#taung

[mandalorianhistorian]

Taung appreciation post

Manda’lor the ultimate

#mandalorian culture #mandalorians #mandalorian #star wars eu #star wars expanded universe #Manda’lor the ultimate #taung #mandalor #manda’lor

[panther-os]

landback in star wars but it's the clones after the war with their taung ancestry talking about coruscant

also please note that humans in gffa canon are only possibly native to coruscant while taung have confirmed indigeneity so looking at the human track record throughout the rest of the galaxy uhhhh *coughCough* colonizers *coughCough* (also please note that while the wiki is up to date with current canon there are still lorebooks out there from when it was canon that humans had no homeworld at all and probably came from outside the galaxy)

anyways

the Senate: you're going to enslave us and impose martial law!!!

the clones: like you did to us? lol no we just want a homeworld where we can make sure that the people and the planet are all treated ethically and respectfully and since a bunch of us died for you, this was the worst front in the war for us, and it's also our ancestral homeland the capitol seems like a good idea. you can still conduct business here! you can still run the Republic from here and we'll join! you just gotta be decent people and respect any local laws that are put into effect

all the already decent senators support this wholeheartedly

#/incoherent noises/ #star wars the clone wars #star wars #tcw #clone troopers #star wars prompt #fic prompt #landback but make it star wars au #star wars taung #taung #landback au

[dustbunnyprophet]

Mandalorian Dating Systems and Calendars

After spending the whole afternoon developing a dating and calendar system for the Mando-centric fic I’m currently writing, I ended up with not one, but two different systems (and some headcanons about the Galactic Republic dating system).

For simplicity’s sake let’s assume the Galactic Republic uses predominantly the year of the Ruusan Reformation epoch for their dating system. The year 0 ARR (After the Ruusan Reformation) corresponds to the year 1000 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin). The calendar system is the Coruscant-based standard one with the year’s length being 368 days. The date notation is yyyy.ddd (e.g. 948.126 ARR is the 126th day of the year 948 After the Ruusan Reformation).

Mandalore was founded in 9991 BBY so they began their dating system with the Founding of Mandalore (FoM). I headcanon the Taungs decided to keep their calendar system unchanged after leaving Coruscant and eventually colonizing Mandalore which means a Mandalorian year has 368 days just like the Galactic Republic one. Unlike the latter, however, the Mandalorian year begins 67 days later (e.g. 9253.1 FoM, the first day of the year 9253 since the Founding of Mandalore would be 262.68 ARR). 

Why a 67 days discrepancy? It would be weirder if they were synchronised.

Since I cannot imagine the New Mandalorians would want to use the FoM as their dating system, and considering the movement began after the Mandalorian Excision, the New Mandalorian Calendar (NMC) system will use the Excision (738 BBY, 262 ARR, 9253 FoM) as year 0. The length of the year and the New Year are identical to the traditional Mandalorian calendar system.

So basically

0 BBY = 9991 FoM = 738 NMC = 1000 ARR

Cheat sheet:

BBY: Before the Battle of Yavin

FoM: Foundation of Mandalore

NMC: New Mandalorian Calendar

ARR: After the Ruusan Reformation

Some notable dates of Legend/Disney canon events in the various dating systems:

934 ARR (9925 FoM, 672 NMC, 66 BBY) Jango Fett is born

940 ARR (9931 FoM, 678 NMC, 60 BBY) the Mandalorian Civil War begins

943 ARR (9934 FoM, 681 NMC, 57 BBY) Obi-wan Kenobi is born

948 ARR (9939 FoM, 686 NMC, 52 BBY) the Battle of Korda VI is fought; Sheev Palpatine is elected Senator

955 ARR (9946 FoM, 693 NMC, 45 BBY) Obi-wan Kenobi becomes Master Jinn’s padawan

956 ARR (9947 FoM, 694 NMC, 44 BBY) the Battle of Galidraan is fought; the Stark Hyperspace War begins

959 ARR (9950 FoM, 697 NMC, 41 BBY) Anakin Skywalker is born

961 ARR (9952 FoM, 699 NMC, 39 BBY) Anakin and Shmi Skywalker are sold to Gardulla and begin their lives on Tatooine

#hyperfixating on trivial details instead of writing the actual fic 101 #star wars #mandalore #mandalorian #new mandalorians #calendar system #dating system #ruusan reformation #mandalorian excision #taung #galactic republic #galactic standard calendar

[krazykupid]

Okay I gotta ask about 'What the Kriff do you want' that just made me laugh. Hilarious WIP title.

