Wistie Wisties , also called firefolk , flutterglows or firesprites , were a sentient species native to the forest moon of Endor . They were very small , winged humanoids that had the appearance of a moving flame . However , fire did not have anything to do with their luminosity , and they could be safely touched by other creatures most of the time . Although the Wisties seemed extremely simple , even non - sentient , they had a language of their own and even a form of government , with a Queen as Head of State . It was thought that the firefolk fed off happy emotions and expressions of mirth . They were known offworld as early as 32 BBY , in the waning days of the Galactic Republic . Because of their beauty and rarity , the firefolk fetched high prices on the illegal market . Despite that , knowledge of their existence was not not very widespread in the galactic community : when Sergeant Pfilbee Jhorn encountered Wisties on an expeditionary mission after 3 ABY , he did not recognize them and even doubted they were actual creatures . During the time when most of the galaxy was ruled by the Galactic Empire , Izrina was Queen of the Wisties . Biology and appearance . The Wisties of Endor were tiny humanoids with one head , a torso , two legs and two arms , with the latter ending in three - or four - fingered hands . Some individuals had no visible digits . They were surrounded by a bright mantle of fluttering flames , the color of which could be golden , white , red or blue . Their mask - like faces featured two forward - facing eyes and a large mouth relative to their size . Some Wisties had a hair - like corona of light sprouting from the top of their head . While the seemed to " flicker " as a flame would do — and sometimes even seemed to disappear for split second — they were well and truly corporeal , and could be restrained with the help of miniature chains . They were so small that they could fit in the palm of an Ewok . All known Wisties were referred to as females in Galactic Basic Standard , the most prominent language in the galaxy . The Wisties rarely kept still , which rendered detailed examination of their body features difficult . Most of the time , they appeared more like thin lines of light that flew in the air erratically , which prompted uninformed observers to think they were unexplained light phenomena . Because of their spark - like appearance , they were often called " the firefolk " or " the flutterglows " by the Ewoks , a race of one meter tall bear - like sentients with whom they shared their homeworld . Their luminescence , however , was not fire - based , but biochemical . Although they did emit heat , which was fanned through the rapid beating of their wings and produced light , they could normally be touched by other organics without risk . However , angered Wisties could increase their body heat to such a degree that their could actually burn . They also had the ability to transfer some of their energy to certain responsive objects , including Force - sensitive gem stones like the Sunstar . Society and culture . Wisties lived in swarms of several dozens individuals . At night , those swarms would venture in the open air , where they performed what has been described as " flashing , spinning , dizzying light shows . " During their aerial ballets , the firefolk were usually peaceful and harmless , although their buzzing and brightly lit night flights could prevent other beings from sleeping , much to their annoyance and discomfort . In the rare cases when a Wistie got angry , it could increase its internal heat greatly , allowing the creature to burn through traps and nets . Diet . Observers were uncertain as to what the Wisties ate . Although their behavior indicated that they absorbed firelight as a source of nourishment , some believed that they fed on laughters and other manifestations of warm feelings . In any event , the Wisties were indeed fond of laughter , and appeared to possess some ability to either physically or psychically affect other beings in a manner that provoked it . The sensation has been compared to playful tickling . The experience was considered extremely enjoyable and continued to be so long after an actual tickling would have become unpleasant . Once deprived of her liberty for an extended period , a Wistie was in imminent danger of dying of starvation . Relations with other Endorians . The spark - like beings generally maintained cordial relations with the tree - dwelling Ewoks , who even had a holiday in their honor , called the Festival of the Wisties . Both species would celebrate that event together in a playful astmosphere , performing a dance and baking a special pie made from rainbow berries . Wisties and young Ewoks would often frolic together in the forests or on the edges of a pond . Despite that , even their Ewok friends still regarded the untimely night flights of the firefolk as a nuisance , at least in the context of camp life . By contrast , the Wisties were prey to the warlike Duloks , the lankier cousins of the Ewoks , who considered them delicacies and sometimes caged them into small lanterns . Wisties normally spoke their own language , which was made of squeaking and buzzing noises . Some Ewoks , including Teebo and later Kneesaa were able to understand that language . Conversely , a few Wisties who had been taken offworld also showed the ability to