Keldabe kiss " Keldabe kiss " was a slang term for a kov ' nyn , a Mandalorian headbutt . Performed with a helmet , a " kov ' nyn " could either be employed to cause injury to an opponent in unarmed combat , or in a gentler capacity between two Mandalorians as an armored greeting , contributing to the " Keldabe kiss " nickname . Description . " Kov ' nyn " was the Mandalorian term for a headbutt , performed while wearing a helmet . The term came from the Mandalorian language of " Mando ' a " , where it was derived from the words " kovid " and " nynir " , meaning " head " and " strike " , respectively . A " kov ' nyn " was a Mandalorian unarmed combat technique , utilizing the protection their armor afforded them in an offensive manner . Over time , a gentle headbutt consisting of a tapping of helmets together at the forehead , came to be a stand - in gesture for a kiss among Mandalorians adorned in full armor . The practice led to the development of the slang term " Keldabe kiss , " derived from the name of Mandalore ' s capital city . History . By the final decades of the Galactic Republic , the term " Keldabe kiss " had become a recognized slang term for a Mandalorian headbutt . Because a gentle headbutt was used by Mandalorian couples in lieu of a normal kiss when they were wearing full armor and a helmet , a number of non - Mandalorians who had seen the gesture and yet were unfamiliar with its origin , came to believe that an armored headbutt was a typical Mandalorian greeting . In the year 44 BBY , the Mandalorian soldier and reigning " Mand ' alor " Jango Fett performed a violent " kov ' nyn " on a Jedi on the planet Galidraan , during a devastating battle between a Jedi taskforce and the True Mandalorians . Twenty years later , in 22 BBY , Fett performed another armored headbutt on the Jedi Knight Obi - Wan Kenobi , during their fight on the watery world of Kamino . Near the end of the Clone Wars — a galaxy - spanning conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems — in 19 BBY , the former clone commando - turned - Mandalorian Fi Skirata , was waiting in the marketplace of the Mandalore town Enceri for the arrival of his girlfriend , Parja Bralor . When Bralor arrived , she fondly gave Skirata a true " Keldabe kiss , " affectionately tapping the forehead of her helmet to his in greeting . During the tumultuous build up to the Second Galactic Civil War in 40 ABY , Corellian President Thrackan Sal - Solo put out a bounty on the family of his hated cousin , Han Solo . Seeking to protect his family , Solo traveled to Corellia where he allied himself with his former foe Boba Fett — on world at Sal - Solo ' s request for Mandalorian military aid — who outfitted Solo with a suit of all - concealing Mandalorian armor and had the smuggler masquerade as a Mandalorian subordinate of his . Once Solo was close to his cousin , he attacked and headbutted him with the borrowed Mandalorian helmet , before Fett ' s granddaughter Mirta Gev finally shot and killed Sal - Solo . Behind the scenes . The terms " Keldabe kiss " and " " kov ' nyn " " first appeared in " Star Wars " canon in the " Republic Commando " novel " " , written by author Karen Traviss and published September 16 , 2008 . The action of a Mandalorian headbutt first appeared in the second " Star Wars " prequel film , , retroactively making the 2002 film the first appearance of the act , itself .