YES! I was hoping someone would ask about this one!

It's a prequel to "What The Force Wants". It follows the Taung evacuation of Coruscant. Or at least this one clan of Taung, they crash land on a primitive inhabited planet (of an alien species of my own creation) leaving a fraction of the clan alive. Ora'Ore, a Taung who has just recently reached majority, was injured in the crash leaving him partially blind.

Enter Diinal the daughter of the tribe's leaders. She is fascinated by the Taung and goes out of her way to involve herself in their daily activities, despite the vast language barrier.

Ora'Ore wants nothing to do with her, she reminds him too much of the zhell in her appearance. Even though the other Taung have no such issue. (it's the first red flag of blindness affecting him) Diinal refuses to leave him alone.

No matter what Ora'Ore does she comes back. "What the kriff do you want?" is what he asks every time he sees her approach him.

#wip ask game #my fic #star wars #Taung #star wars legends

[moonlitalien]

Symmetry portrait commissions for LiegeOfSwords, @jaxsor, @/mutantfishy on Instagram and @/MidnightBlanche on Twitter!!

#symmetry commission #swtor #star wars #togruta #gw2 #guild wars 2 #sylvari #taung #moonlit art #commission

[cieniewmroku]

#star wars #my art #my old art #taung #mandalorians #mandalorian god

[crackedopen]

A WiP for my new art piece from Mando worldbuilding and canon divergence story I've been thinking about for a while!

I'm super proud of this lineart, I tried to incorporate as much Mandalorian elements I could think about lol (the spear with a Taung skull, kar'ta beskar pattern, helmets), I really tried 😅

I hope you also like the Mandalorian royalcore vibes it gives off!

Don't forget to LIKE and REBLOG 💕💕💕

#crackedopen art #my art #mandalorian #mandalorians #mandalorian culture #royalcore #star wars fanart #star wars #mando #mandalore #taung #taungs #lineart #art wip

[daonek]

I need to fix the face and head but I think it looks alright atm what do you think?

#taung #mandalorian #blender #help i'm still learning

[ice27coldink]

Life Changed (Freestyle) is over 10k streams 🌍 On Boomplay

#lifechanged #freestyle #hiphopmusic #rap #gangster rap #rank #ice #taung #l.k #self made #screwbler #ice passion #its my game #north sound entertainment #record #milestone

[direwolfrules]

Star Wars As Star Trek AU: Maul

Maul is the Khan/Seska of this AU. He just keeps showing up. Like, my god dude, get a hobby. Learn to knit.

In this AU the Dathomiri Zabraks are the descendants of Augment Zabrak Soldiers banished to the planet after the Iridonian Eugenics Wars. Or something, I might just retcon this later when I’m more awake.

It's always super dangerous when Maul shows up because he's a super soldier with a hate boner for Captain Kenobi. It all started when Obi-Wan was a young lieutenant serving under Captain Qui-Gon Jinn, and now it's just gotten out of control. Honestly, you cut off a guy’s legs once…

Maul has tried everything from hiring mercenaries to kidnap Obi-Wan to just brute forcing it, and each time he loses, screams "KENOBIIIIIII", and vanishes into the ether.

His obsession with killing the Captain at some point morphs to desire to hurt then kill him. Which is inconvenient on several levels for everyone involved.

Commodore Admiral Adi Galia, one of Obi-Wan’s friends from his days serving on the Maverick under Captain Jinn, was on her way to inspect a base or sign a treaty or something when the ship she was on got a distress call. Waiting on the other end was Maul, who was kinda hoping for the Resolute to show up but hey, a friend of Kenobi’s is almost as good as his found family right?

At a certain point Maul finds out about Satine and Korkie’s true connection to Obi-Wan and he gets all murdery just thinking about it. Luckily for him, the House of Vizsla needs to get Satine out of the way before she discovers their part in the Galidraan Massacre. A fight ensues, Obi-Wan’s cursing out the nature of communications jammers, and at one point Satine jumps in front of a stab meant for Korkie.

