Mandalorian
From Ewokpedia
The Mandalorians were a proud race of warriors who were almost wiped to extinction by their own jetpacks. Notable Mandalorians include Jango Fett, Boba Fett, and Worf.
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[edit] History
Tonight we dine in hell!
- Mandolin Leonidas
The Mandalorians were among the first inhabitants of the planet Naboo, but war broke out between the Proto-Mandalorian clans and the Gungans around 20,000 BBY. They were driven off their land and took to the stars to colonize a new home. They found their new home on a small, unremarkable planet which they called Mandolin, which they named after their leader, Mandolin.
Vowing to never be defeated in battle again, the Mandalorians became a highly militaristic culture. With abundant supplies of Mandalorian Iron and Mandalorian Pig-Iron, they began crafting the best armor, weapons, and starships the galaxy had ever seen. By 5,000 BBY, they began waging war against neighboring systems, crushing them under the great Mandalorian Iron fist. These wars would become known to historians as the Compensation Wars. After being emasculated so many millenia ago by a now long forgotten enemy, the Mandalorians felt the need to prove their worth. They built giant warships known as the Thruster, the Pounder, the Mandalorian Long Wood, and the most famous of all, the Mandolin's Extension.
In 4000 BBY the Mandalorians joined with the Sith in their war of conquest of the Galactic Republic. It was around this time that the Mandalorians had adopted the weapons and customs of the ridge-head clans. They flew into battle against the Republic Forces and their Jedi Knights on their notoriously unreliable jetpacks, forgoing the use of their blasters in favor of the more "honorable" weapon, the bat'leth. This proved to be the undoing of the once mighty Mandalorian Empire. The Jedi quickly decimated the Mandalorian forces, with one Jedi noting, "You know, they probably could have killed us if they didn't drop their blasters and rockets so that they could run at us with those stupid swords."
The Mandalorian Empire soon crumbled, its proud warrior race turning to work as mercenaries and bounty hunters for the next four millenia.
In 35 BBY, the last of the Mandalorian clans was decimated in a surprise attack by the Jedi. The lone survivor, Jango Fett, would go on to be the template of the Grand Army of the Republic. Despite being the lone survivor of the Mandalorian clans, Jango Fett managed to track down and hire several other Mandalorian warriors to help train the new Clone Army.
After his death from beheading, in part due to his notoriously unreliable jetpack, Jango's son Boba Fett inherited the Mandalorian legacy, becoming a famous bounty hunter who had, as the Mandalorians put it, the "cajones" to backtalk The Emperor's second-in-command, Darth "Johnny" Vader. In his later life, after surviving a horrific bout of testicular cancer, Boba Fett reflected on his life and decided to reestablish the Mandalorian clans, and would name himself the new Mandolin.
[edit] Culture
[edit] Four Principles
Mandalorian Culture revolved around the Four Principles of Honor, Duty, Loyalty, and Disclipline. While at his or her heart, every Mandalorian was a warrior, they performed a myriad of duties from miners to doctors, farmers to lawyers, teachers to torturers (although sometimes the last two went hand-in-hand). Every Mandalorian had a duty to honor his family, be loyal to his clan, and to protect his honor.
[edit] Armor
The armor was a key aspect of being a Mandalorian. All Mandalorians, both men and women, owned at least one suit of armor, and wore them with pride daily. However, this led to many suits not being cleaned very often and sometimes making the stench near unbearable. Women resorted to wearing flowers in their hair or around their necks to mask the smell.
The armor was finely crafted of the best Mandalorian Iron and Mandalorian Steel (a mixture of Mandalorian Iron and Mandalorian Pig-Iron). Each Mandalorian had it personally fitted and customized to their exact liking. Jango Fett, for example, had satellite radio installed in his helmet so that he could listen to his favorite Jizz Bands while combating Jedi. Boba Fett's suit, being based on his father's, also had this option, but never utilized it because he never felt like paying the subscription fee.
[edit] Jetpacks
Jetpacks were the primary means of transportation in combat situations for Mandalorians, necessitating rigorous training. Unfortunately, Mandalorian jetpacks were also dangerously unreliable, with the slightest damage either causing them to malfunction or misfire. One famous example is when Boba Fett's jetpack misfired when a blind Han Solo mistakenly tapped the bounty hunter on the shoulder.
[edit] Education
From a young age, Mandalorians were trained by tutors or instructors on the fine points of being a warrior. They were taught the Four Principles along side art of combat. Many children were killed in the live-fire training exercises and jetpack training courses that began at age seven. Those who survived these ordeals were seen as fit to be called "Mandalorians."
While both boys and girls participated in military training, most boys would eventually acquire personal tutors, becoming apprentices to Mandalorian Warrior masters, while most girls would go on to higher-level education courses based around business, accounting, engineering, medicine, and of course home economics.
[edit] Role of Women in Mandalorian Society
Women were considered separate but equal in the eyes of Mandalorian society. Mandalorian males told themselves that the female's frailer, weaker bodies were liabilities and not assets in combat, but in secret were afraid of their wives and mothers. Women mostly raised the children, kept the home, and ran the family businesses while the men went off to war for honor and glory. This grew resentment in the female population, who took out their anger on their husbands and sons. Since most men feared the wrath of their wives, many took up to living in communal military dorms or barracks to escape their wives even in times of peace.
An exception to the rule is the famous Mandolin the Scornful, the first female Mandolin who led campaigns during the War of Compensation. No man dared questioned her judgment, and entire planets would quake in fear on a monthly basis.
[edit] Language
Mandalorian language is similar to Basic in structure, but utilizes many more unnecessary apostrophes. It also is known for its lack of "Di" sound, leading many Mandalorians to refer to Jedi and "Jebi."
[edit] Behind the Scenes
George Lucas originally envisioned the Mandalorians as the main antagonists in the Star Wars saga, but when he first placed Boba Fett on set, he realized that the general human population couldn't handle that much badass being on the screen at one time. He unfortunately was forced to swap out the army of Mandalorians for the Stormtrooper corps and reluctantly had Boba Fett and his father Jango die like bitches. If he had not, there would have been an epidemic of heart failure from sheer awesomeness.
In order to continue the path of mediocrity that was needed to protect the human population, LucasBooks hired Karen Traviss to create a Mandalorian culture. Fortunately for the sake of the Human Race, she turned this mysterious and badass mercenary group into the Klingons of the Star Wars universe, creating an inane language for them to speak and giving them a lame "warriors code" of ethics to follow.
