Tusken Raider / Legends Tusken Raiders , less formally referred to as Sand People or simply as Tuskens , were a culture of nomadic , primitive sentients indigenous to Tatooine , where they were often hostile to local settlers . The term " Sand People " was given to them due to their existence in the desert , and was in use from at least around 4000 BBY ; but the more formal name of " Tusken Raiders " was acquired much later , due to a period of concerted attacks on the settlement at Fort Tusken in 98 - 95 BBY . Although this name is often used as a common term for the race , it actually refers only to the participants of the attack on the settlement . Specialists studying the past of the Tusken Raiders also used the term Ghorfa to denote an earlier sedentary phase of their culture , and lastly Kumumgah , which what Tusken Raiders evolved from , as they were the earliest stratum of sentient civilization on the planet , believed by some to represent a common ancestry shared by the Ghorfa and the Jawas . In the culture of the Tuskens , to expose any part of the flesh was forbidden and seen as a disgrace . Biology and appearance . A ' Sharad Hett stated , while on a mission to Aargonar with Anakin Skywalker , that Tusken Raiders were biologically incompatible with Humans . This implies that Tusken Raiders were a non - Human species . Sand People were known to adopt settler orphans , such as K ' Sheek , after raids on Human settlements and convoys , in a similar fashion to Mandalorians . Also , the Jedi Knight Sharad Hett won a place in their tribes through his great combat prowess . Beyond these isolated and uncommon incidents , there is no indication that Humans were present in any great number among the Tuskens . The lack of detailed knowledge about Tusken Raiders can be accounted for in part by the hostility of the Tatooine climate , and in part by the hostility of the Tusken Raiders themselves . Scientific studies of the few corpses found were said to have been inconclusive , and knowledge of the Sand People — or what was thought to be known about them — was often based on uncertain and inferential evidence . However , A ' Sharad Hett ' s claim that he learned of the Tusken - Human incompatibility , combined with his firsthand knowledge of the Tuskens , is compelling evidence that they were a different species . It is thought that Tuskens and Jawas shared common ancestry in the Kumumgah , who were taken off world by the Infinite Empire to work as slaves on other planets . In fact , the Sand People were one of the slave races used in construction of the Star Forge by the Rakata ns . Since the Kumumgah were considered a possible origin species for Humanity , it is possible that Tuskens and Humans shared ancestry ; however , the connection was not close enough to allow inter - breeding , and their unmasked appearance was distinctive . Anakin Skywalker recognized immediately that the unmasked A ' Sharad Hett was not genetically a Tusken Raider ; this indicates that he was familiar with the appearance of Tuskens under their masks . Later , Skywalker had a nightmare in which a Tusken appeared partially unmasked ; however , it is not known whether this appearance represented their true form or was simply a " boogeyman , " derived from Anakin ' s imagination . The Grave Tuskens , a group of warriors that had pledged allegiance to a Dark Jedi named Maw , flaunted their bare faces , which provided a little information about their species ' traits . The Tusken Raiders had grayish skin tones , dark eyes , and a short , feline muzzle . Along with Ewoks and Vulptereens , Tusken Raiders are among the species without the mental aptitude necessary to become Jedi . Society and culture . The desert life . Tusken culture was defined first and foremost by the climatic extremes of Tatooine : barren wastes stretching for days ' journey on end , scoured by harsh , arid winds and searing heat by day ; icy , deadly stillness after dark . Practical survival was the first priority in terrain like this , and to protect themselves , the Sand People learned early in their existence to cover themselves from head to foot in desert - colored rags and robes , leaving no bare skin exposed to the elements . It is perhaps no surprise that these outward trappings came to be the most basic tokens of Tusken Raiders ' identity — their mode of dress was , after all , a direct expression of their way of life . The Tuskens were divided into small tribes or clans , and roamed widely across the desert surface of Tatooine , but the focus of their habitation patterns seems to have been the Jundland Wastes , the one major area of rocky upland that rose clear of the shifting sands : in particular , the traditional sandstorm - season encampments of many clans were concentrated in an area known as The Needles . Occasionally the different clans would go to war over territory and would even unite under a powerful warlord . They raided widely through both the Jundland Wastes and the Dune Sea , and any creatures , particularly