jawas

the following is copied verbatim from the website <wookiepedia>. yes, i said <wookiepedia>. if you have made it this deep into the <music:amplifier> website, you clearly are the type of person who would appreciate <wookiepedia>. to be honest, we actually ommitted some of the more arcane geekery from the site, as it got ever deeper and weirder than this writer was able to handle. go check out the site if you’d like to get weird.

here is everything you always wanted to know about jawas, but were afraid to ask, followed by background on their creator, the director and philanthropist george lucas, who was kind enough to give us permission to include them in our community. after you go down this rabbit hole of obscure jawa lore, check out a few of the nonprofit organizations that he has established, and the causes they support.

jawas first appeared in <star wars: episode iv a new hope>, the first installment of the <star wars> original trilogy. jawas were a nomadic sentient species of meter-tall furry humanoids native to the Outer Rim desert world of Tatooine. Jawas who migrated from Tatooine were referred to as Offworld Jawas.

George Lucas originally created a prototype of a Jawa that resembled a rat, though this was scrapped after he felt that it was too theatrical. The Jawas in A New Hope were played by twelve local children including Gary Kurtz's daughter, Tiffany L. Kurtz, who portrayed the Jawa Dathcha. Their faces were covered by black stocking masks and wired on eye bulbs.

No canonical source has revealed what a Jawa looks like under the hood. In behind-the-scenes shots from Return of the Jedi, the Jawas have squarish heads covered in black cloth with large yellow eyes that appear mechanical. However, this is a costume and so may not represent their canonical appearance. The original Star Wars novelization implies a possible familial relationship between Jawas and Tusken Raiders. It also describes Jawas as rodent-like and compares them to de-evolved Humans, though these could be mere metaphors.

According to Stephen J. Sansweet's book Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible, the Jawas were the centerpiece in one of the strangest copyright infringement cases involving Star Wars. In 1978, small hooded creatures with glowing eyes that Neil Young called "Roadeyes" began accompanying the rocker on stage during a concert tour, in a tour film, and on the cover of the album Rust Never Sleeps. The case was settled out of court.

Jawas were passionate scavengers, combing the deserts of Tatooine for droids or scraps which they would capture and sell to the local residents, forming a codependent circle of trade. However, their habit for swindling, stealing, and selling hastily refurbished equipment and faulty droids developed a reputation. Thus, moisture farmers were wary of their goods but they often purchased them due to being hard-pressed to find a better selection in the remote Outer Rim.[1]

jawas were often found lurking around podracing tracks in order to haul away smoking debris from crashed Podracers. Jawas were usually first on the scene of a crashed starship, as Anakin Skywalker discovered when he crash-landed the Twilight during the Clone Wars.[16]

a jawa could often speak both their native Jawaese—which utilized scent as well as spoken words to convey meaning, thus making it impossible for outsiders to understand—and their simpler Jawa Trade Talk, allowing them to communicate more easily with other species.[8] Notably, the Ugnaught Kuiil was able to understand and negotiate in their language.[7]

jawas traveled through the desert and transported their droid inventories and wares in their sandcrawler transports.[1] Defunct mining companies on Tatooine had abandoned these vehicles in the desert, allowing the Jawas to adopt them and use them as mobile bases.[8] Jawas took advantage of ion blasters to stun still-functioning droids and restraining bolts to control them.[6]

Jawas had a tentative peaceful relationship with the Tusken Raiders, or "Sand People," an aggressive species also native to Tatooine. However, the Jawas preferred to avoid the Sand People when possible due to their unpredictable nature. They also feared the Krayt dragon, a large apex predator on the planet, and getting caught in the infrequent but dangerous sandstorms.[1][8]

Jawas present on Arvala-7 had a love for mudhorn eggs as a delicacy, going so far as to trade a large pile of parts for a single egg.

‍What Jawas hid underneath their heavy robes was subject to much speculation from the colonists who settled on Tatooine,[2] with rumors claiming they were giant rodents or devolved humans.[8][11] Although most Jawas were typically small, measuring only one meter in height,[2] some individuals were significantly taller. One of those abnormal Jawas was almost as tall as a 3PO-series protocol droid,[6] a model of protocol droid measuring 1.71 meters.[12] Jawas had striking glowing eyes, which the explanation for or purpose of are unknown.

When Jawas began to walk, they were given moisture-regulated and insulated robes that they would wear their whole life. Their robes were originally hemmed to the armpit. As they mature, the hem is lowered to cover their bodies. Most Jawas measured their height by the amount of hems their robes had had. An average adult Jawa usually had five or six hems in their robes.[13]

According to the gangster Adwin Charu, Jawas had a musky, animal odor which he likened to a fraternity of wet rats.[14]

According to Peli Motto, Jawas were quite furry

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