Kaleesh

The Kaleesh, also known as the Kaleeshi, were a reptilian sentient species from the Wild Space world of Kalee. They had red, scaly skin and possessed distinctive snake-like, slitted yellow eyes, a flat nose, elongated ears, and enormous tusks. A primal yet spiritual people, the Kaleesh were formidable warriors, and they were not likely to display empathy, kindness, or vulnerability. All Kaleesh nearly always concealed their facial features behind traditional war masks, which were typically crafted from the skulls, bones, and teeth of the fiercest and most fearsome animal species on their home planet—predatory beasts, mumuu, erkush, and karabbac. Despite their technological inferiority, they engaged in many conflicts, notably against their galactic neighbors, the inhabitants of the planet Huk. The most notorious member of the species, General Grievous, fought as the Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies during the Clone Wars.
==Biology and appearance==
The Kaleesh, also known as the Kaleeshi, were a species of red-skinned humanoid reptilians from the planet Kalee in Wild Space,Star Wars: The Force Awakens Beginner Game having snake-like, beady yellow eyes with slitted pupils, with eyelids, prominent brows, large tusks protruded on the upper jaws, bony protrusions jutted on the chin, and a mouth with teeth,Age of Republic - General Grievous 1 which, when closed, revealed two fangs. Although all of their facial features were reminiscent of bats, such as their elongated ears and snub or flat noses, they usually wore masks. With two long, thin arms, long, four-fingered, claw-like hands and an opposable thumb, two legs, back bent, and four toes.
They were digitigrades, walking on their toes rather than their entire feet, and they possessed a brain,Star Wars Made Easy a heart, lungs,Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know a liver, several vital internal organs,Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition and nerve endings. Their internal organs were extremely flammable.Star Wars: The Complete Saga The species had two sexes, male and female. Their claws range from white to black. As if the Kaleesh were prepared to strike, their scales quivered menacingly and they could recognize whether someone was being cold-blooded. Kaleesh possessed a visual perception of color in their eyesightStar Wars: Complete Vehicles and could also smell an individual's origin and the stench of death afar.
==Society and culture==
Though primitive, the Kaleesh were a fierceStar Wars: The Ultimate Cookbook and proud culture of warriors who were known for their lack of mercy. Dumas Mar'Ti was a Kaleesh who believed in a pantheon of beings she called her gods. According to Mar'Ti, her sins were a matter between her and the gods. The warlords of Kalee were worshipped by a young Grievous, who would watch the warlords return home with plunders taken in war.Star Wars: The Dark Side
In their homeworld, Kaleesh warriors hunted mumuu, erkush, and karabbac. Instead of only hunting for meat alone, they generally killed to demonstrate their bravery and make clothes out of hides and masks. Such fearsome masks were frequently carved from the skulls, bones, and teeth (German version) of their fiercest and most lethal (Spanish version) predatory beasts. With that mask in hand, a Kaleesh's features were normally and traditionally hidden behind the mask, with only their slitted golden eyes staring through the masksDark Disciple and tusks visible.
Before battle,Star Wars 100 Objects above their eyes, Kaleesh smeared their skull masks with karabbac-blood war paint. As they are rarely seen without them, their masks make it difficult to read their expressions. Apparently, if it were discovered that someone wore a similar mask just for effect, the Kaleesh would not tolerate it.Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Head-to-Head Kaleesh warriors traditionally dressed in campaign cloaks with headwears over half-hoods, giving them a menacing appearance. The warriors utilized their martial disciplinesMace Windu: The Glass Abyss and primary weapons, like swords, shields, spears, and slugthrowers, the Czerka Arms Outland rifle. An unarmed combat style known as "Na Jang" appropriated their techniques and used them to train military units.
==History==
At one point, Kaleesh warriorsStar Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 65 and warlords took roggwarts as trophies from their battles with the Bitthævrian on their homeworld Guiteica.
The overextended Old Republic overlooked crimes on numerous peripheral worlds, and one such world, Kalee, unintentionally faced injustice at their hands. The world of Kalee became one when the low-tech reptilian Kaleesh species were conquered by a greedy insectoid species, the Yam'rii, from the desolate planet Huk in the same system as their planet. The Yam'rii had ruthlessly invaded many worlds in their sector, stripping them of their resources and selling their populations into slavery. When the Yam'rii focused their attention on Kaleesh's homeworld, the results were horrifying. The struggle between the Kaleesh and their technologically superior foes was devastating, resulting in a never-ending war.
One Kaleesh named Qymaen jai Sheelal, later known as Grievous, was born, matured, and learned brutal tactics, determined strategy, battle tactics, and warfare during the Kalee's war against the Yam'rii of Huk,Rise of the Separatists and became a fearsome warriorUltimate Star Wars and warlord.Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded Throughout the years fighting alongside the strongest Kaleesh warriors, the Izvoshra, Grievous had gathered them to serve as his bodyguards. Then, with increased ferocity and determination, Grievous led his people in a ruthless all-war against the Yam'rii while on offensive. In time, the Kaleesh forces successfully repel the Yam'rii from their world. Grievous launched a series of devastating campaigns on the planet, Huk. However, the Yam'rii pulled off an unexpected move and appealed to the Republic for assistance. The Republic and the Jedi intervened, siding with the Yam'rii against the invaders, and the Kaleesh were censured, embargoes and fines were enforced, and hundreds of thousands of them died of starvation.
Grievous's hatred for the Republic and the Jedi only increased, developing a personal vendetta against them, and it may have been the hatred he felt that drove Grievous to join the InterGalactic Banking Clan. Grievous was phenomenally successful, making him one of the IGBC's more valuables resources, and by that time, not only Count Dooku but Darth Sidious himself had already taken notice of his exploits and had important intentions for him. One day, Grievous' shuttle was seriously sabotagedStar Wars: A Galaxy at War during San Hill's assassination attempt, causing his troop carrier to crash and fling him from the debris, (German version) nearly killing him and destroying the majority of what remained of his original body. After regaining consciousness in a bacta tank, the Kaleesh warrior discovered that he had been nearly totally gutted and deformed by surgical FX droids. (German edition) Then, he was transformed into a cyborg and served as the Commander of the Separatist Droid Army, bringing him face-to-face with the despised Jedi and seizing their lightsabers as trophies throughout the years until his death on Utapau.
During the First Order-Resistance War,Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy one Kaleesh was present at the Vargo Spaceport on the planet Varkana, wandering around when the First Order stormtroopers searched the city for resistance spy Norath Kev.
==Kaleesh in the galaxy==
During the High Republic Era, the Kaleesh Dumas Mar'Ti was a captain of her own starship, the Athos, and a member of the Byne Guild.
One of the species' most well-known members was General Grievous, who was also regarded as its most infamous.Star Wars: Alien Archive His mostly cybernetic body eliminated most resemblance to other Kaleesh. As the Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Army, he fought in the Clone Wars until he was killed by Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Battle of Utapau. Though not Kaleesh himself, the Delphidian pirate Sidon Ithano wore a Kaleesh maskStar Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary stolen from the Kaleesh, adopting one of their masks painted in a chosen red colorStar Wars: Smuggler's Guide to hide his Delphidian heritage.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
* 
* 
*LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens 
* 
* 
*
*LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales 
*LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
* 
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
==External links==
*
Category:Enslaved species
Category:Reptilian sentient species
Category:Wild Space species