offworlders , were subject to their savage attacks . Traveling on trained banthas , raiding parties would swiftly appear from the desert , riding in single file to conceal their numbers , and then disappear back into the cover of the dunes with their trophies and prisoners . Due to their lack of advanced technology , primitive society , and viciousness , they were regarded as barbaric monsters by most of the galactic populace . Although Tusken garb varied from tribe to tribe , certain aspects of dress remained constant . The eyes of Sand People were covered with goggles or visors which shielded them from the harsh sunlight . Covering their mouths , Tuskens had a filter to help facilitate breathing in the desert . A constantly open mouthpiece covered the area between the nose and jaw , while a moisture trap worn around the neck humidified the air taken into the lungs . Sand People were also recognizable by their fierce gaderffii weapons . The gaderffii was so integral to their culture that Tuskens would often commit ritual suicide in the event that an injury made them unable to properly wield the weapon . While rejecting most examples of modern technology , long - barreled Tusken Cycler rifle s and stoves made of scavenged or stolen metal were not uncommon . Female Tuskens wore variations of the male Tusken garb ( though in some tribes , like A ' Yark , males and females wore the same ) , often incorporating womp rat tusks into their attire . In some tribes , their role seems to have involved maintaining the encampments while the males raided and hunted , but in other groups , perhaps more strictly nomadic in outlook , they may have lived and hunted more closely alongside their menfolk . Tusken children wore unisex masks ; gender - specific coverings were not allowed until they became adults . Tuskens were forbidden to take off their protective clothing in front of others , except in a few very specific circumstances : at childbirth , on their wedding night and during coming - of - age rituals ( two events which were often one and the same ) , and as adults , only in the privacy of their tents with their blood - bound mates . Breaking this rule meant either banishment or death , depending on the specific tribe rules . The emphasis on outward appearance and concealment of physical form also enabled — and disguised — one of the most striking elements of Tusken culture : although the Sand People were regarded as alien savages by Tatooine ' s Human colonists , an unknown proportion of the Tusken population were , at least by the last decades of the Galactic Republic , every bit as Human as the settlers themselves . One tribe near Mos Espa had burial grounds and was led by a war chief . The tribe abducted Sabé , in the guise of Queen Amidala , in 32 BBY , but the war chief was defeated by the Jedi Padawan Obi - Wan Kenobi . Social organization . Sand People organized into clans and tribes , the former being kin groups of between 20 to 30 beings , and the latter being larger affinities with no strict bounds . In a typical tribe , the adult males typically assumed the role of hunter and protector , often leaving their camps for an extended period of time . Females , often accompanied by massiff guard animals , cared for the children , known as " uli - ah " , and the seasonal camps . After completing the rites of adulthood at the age of fifteen , the uli - ah were granted full status within the tribe and paired for marriage in a ceremony involving blood exchanges between the male , the female , and their banthas . The bantha was another vital element of Tusken culture , a large , shaggy - coated quadruped capable of surviving for long stretches in the harsh terrain of the deserts ; some banthas roamed wild , but the Sand People had learned to domesticate them . Every Tusken had their own mount from childhood , and they rode bantha - back for journeys of any length : small scouting parties of two or three mounts , or entire clan communities on seasonal migrations , they traveled through the dunes and rock formations on the shoulders of their mounts , in single file . Tuskens subsisted primarily on hubba gourd s , and moisture farmers found great humor in the fact that they became intoxicated on just a few sips of sugar water . While leading a lifestyle that was primarily nomadic , when the hot season was at its height , semipermanent camps would be constructed . Particular caves or hollows , spiritually connected to certain clans , were frequently visited , and were usually where the dead would be buried or special ceremonies would be held . Special water wells such as the one in Gafsa Canyon , sacred due to their rarity , were often vehemently protected . In each tribe , a small number of individuals would be trained from birth to become Storytellers , orally learning the tales of their ancestry with perfect accuracy . This tradition was such a large part of Tusken culture that Storytellers were considered the most important members of a tribe . On the other hand , written communication