Mandalore

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Synonyms:
See also:	The Mandalorian
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Mandalore is an Outer Rim planet in the Star Wars universe. It is the homeworld of the Mandalorians and is located in the Outer Rim. Among the best known Mandalorians is the bounty hunter Boba Fett who is also a fan fave.

The planet was first mentioned in the comic book Star Wars Legends: Marvel Star Wars (1982) and, much later, in the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2010).

Canon

Mandalore is a planet with a hot and dry climate, located along the shipping route known as the Hydian Way. The planet has been the location of centuries of fighting, both between internal factions and against external foes.

The Mandalorians are a clan-based warrior culture, sharing commonalities in culture and belief more than bloodlines. They were historically crusaders, and during the time of the main Star Wars events, they are known for being bounty hunters and mercenaries. Their culture places a lot of weight on their armor, which is traditionally made of beskar, a metal that is strong enough to stop a lightsaber.

Mandalorians also place a great deal of emphasis on caring for children - they are particularly known for adopting children, called foundlings, and raising them as Mandalorians.

History

Old Republic-Era

Mandalore's early history is of crusading to create a Mandalorian Empire. Because of this, they were brought in conflict with the Jedi, leading to the Mandalorian-Jedi wars. These lasted for many years, and eventually led to a cataclysm that left most of Mandalore uninhabitable. The conflicts also led to a mutual wariness between the two groups.

However, the relationship between the Jedi and the Mandalorians was not completely contentious, as shown by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian to become a Jedi. Tarre Vizsla created the Darksaber, a unique lightsaber that later became the symbol of the leader of the Mandalorians, and ruled over the planet for years. When the Old Republic fell, the Darksaber was seized by the Sith Empire.

Mandalorian Civil Wars

Before and during the Star Wars Prequels, another series of conflicts known as the Mandalorian Civil Wars occurred. The first of the Mandalorian civil wars took place immediately before the prequels, and involved a conflict between two groups identifying as "New" and "Old" Mandalorians, respectively. The former group wished to preserve the history of Mandalorian warrior culture, while the latter felt that war only harmed Mandalore and wished to recreate their society with pacifist values. During this conflict, Duke Adonai Kryze was killed and his daughter Satine Kryze spent months on the run alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi, and at its end she became the Duchess of Mandalore. The Old Mandalorians were largely exiled, and while many of them simply took up mercenary work elsewhere in the galaxy, some instead reformed under the leadership of Governor Pre Vizsla into a radical traditionalist faction calling itself Death Watch.

The conflict between the New Mandalorians and Death Watch led to the next of the Mandalorian civil wars, which occurred alongside the Clone Wars. Death Watch functioned as an underground group, seeding sympathizers throughout New Mandalorian society and government, including Satine's sister Bo-Katan Kryze. Death Watch allied with the Seperatist faction and then directly with the Sith, and ultimately succeeded in taking over Mandalore with the help of a splinter faction of the Sith led by Darth Maul. After they deposed Duchess Satine, Pre Viszla and Maul fought to determine the planet's new ruler; however, Maul's victory was not universally accepted and Bo-Katan Kryze led other unsatisfied members of Death Watch in rebelling against him. Their resistance was ultimately successful, but Bo-Katan soon lost power to an occupying force sent by the newly-created Galactic Empire at the close of the Clone Wars.

Prior to Disney's reboot of Star Wars canon, a key event of the Mandalorian civil wars was the Battle of Galidraan. In Legends (pre-Disney) canon, there was a faction of Mandalorians who called themselves "True Mandalorians," led first by Jaster Mereel and then by his foster child Jango Fett, who shared many similarities with the Old Mandalorian faction present in current canon. Jango and several other True Mandalorians were hired by the governor of a planet named Galidraan to put down a group of rebels active on his planet. Unbeknownst to them, the governor was affiliated with Death Watch, and had been instructed by their leader to tell the Jedi that the True Mandalorians were present on his planet to "murder political activists." As a result of his deception, Jedi Master Dooku led a Jedi task force to Galidraan and fought the Mandalorians there. At least five Jedi died, while the True Mandalorian faction was all but wiped out. Jango was taken prisoner and given to the governor of Galidraan, who sold him into slavery. In Legends canon, this event was a major factor in the enmity between Mandalorians and Jedi, and was also implied to be a contributor to Dooku's eventual Fall.

The last of the Mandalorian civil wars occurred after the rise of the Galactic Empire. A member of clan Wren, Sabine, joined the Rebellion and then came into possession of the Darksaber, then convinced her family to work with her against the Empire. Her successful resistance ultimately led to the Purge of Mandalore, a near-total genocide of the Mandalorian people.