speak Galactic Basic Standard fluently . History . Evolution and early encounters . The Wisties evolved on Endor , a forested moon in orbit around the planet of the same name , in the Moddell sector of the Outer Rim Territories . They shared their homeworld with several other intelligent or semi - intelligent species , namely the Ewoks , the Duloks , the fftssfft the Yuzzums , and the Gorph s . As early as 3640 BBY the firefolk and their bear - like neighbors knew each other , as the Ewok mercenary named Treek mentioned how she liked to listen to the Wisties in the forest . The firefolk ' s first encounters with the wider galactic community dated back to at least 32 BBY , in the waning decades of the Galactic Republic . By that date , several Wisties had been abducted by offworld visitors and sold as living trinkets elsewhere in the galaxy . Some time after the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY , the Wisties encountered Pfilbee Jhorn , a sergeant of the Galactic Empire who had been requisitioned for an expeditionary mission to Endor . The flutterglows were attracted by the Imperial campfires , and they started to fly around their visitors , as they usually did . The Imperials tried to shoo them away , but to no avail . As records officer of the expedition , Jhorn reported that encounter in his field journal . Morag ' s plot . Around 3 . 5 ABY , the fairy - folk of Endor were ruled over by Queen Izrina . One day , the Queen fell prey of Morag , a mandrill - faced Tulgah witch who dwelled on Endor . Morag used her arcane magic to put Izrina into a state of perpetual anger , rendering her able to set things aflame through casual contact . When the Queen travelled back to her home , she infected her fellow Wisties with Morag ' s curse . Because of Morag ' s wicked ruse , the erratic flight of the Wisties caused a terrible forest fire that nearly destroyed the Bright Tree Village and , more importantly , the sacred Soul Tree s of the Ewoks . However , even as the Ewoks struggled to fight the fire , they found a way to free the firefolk from Morag ' s spell , when the young warrior Wicket Wystri Warrick doused Izrina with water . Wicket and his friends then cured the rest of the Wisties , and put out the remaining fires with the help of magic foam concocted by Logray the shaman . In gratitude , the firefolk offered to help implement Warrick ' s plan to airdrop Logray ' s firefoam by guiding the Ewok skin gliders safely around the dangerous convection currents caused by the forest fire . As a result , the fire was quickly brought under control and the wisties took the liberty of dropping a bag of firefoam on Morag to humiliate her in revenge . Meeting the Caravan of Courage . Shortly afterwards , when an Ewok caravan accompanied the young Humans Mace and Cindel Towani in their search for their parents camped in the Endor plains , a group of Wisties were attracted by the campfires . The young Cindel then presented Candle of Pure Light , a magical artifact provided by Logray , and the Wisties all leaped into its flame . That event had the consequence of summoning Queen Izrina , who decided to accompany the caravan . She later proved helpful in distracting a malevolent Gorax while the Ewoks rescued the elder Towani from that creature ' s lair . Wisties in the galaxy . To outlanders , the Wisties gained numerous nicknames , such as firefolk , firesprites or flutterglows . Their existence was known to other species since at least 32 BBY . Around that year , a Hutt crime boss named Gardulla had imported Wisties in the pleasure garden of her palace on Tatooine . Although those Wisties lived in an environment close to their natural habitat , they still were slaves to the Hutt . When Gardulla opened her garden to night parties , the Wisties served as flying night - lights . Indeed , the Wisties were often captured and put on the black market because of their extreme beauty and rarity , which contributed to reduce their number on Endor . Around 18 BBY , a gray - haired Human who was part of a resistance movement on Samaria went by the nickname of " Firefolk . " Although it may have been a coincidence , the Jedi Ferus Olin found it amusing that a grown man would have chosen the name of a tiny , glowing creature . Behind the scenes . The Wistie species first appeared in the 1984 movie " " , a made - for - TV film set in the " Star Wars " galaxy . They were also featured in two episodes of the animated TV series " " , which ran from 1985 to 1986 . The first one , titled " The Cries of the Trees , " had its plot revolve around Morag ' s attempt to burn down the forest by hexing the Wisties . The opening credits of the also featured original footage of Wisties hovering around the show ' s typographic logo . In 1988 , four years after the release of " Caravan of Courage " , the creator of " Star Wars " George Lucas wrote the story of " Willow " , a directed by Ron Howard . The movie featured Cherlindrea and her people of tiny , glowing fairies , which were very similar to Wisties of the " Star Wars " universe . The Wisties also share similarities with the will - o ' - the wisp from European folklore , which were ghostly , flickering lights that could be seen hovering over swamps and bogs and were believed to lure travelers of their routes . The subtitles of the " Caravan of Courage " DVD used the alternate spelling " Whistie . "