was believed to cheapen the value of Tusken history , and was therefore shunned . There was only one accepted history across the many Tusken tribes , and if someone questioned or spoke even a single word of the histories incorrectly , it was considered a blasphemy punishable by death . Thus , Tusken history was passed down orally from generation to generation with almost no alterations in the material . If the Storyteller of a tribe died before the training of their apprentice was complete , the tribe was considered to be unworthy of existence and would quickly destroy itself through infighting . In rare circumstances , those that proved themselves worthy , such as great warriors , were also permitted to listen to the teachings of the Storyteller . Mythology and Customs . The history of the Tusken Raiders as passed down through Storytellers was considered a single , indivisible entity that took hours to recite . Circa 4000 BBY , its contents related their entire known ancestry : their origins as the technology - loving Kumumgah , their enslavement by the Rakata whom they called " the Builders , " which catalyzed the realization of the importance of a connection with the land , their revolt against the Builders and the subsequent desertification of Tatooine , a long account of tribal wars and their evolution into a desert people , and finally the colonization of their planet by the Galactic Republic . The translator droid HK - 47 believed that the histories were likely created thousands of years after some of the events themselves actually occurred , leading to an mythologized demonization of the Rakata that could have distorted elements of the truth . For example , the Tusken understood the Builders as an iconic force meant to test the resolve of their ancestors , rather than the Rakatan race that conquered Tatooine . Additionally , the histories stated that the Kumumgah that were most arrogant and uncaring of the land were exiled from Tatooine by the Builders , a story that HK - 47 believed was fabricated and merely symbolic of the removal of certain aspects of society via off - world enslavement . HK - 47 also suggested overuse of resources as an alternative explanation for the desertification of the planet . Traditional Tusken history holds that , following the bombardment and desertification of their planet , their holy warriors drove off the Rakata oppressors through a heroic struggle . However , HK - 47 suggests that this belief may be incorrect and that the Rakatans may have simply departed thinking that their bombardment of the planet had " sterilized the problem . " The Tusken believe themselves to be a part of the land and regard anything that might separate them from it as sacrilege . This leads them to accept only in garments that have been sanctified and only ride banthas that they believe retain a connection to the land . Any form of technology or clothing used by offworlders is believed to separate them from the land and is considered sacrilege . This leads them to not only reject foreign technology themselves , but also to viciously attack anyone on their land who employs it . The mythology of the Tusken also explained their hatred of outsiders — outsiders reminded the Tusken of their past as the technology - dependent Kumumgah , either physically or socially . HK - 47 suggested that there may also have been a lingering fear that the outsiders were the descendants of the tainted individuals that had been abducted by the Rakata . They believe that Tatooine ' s two suns were beings called the Sky Brothers , with the elder having attempted to kill the younger . His failure caused him to start a lifetime of running , his younger brother chasing him to kill him for his treachery . Rituals . Many rituals held Sand People society together . In many tribes , adolescent Sand People were tasked with a ritual known as " bloodrite , " in which a youth proved his or her hunting skills by capturing a creature and fatally torturing it with techniques extending the pain for weeks before death . Most opted for creatures like dewback or desert hulak wraid , but the greatest prestige was reserved for a hunter who performed the rite upon a sentient being . The most prestigious test of an adult male was to hunt and slay a krayt dragon , and retrieve a pearl from its stomach . Oftentimes , members of the tribe would create spirit masks out of natural materials for use in the ensuing ritual and celebration . Additionally , Tuskens occasionally enjoyed firing upon podracers who participated in the Boonta Eve Races , as a sort of sport and show of marksmanship , and as retaliation for the intrusion of their lands . A unique bond existed in Tusken culture between the riders and their bantha mounts , and when a mount died , the rider was often left behind to wander the desert alone . They held that if the fallen bantha ' s spirit wished for the rider to find a new mount , it would be so . If not , the rider would die amongst Tatooine ' s endless dunes . A Tusken who returned with