simple mechanical processes and concepts. Some Ewoks were removed from their planet and taken as pets or slaves. Others left voluntarily out of a sense of curiosity, especially after the Battle of Endor led to the establishment of New Republic trading posts on the Forest Moon.

Villages

Tree Village

Most Ewoks lived high among the trees of the forest moon, in villages built between the closely spaced trees. The basic design of a tree village had a "Central Village" of thatched-roof huts on the primary limbs. These huts were high enough above the ground to be out of reach from predators. Suspended bridges connected the gaps between trees, adjoining distant huts. Knotted rope ladders allowed access up or down.

In most tree cities, the village Elders ordered the largest huts built directly on the trunk of the tree. These central buildings belonged to the chief of the tribe. The chief used the largest open areas for village gatherings, meetings, council fires, and storytelling ceremonies.

Family groups kept their own dwellings in clusters on the outlying trees. Seperate huts were also built for unmarried females, elders, and visitors. A sealed building was also created higher than the rest of the tree city and was used as the communities food storage.

Bright Tree Village, where the tribe ruled by Chief Chirpa lived, was a typical example of an Ewok tree village. Some Ewoks of that tribe also lived in isolated huts on the forest floor.

Lake Village

Ewoks also built homes on shallow, placid lakes. The lake Ewoks built their villages on stilts out in the water. The surrounding water protected the Ewoks from large predators. These Ewoks got most of their food by setting wicker traps to catch fish in the lake. The older Ewoks spent their time harvesting marsh grasses and drying them in the sun. They then took these dry grasses and made them into mats, clothing, baskets, and decorative tapestries. The young Ewoks loved to splash in the water and dig in the mud for buried shellfish.

These Ewoks also built wooden sail boats and oars.

Cliff Village

Some tribes of Ewoks made their homes on a rock face beside a spraying waterfall. Ewok engineers created an intricate set of waterwheels, driven by the force of the waterfall. These waterwheels drove large wooden gears that rotated grindstones, operated conveyor belts from one side of the village to the other, and ran a set of wooden elevator platforms that moved up and down the cliff.

Hunting and Trapping

Ewoks ventured to the forest floor to hunt, and set traps to catch various prey. The Ewoks considered themselves great hunters. A single hunter could snare small animals but an entire Ewok hunting party could catch animals as large as a boar-wolf. The Ewoks had created effective ways to hunt these monstrous animals using spears and poison darts. The Ewoks first set up a trap with scraps of bloody meat from a previous hunt and then they would set a vine net on the forest floor. When the wolf ran towards the meat, it would get caught in the net. Then, from the underbrush, the Ewok warriors charged at the trapped wolf. One of these boar-wolves would provide enough meat to feed an Ewok village for days.

Smaller game were killed with small sling nets. When a creature stepped into a loop it set off a pressure trap. A pinned sapling would break free and fling the animal into the nearest tree. Tek swee was a trap traslated into Basic as "head hitter". This trap was a common defense against the Gorax. When a Gorax attempted to raid a Ewok village, the Ewok warriors would let loose a massive log roped onto trees. The log would swing into the Gorax like a giant battering ram.

Another food source for the Ewoks were mattberries that they squeezed for juice. These juices were mixed with water and fermented into a bitter brew.

Religion

For the forest dwellers, the surrounding giant trees played an important cultural role. These hunter-gatherers were a deeply spiritual people. They believed themselves to be descendants of the Great Tree, a sacred tree in the forests. The Ewok religion was based on nature worship. Many religious ceremonies were arranged to please various gods of weather, trees, the hunt, eingineering prowess, and fertility. There were also darker spirits that symbolized the dangers of the forest. The Ewoks held magnificent festivals of rain sun, spring flowers, and fruits. There were also "Dark Rituals" involving bloody sacrifices. The rituals were held at night under the light of burning bonfires. The shamans tossed the leaves of herbs into the fire that caused the Ewoks to have vivid dreams.

