Madclaw

Madclaw was a term used by the Wookiees of Kashyyyk to mark a dishonored member of their community.
Wookiee culture placed a high value on the use of their claws for peaceful, productive reasons only. Thus, any Wookiee who lashed out against another Wookiee, or any other living being, with their claws was deemed to be a madclaw. The title was a grave dishonor, since the Wookiees viewed the use of claws for anything other than tools as feral, and madclaws were usually sent into exile.
The Wookiees were not the only species that believed in this philosophy. The Selkath of Manaan also had retractable claws and strictly forbade the use of them in battle.
==Famous madclaws==
One of the few madclaws to become famous throughout the galaxy was Zaalbar, one of the companions of the Jedi Revan. He lashed out at his brother, Chuundar, after discovering he'd been cutting deals with Czerka Corporation slavers. His father, the chieftain Freyyr, didn't believe him, and he was exiled. He was later pardoned after Chuundar's crimes were exposed.Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The albino Wookiee Tojjevvuk also dishonored himself by using his claws to attack Chewbacca when they fought over Mallatobuck, but since that battle ended with Chewbacca hurling Tojjevvuk to his death in the Shadowlands, Tojjevvuk was never brought to justice by his people and formally dishonored with the title madclaw.
The Wookiee bounty hunter Snoova was deemed a madclaw for using his claws in his work and was rumored to have been originally forced to leave Kashyyyk for using his claws in a brawl over a paramour.Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
Reerookachuck was a Wookiee male taken from Kashyyyk as a slave at a young age and raised by Human slaves, and had no interaction with other Wookiees until he was seventy. As such Reerookachuck did not learn that it was dishonorable for a Wookiee to use claws in combat.
==Behind the scenes==
The concept of madclaws was, indirectly, created by Timothy Zahn, author of "The Thrawn Trilogy." In his 1991 novel Heir to the Empire, Zahn introduced the protractible claws of the Wookiees in order to make their tree-climbing more realistic. However, he realized that his new addition to canon caused a discrepancy: if the Wookiees indeed had claws, Chewbacca would have used them in the original Star Wars movies. In the following year, Heir to the Empire Sourcebook resolved the discrepancy, explaining that it was a matter of honor that Wookiees never used their claws in combat, but kept them strictly for climbing.Heir to the Empire Sourcebook 
In Star Wars canon, a similar Wookiee honor code appears in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel.Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
*Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire
*Chewbacca (2000) 1 
==Sources==
*Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
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*Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Prima's Official Strategy Guide 
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia 
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==Notes and references==
Category:Slang
Category:Wookiee culture
Category:Wookiee titles