a new mount would be held in great esteem by his tribe . The bond worked both ways , as accounts have been told of riderless banthas intentionally stampeding over cliffs . The rest of the tribe considered the unbonded individual to be pitiable , but did not scorn that person . Han Solo and Luke Skywalker witnessed the exile of one Sand Person who had lost his bantha in 12 ABY . Anakin Skywalker became a legend after he slaughtered a tribe of Sand People out of revenge for killing Shmi Skywalker Lars . He was depicted as a vengeful ghost or desert demon , and the Tuskens made ritual sacrifices to ward him off , putting stolen artwork and other valuables — even Human sacrifices , such as Kitster Banai — in the place where the tribe was murdered . Language . The Sand People spoke a guttural language known as Tusken . Many individual names were long and marked by numerous stops , such as Grk ' Urr ' Akk , Grk ' kkrs ' arr , Orr Agg R ' orr , Orrh Or ' Ur and Orr ' UrRuuR ' R . However , shorter names like Sliven were also recorded in some clans , and some Tuskens , like A ' Sharad Hett and his mother K ' Sheek , bore patronymic ( and perhaps matronymic ) names formed from a parent ' s given name and a prefix : " A " ' meaning " son of " and " K < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > " apparently " daughter of . " Other known Tusken words include " urtah " ( carrying pack ) and " urtya " ( light tent ) . As a rule , Tuskens also possessed a rudimentary knowledge of Huttese and Jawaese , as they came into contact with these languages quite frequently . When they still were known as the Ghorfas , the Sand People did use a form of logographic writing system , but it apparently fell into disuse with the decline of their civilization . The complex writing had degraded into mere crude symbols . With no written language , the Sand People thus relied on oral history to pass down the legends and stories of their people . As such , storytellers were held in the highest regard and charged with the responsibility of memorizing by rote the story of every clan member and piece of clan history . For apprentice storytellers , the pressure to memorize the stories precisely was intense : a single mistake meant death . If an apprentice storyteller successfully recited a story perfectly , he became the clan ' s storyteller — while the old one wandered off into the desert forever . During the Clone Wars , a Tusken language pack was sold as an enhancement for protocol droids , which enabled them to acquire the Tusken language . History . According to history as passed down through Storytellers , the evolution of the Tusken Raiders could be traced back to the Kumumgah , a technologically advanced race that once built great cities all over the then lush world of Tatooine . Over millennia , the Kumumgah achieved space travel among the worlds of the Outer Rim and beyond , attracting the attention of the Rakatan Infinite Empire , who conquered , enslaved , and annexed Tatooine . Some time before 25 , 200 BBY , the Kumumgah rose up against their Rakatan masters , but were punished by orbital bombardment and left for dead . The bombardment slagged the surface of Tatooine into little more than fused glass , which eventually crumbled into desert sand . The Kumumgah , however , had anticipated such an act , and survived by taking refuge in caves across the planet . Over time , they diverged into two separate species , Jawas and Ghorfa . The Ghorfa spent the next thousands of years as a nomadic society , attempting to come to terms with their new identity in a period they called " the long walk . " After Tatooine was rediscovered by the Galactic Republic in around 5000 BBY , early Human settlers were believed to have disrupted the water - supply of a settled cave - dwelling society known as Ghorfa culture , precipitating the transformation of the natives into the Sand People . To survive , they were forced to steal and adapt the technology of the colonists , forging the distinctive desert survival gear by which they would subsequently become so well - known . By around 4000 BBY , they were also engaged in endemic low - level warfare with the settlers , raids which were among the factors that forced Czerka Corporation to abandon their attempts to operate Tatooine as a mining world . Tatooine was , it seems , largely forgotten by the wider galaxy for the next few thousand years , and indeed , the planet apparently had to be formally rediscovered in 1100 BBY . By the sixth century BBY , however , a mining colony had been reestablished , and the key moment in the history of the Sand People and their relations with the outlanders occurred around 550 BBY , when they encountered an offworlder and rogue named Alkhara . Initially , Alkhara was an operative of the colony ' s Bureau of Ethnicity and Socialization , studying the Sand People , and seemingly gaining their trust . Eventually , however , he turned against the colonists and occupied the desert fortress that was used in earlier centuries by the