Shamans

Every village appointed its own male or female mystic or shaman. The shaman was sometimes simply the village con-artist, who made up answers about what the gods wanted and how they could be pleased. Others had genuine abilities, sometimes showing abilities similar to Force-sensitives. For the shaman's services, the village gave the shaman anything he or she may have wanted, including crystals, shells, polished skulls and other treasures the shaman found interesting. Many shamans wore large animal skulls on their heads.

Shamans were also the tribal healers, usually relying on vile-smelling herbal medicines. Many types of fungus, lichens, roots, berries, flowers, epiphytes, and bark were used, with varying medicinal effects.

Soul Trees

The massive coniferous trees that filled the forest moon were called "soul trees" or "life trees" by the Ewoks. The Ewoks had a deep religious connection with these trees. For every baby Ewok born, a new seedling was planted by the village. Throughout that Ewoks life, he or she was linked to their totem tree. When the Ewok died, it was believed their spirit would go to live inside their own totem tree.

In times of crisis, the village shamans would attempt to contact the ancient spirits that lived within the oldest trees for advice and guidance. The shamans insisted that it was a private ritual. The Ewoks never questioned the sacred advice brought back by the shamans, though they had never heard these ancient voices before.

Family

Tribal Structure

The tribal structure of the Ewoks had a Council of Elders ruling over each village, headed by a chief. A medicine man also lived in the Ewok village, a keeper of mystical lore, and a healer to the injured. The warriors of the different tribes wore raggedy garments on the head to signify the Ewoks tribe. The warriors also wore wooden chest shields, the jawbones of tiny animals, and sharp teeth. Some decorated themselves with ornaments such as feathers, necklaces, and pendants, making their body look like a clutter of trinkets.

Prominent members of Ewok tribes carried totems to symbolize their rank. The lead warrior wore a headdress made of feathers called the "white wings of hope". The oldest son of the tribal leaders family wore a headdress called the "red wings of courage". The second son wore the "blue wings of strength".

Marriage

Unmarried male Ewoks spent much of their time living alone in the forest building their own small huts near enough to the tree city to assist the Ewoks in work. Unmarried females would leave gifts of food, clothing, or weaponry on the door-steps of unmarried males as a sign of their attraction and to tell how much the village missed them and wished they would come back as part of a family and as the female's mate.

If the male Ewok decided to take a mate, he had to build a family hut in the tree city where he and his mate could live. The construction of a new hut signaled that the male had decided to take a mate, all of the unmarried females tryed to woo him. Until his home was finshed, the male did not decide whom he was taking. The chosen female had the right to refuse the male or the hut he had built.

Children

Ewoks were very closely attatched to their fuzzy children called woklings. An entire Ewok village fawned over newborn babies. They always gave the children much attention and they considered the care of their children a shared responsibility. Woklings had few rights and the children had to learn many rituals and legends that would serve as moral guides throughout their lives. When the Ewok came of age, he or she attended the Festival of Hoods. This festival marked the trasition from Wokling to Ewok.

Culture

Tribal Games

The "Tribal Games" were a series of games that Ewoks from scattered tribes came to play. There was much dancing and storytelling, but there were also far more dangerous events. Tree-jumping was a very popular game among young Ewoks. The Ewok would climb to the highest lifetree and leap off the highest limb. They had to catch themselves on the lower limbs until the descended all the way to the ground. If a Ewok missed, he could be seriously injured.

Music

The Ewoks enjoyed tribal ceremonies and singing and playing music on drums of all kinds. These drums were used during celebrations, festivals, and rituals.

History

Before the Galactic Empire arrived, visitors from other star systems were rare. Despite this, the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village led by Chief Chirpa and the medicine man Logray had surprisingly extensive contact with offworlders. These Ewoks helped the shipwrecked Humans Mace and Cindel Towani rescue their parents from a Gorax. Later, a group of Sanyassan Marauders who had crashed on the Forest Moon several decades earlier attacked the Ewoks, killing all of the Towani family except for Cindel, and taking several Ewoks prisoner. A young Ewok named Wicket W. Warrick helped Cindel and another shipwrecked Human (Noa Briqualon) defeat the Sanyassans, rescue the prisoners, and find the parts needed to repair Briqalon's ship. Finally, they helped stop an Imperial scientist named Dr. Raegar, who attempted to steal the sacred Sunstone and use it to take control of the Empire.