During and After the Empire

The Mandalorian is set several years after the fall of the Empire, during the era of the New Republic. During the Empire's reign, there was a purge of the Mandalorians, a genocide that led the survivors into hiding. One group that survived was the Children of the Watch, which is the group that Din Djarin comes from.

Fandom

Most of the fandom around the Mandalorians as a group (as opposed to fans of the show) centers on Mandalore in the time leading up to the prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars, though fans of The Mandalorian also make up a significant number of fans.

Politics & Meta

The different factions of Mandalorians means that there are many different opinions about the conflicts and the characters at the center of them. Many fans have created meta discussing the politics of the Mandalorians, from many perspectives. Examples of topics include:

• The extremism/terrorism of Death Watch
• Mandalore as a colonial group
• Pacifism, both within the context of the Star Wars universe and in the real world

Who Counts as Mandalorian?

In the early 2020's, there was controversy over whether Jango Fett, and by extension his son Boba, counted as Mandalorians. This was due to the changes in canon wrought by Disney's acquisition of Star Wars, and several different people affiliated with Disney and Lucasfilm making contradictory claims about whether Jango Fett was a Mandalorian or not. As of season 2 of The Mandalorian, Jango has been stated to be a Mandalorian foundling, establishing him as a member of the Mandalorian culture but not necessarily as a person with Mandalorian ancestry.

Fans also disagree on whether or not the clone troopers are Mandalorian/Mandalorian-adjacent. In Legends canon, Jango Fett recruited a group of Mandalorians to come to Kamino and help train the clones in Mandalorian combat traditions, but this has yet to be integrated into current canon. Although the clones were based on the genetic material of Jango Fett, it is unclear how much influence he had on how the clone troopers were raised. It is fanon for the clones to have some connection to Mandalorian culture (eg. calling each other vod, a Mando'a word for sibling), but some fans dislike this association.

Mando'a

One aspect of the popularity of Mandalore among Star Wars fans is the Mandalorian language, Mando'a. In contrast with many other species and cultures in Star Wars, Mandalore has a language with internal grammatical rules that is used frequently enough in materials to allow fans to attempt to speak it, write in it, or extrapolate additional words. Several Mandalorian glossaries and translators are available online, and it's common for fanfiction authors to create new words as they need them.

Fanfiction

Fanfic about Mandalorians most common features Jango Fett, Boba Fett, and Din Djarin. It is also common to see Obi-Wan Kenobi in fics set before/during the prequel trilogy, as he is a more well-known and fan favorite character. In fact, one of the most common tropes in fic is Mandalorian Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Another extremely common trope in fic featuring Mandalorians is found family, since they emphasize caring for their foundling children. This also has great potential for hurt/comfort fic: a character (often Obi-Wan) is hurt (kidnapped, abandoned, etc) and is rescued and comforted by a Mandalorian character. Many such fics incorporate aspects of the Star Wars; Jedi Apprentice novel series, which is no longer considered canon but frequently features Obi-Wan being kidnapped, abandoned, or otherwise placed in peril.

Cosplay

Many fans enjoy cosplaying the Mandalorians - Boba Fett in particular is a common costume.

The Mandalorian Mercs are an international cosplay group wherein members create their own versions of Mandalorian armor.

Fannish Quotations

On February 5, 2023, brachiosaurus-on wrote on tumblr:

Absolutely incredible how fifteen years after the end of Mandalore's civil wars, their bio-domes are prospering. The planet's surface was glassed to the point of being uninhabitable and instead of colonizing an empty system or starting a new war to conquer a fertile land to live on, they chose to rebuild their cities. In what would have been a time of instability, they chose to care for and maintain and improve what they had already built. This is Satine Kryze's investment in her people.

Fanworks

• The Way of Conquest by pagination. Din Djarin drops in on the Imperial Senate. Chaos - and then healing - ensues. Crossing The Mandalorian (TV) with the wider Star Wars universe, this funny, high-momentum fic features time travel, outside POVs, and a huge cast of distinctively voiced and realized characters. It even has a plot that we really care about, tying together many disparate canon points of pain and fixing them all. (Din Djarin & Baby Yoda & many others, gen) (The Mandalorian (TV), Star Wars - All Media Types)

Archives & Resources

• Planet Mandalore (Star Wars) tag on Ao3
• Sundari | Capital City of Mandalore (Star Wars) tag on Ao3
• Wikipedia:Mandalorians