B ' omarr Order and in later centuries by Jabba Desilijic Tiure ' s criminal empire . It is not clear how closely his banditry was connected with his relations with the Sand People , but in the most notorious incident of his career , he allied himself with a group of Sand People whose bivouacs lay on the Great Mesra Plateau to wipe out a police garrison , then afterwards turned on his Sand Person confederates , and destroyed their camp . This , it is claimed , was the source of a subsequent blood feud between the natives and the outlander s . Permanent settlement by offworlders — or outlanders — only seems to have resumed in 100 BBY , with the arrival of the settler ship " Dowager Queen " from Bestine IV . A new planetary capital called Bestine was founded , and a second settlement called Fort Tusken was established at the northern tip of the Jundland range . At first , the new colonists seem to have been unaware of the Sand People , but a series of attacks between 98 and 95 BBY forced the abandonment of Fort Tusken , and from that point on , the Human settlers of Tatooine referred to the natives as " Tusken Raiders . " Sometime after Biggs Darklighter left Tatooine , there was a lot of unrest among the Tuskens Raiders . They raided even the outskirts of Anchorhead . Behind the scenes . The Tuskens appeared initially in the of " Star Wars : A New Hope " , as Imperial spies deployed as a platoon onto the surface of Tatooine to search for whatever had brought Deak Starkiller to that planet . They appeared to be humanoid , with red eyes , and drove distinctive landspeeders . They became a native people of Tatooine in the . Tusken speech sounds like of Earth , but Ben Burtt actually fashioned it from brays . In the Xbox adventure game " " , set prior to and during the events of " " , Padawan Obi - Wan Kenobi is forced to rescue who he thinks is the Queen of Naboo — in actuality , her handmaiden Sabé — after she is abducted by Tuskens during the layover on Tatooine . In the game , Kenobi must stalk through a communal Tusken burial site . As Obi - Wan Kenobi , the player must track the Raiders through their extensive canyon dwellings among old scavenged shipwrecks - turned - fortresses and eventually do battle with a Tusken war chief , who intended to keep the queen as a trophy . A sequence of cultural interest depicts the Tuskens solemnly and ceremoniously conceding defeat after Obi - Wan demands to be allowed to return to safety with the Queen since he has defeated the Tusken war chief . Grave Tuskens appear in " " as henchmen to the Dark Jedi Jerec and Maw on the moon of Sulon . This is the only appearance of a Sand People group off Tatooine , although Hoar from " " did travel offworld to learn that martial art from Arden Lyn . Also , in a panel of " " , a lone Tusken Raider is seen in the palace of Grappa the Hutt on the planet Genon . Tuskens appear in " " in the Ka ' Pa mission . The level vaguely resembles Tatooine , although the game doesn ' t specify the planet where the level takes place . In the PC game " " and its expansion pack " Clone Campaigns " , there is an Easter egg in the first Chewbacca campaign ; in the far right corner of the first mission , under the fog of war , is a scene similar to the Obi - Wan mission mentioned above . This can only be accessed by using the cheat codes " forceexplore " and " forcesight , " dissipating the fog of war . The mission does not succeed if the side mission is failed . The desert survival gear , a form of Sith stalker armor , is very similar to a Tusken Raider in appearance . " " depicts a Tusken without a mask , although this may just be Anakin Skywalker ' s mental image of the Sand People rather than an accurate portrayal . In the RPG " " , one of the side quests requires that the player infiltrate a Sand People village . Upon doing so , a possible history of the Sand People is presented to the player . The game puts forth the theory that perhaps the Ghorfas / Tusken Raiders , along with the Jawas are , in fact , Human , or at least are related to them . During dialogue with the tribe ' s storyteller in the Sand People ' s village , if the main character , Revan , asks whether the similarities between those who were taken by the Rakata and the Human colonists are physical or societal , HK - 47 will remark , " Cautionary : Master , if you mean to suggest that humanity is ancestrally linked to ancient Tatooine , you will strain his belief system to its pitiful meatbag maximum . " At one point in the game , HK - 47 refers to the storyteller as " this Raider . " The term " Tusken Raider " would not be coined until almost 4 , 000 years after this game ' s 3956 BBY setting , but the term " raider " simply means one who raids , and Fort Tusken is not mentioned . In the book " Darksaber " , Luke Skywalker states that it ' s impossible to tell Tusken males and females apart , but in , there are clear dress differences between males and females . However , these dress differences were not established when " Darksaber " was published .