The Ewoks also had contact with the many other sentient species on the Forest Moon, such as the Yuzzums, Gupins, and Teeks. Their cousins, the swamp-dwelling Duloks, were rivals of the Ewoks, and often made trouble for them.

When the Empire began operations on the moon of Endor, they dismissed the primitive species as harmless. Imperial operations were situated around the area near Bright Tree Village. Princess Leia, part of a Rebel strike team, met and befriended Wicket W. Warrick, who took her back to his village as an honored guest.

Meanwhile, another group of Ewoks had captured Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Han Solo, R2-D2, and C-3PO. When these Ewoks saw the protocol droid C-3PO, they identified him as a long-prophecized god called "The Golden One". Despite Wicket and Leia's protests, Logray would have sacrificed them as a feast in C-3PO's honor. Skywalker's use of the Force combined with C-3PO's warnings soon changed Chief Chirpa's mind, however.

That night, Threepio told the Council of Elders the adventures of the Rebel heroes. The Ewoks accepted the Rebels into their tribe, and allied themselves to their cause. The Ewoks helped in the ground battle to destroy the Imperial shield generator on the forest floor, and their primitive weapons felled the stormtroopers and the scout walkers of the Empire. This assistance paved the way for the destruction of the Death Star II and the Rebel victory at the Battle of Endor. Later that night, the Ewoks held a huge celebration that could be heard throughout the forest.

What happened to them after the days of the Empire is a subject of much debate. References are made of some kind of extinction that befell their race, but this evidence is usually dismissed as Imperial propaganda. Even if something happened to the main population, Ewoks outside the system, such as the smuggler Tarfang, would ensure that the race did not go extinct. It is known that the Alliance of Free Planets used Bright Tree Village as their headquarters for a brief period of time, and that the New Republic later set up semi-permanent outposts (such as Salfur's Trading Post) near Ewok villages. Through these seasonally staffed outposts, the Ewoks remained in intermittent contact with the outside galaxy as non-participating members of the New Republic.

Behind the Scenes

George Lucas intended that a primitive race should overthrow the Empire in the final episode, and had originally planned to use Wookiees, but decided against it after it had been established that Chewbacca was proficient with technology. His answer was to create a new race called Ewoks, which is "Wookiee" with the syllables reversed.

It is believed that Ewoks are modelled after Hobbits, the short and easily overlooked people who caused the dark lord Sauron's demise in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Lucas chose the word Endor for the moon's planet to honour this, since it is the Elvish name of Middle-earth, the setting of most of Tolkien's stories.

Fan reaction

Many fans of the Star Wars series dislike the Ewoks, believing that the scenes with them defeating an legion of the Emperor's best Stormtroopers stretch credibility even for a space opera, and that their cuteness was purely an attempt to introduce opportunities for merchandising rather than a serious addition to the story—criticism repeated nearly twenty years later about Jar Jar Binks in The Phantom Menace. Furthermore, despite the fact that the word "Ewok" is never uttered or mentioned in Return of the Jedi, everyone knows their name, providing additional ammo to those that believe them to be a product of the shrewd merchandising and marketing teams at Lucasfilm.

The later television appearances of the Ewok tribe from Return of the Jedi — the cartoon series Star Wars: Ewoks (1985 – 1987) and two television specials, Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) — are not always considered part of Star Wars canon by fans, although Cindel Towani, a character from the TV movies, has appeared in the later novel Tyrant's Test.

Fate

Some fans have argued that the Ewoks must have been driven to near-extinction due to environmental devastation resulting from the destruction of the second Death Star. This is supported by physical analysis of the films, which can be used to estimate how much debris would have fallen on Endor, and by a few ambiguous Expanded Universe references. Other fans dispute this, pointing to Expanded Universe appearances of an intact forest moon, and in come cases questioning the physical analysis. The case of the Endor Holocaust remains somewhat controversial.