Ponda Baba / Legends Ponda Baba , also known by the alias " Sawkee " was a male Aqualish pirate who served as a loyal partner to Doctor Cornelius Evazan . He fulfilled the Aqualish stereotype of being an ill - tempered thug and his weapons of choice were the BlasTech SE - 14C blaster pistol and a modified DL - 21 blaster pistol . Biography . Ponda Baba became Cornelius Evazan ' s partner after rescuing him from the bounty hunter Jodo Kast on Corellia . For a time , he considered betraying Evazan and collecting the sizable bounty being offered . He decided against betraying the Doctor , and they began smuggling spice for Jabba Desilijic Tiure . One fateful day on Tatooine , Luke Skywalker entered Chalmun ' s Spaceport Cantina and sat down at the bar . After Baba , who was apparently drunk , growled a few words at Luke , Dr . Evazan informed Skywalker that his partner , Ponda Baba , did not like him . Despite Luke ' s efforts to avoid a confrontation , Ponda attacked him . The scuffle was ended when Obi - Wan Kenobi severed Baba ' s right arm with his lightsaber . Evazan tried to use his medical knowledge to replace Baba ' s arm , but the surgery was a failure , almost resulting in Baba ' s death . The two parted ways , with Baba swearing to impart vengeance on his former partner . After a partial reconciliation , they reunited and set up a base in a castle on Ando . Evazan had created a mind - transferring machine , which Baba hoped would give him a new body . Evazan lured an Andoan senator to the castle , then trapped him in his machine . When Baba was in place , Evazan started the machine . Their bodies switched , Ponda Baba had the senator ' s body , but the senator , now in Baba ' s body , escaped the machine and chased them to the rooftop . He tried to kill the doctor and Baba with a thermal detonator , but , they jumped off the roof just before the detonator exploded , which killed the senator . Ponda Baba and Evazan swore vengeance on each other , as previously before . Ponda Baba was later wanted by the Corellian Security Force for attacking various locations on Corellia ' s neighboring planet Talus , with the help of his Aqualish gang the Followers of Baba . However , the CorSec could not take him in themselves , so they hired a spacer instead , who was successful in capturing Ponda Baba and dispersing the rest of his gang . At one point , in the planet of Bothawui , the Bothan police officer Kras ' ka Lo ' lar shot Baba twice with a stun bolt knocking him out . Behind the scenes . Ponda Baba first appeared in the of " " ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster and published in 1976 , half a year before the film . Baba was unnamed and described as multi - eyed alien . He was accompanied by a short human and a rodent - like alien — early incarnations of Cornelius Evazan and Kabe . In this version , Obi - Wan Kenobi sliced Evazan ' s hand and cut Kabe and Baba in half . In the Revised Fourth Draft of the film — identifying Baba and Evazan as Creature and Human — the scene was about the same . In the final film Kabe didn ' t accompany Baba , and Obi - Wan dealt less drastically with the outlaws . Ponda Baba had only the designation " Walrus Man , " the name of his original Kenner action figure , until the 1981 Star Wars radio drama which called him " Sawkee . " That name was overlooked in 1989 , when he was given his proper name in " " . Sawkee was later referred to as an alias in Evazan ' s Databank entry on StarWars . com . Tommy Ilsley played Ponda Baba in the film . A walrus supplied his vocalizations , although Tim Veekhoven and Mark Newbold , the authors of the Star Wars Blog entry " Drawing from the Present : Familiar Creatures in a Galaxy Far , Far Away , " could not confirm whether the walrus was Petulia . In a blooper , his arm has fin - like hands when still attached , but is furry and clawed in the close - up shots of the severed arm on the floor . This may have inspired the writers at West End Games to invent the finned and clawed subspecies of Aqualish in " " . Also , the severing of Ponda Baba ' s arm was one of the few lightsaber wounds that did not cauterize on contact ; a pool of blood can be seen on the ground . A parody of Ponda Baba ' s confrontation in Chalmun ' s Cantina is shown in " " . In this appearance , Baba is not a hardened criminal , but a harmless architectural draftsman visiting the bar with his wild friend Evazan . As he sits by Luke Skywalker , the scene plays out just as it does in the movie , only Ponda is complimenting Luke on his hair even though it looks like he is pushing on him . Evazan takes advantage of Luke ' s inability to understand Baba , and makes Luke think they are dangerous , as per the original movie . As Baba tries to explain the misunderstanding to Luke , Obi - Wan Kenobi cuts his arm off . In the end , his Gran employer fires him as he lost his arm and can ' t draw out designs . Later , however , he receives 5 , 000 credits in damages in a lawsuit for the loss of his hand . In " " , Ponda Baba is drinking in Cantina with Evazan , when Luke accidentally knocks down Baba ' s drinking glass . Angered , Baba pushes Luke to the ground and draws his blaster . Before he can shoot , Obi - Wan Kenobi cuts off both of Baba ' s arms ( instead of just one ) . Baba dies shortly after in the video game ( rather than survive as he does in the Expanded Universe ) , causing Evazan to quickly drink his glass empty , and flee from the scene .