Satine doesn’t die, because I’m making her and most Mandalorians have at least a little bit of Taung blood in them, and I’ll elaborate on this more in another post, but she’s got some back up organs and therefore doesn’t die, but she does fall into a coma. No one but Maul and the highest ranking Vizslas know that part of the reason Satine was targeted was Galidraan.

I’m unsure how Maul dies, or if it’s at Obi-Wan or Korkie’s hands, but I do know he dies in Obi-Wan’s arms

#darth maul #khan noonien singh #seska #star wars #star wars au #star wars as star trek au #star trek #obi wan kenobi #obitine #satine kryze #korkie kryze #korkie kenobi #qui gon jinn #adi gallia #star wars the clone wars #taung #house vizsla

[drdamiang]

#poem #poetry #humanity #cradle of humanity #Taung #South Africa #love #wife

[mandalorianhistorian]

Mandalorian culture master post part 1

  (Not Disney era, which is not canon in the eyes of the og fans)  

The Beginning of Mandalorian Culture and Lineage  

 A millennia before the battle of Yavin 4, Mandalorian history began with the Taung. These shadow warriors once lived on the core world, Coruscant, before their enemies drove them from the core into the outer rim, across the galaxy, and far into wild space. 

The clans travelled from planet to planet on orders from their war chief, who interpreted the will of their extinct gods. The names of the gods were; Kad Ha’rangir, the all-seeing god of trials and tests; Hod ha’ran, the trickster agent of fickle fortune; and Asasuum the god of sloth, an enemy whispering and seducing promises of peace. During this time, many planets and their people fell to these Mandalorian. 

These Mandalorians went everywhere across the galaxy until they found the Mandalor system in the outer rim territories. There had been no sapian lifeform on Mandalor until the Taung came to the planet. 

They wanted to prove they won the planet, so they hunted the mythosaur, massive creatures that roamed the planet. Once done, they left the mythosaur bones on the plains as proof, and used the skulls for the clan's symbol. 

 The Taung then inhabited the planet permanently and began raiding other planets on crusades for their gods. 

#mandalorian culture #the mandalorian #mandalorians #taung #star wars #star wars expanded universe

[ice-6caydesqueen]

Wanting to draw my Taung/human hybrid revan but sick as hell right now

#revan #kotor #Taung #Darth revan

[cerebrodigital]

Ubicado en la cima de un volcán, a 1,518 metros sobre el nivel del mar, Taung Kalat es considerado uno de los templos más remotos del mundo y un patrimonio cultural de Myanmar.

#monasterio #monumento #taung kalat #myanmar #remoto

[cienie-isengardu]

Cienie’s take on Mandalorian Culture: Kad Ha’rangir and mandalorian traditional weapons, p.2

part 1

There are in theory contradicting sources about Taungs - namely Death Watch Manifesto [Bounty Hunter Code], Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author’s Cut, Part 2 – Ancient Coruscant and Republic Collapse, all written within the TCW era (2008-2020) and Mandalorian song Vode An best known from the Republic Commando game soundtrack (2005).

The first source claims that Taung Crusaders “relied primarily on handheld weapons such as beskade and Mythosaur axes” and that those weapon forms inspire modern Mandalorian designs. 

Bounty Hunter Code also included an artistic version of Taungs proving themselves against Mythosaur, while using swords / sabers against the beast.

The problem with the Death Watch Manifesto lies in its political nature and so can’t be treated as an objective source. The point of Manifesto was to gain new loyal members of Death Watch (the loyalists of Old Faith) to fight against Duchess Satine Kryze’s pacifist rule. Text provided simplified version of the conflict between warriors and so called Faithless supported by Republic and Jedi from supposedly perspective of Tor Vizsla[3], including emphasis on repression that happened upon the traditionalists, such like exile to Concordia and intentional destruction of their culture:

“Seven centuries ago, their craven, hut’uune warships and Jedi bombarded our worlds. They incinerated Mandalore’s farmland and forests, leaving much of our homeworld a forsaken desert of fine white sand, and then occupied our worlds. They killed, exiled, or disarmed our warriors and suppressed our ancient codes. 

or

“Our secret operations on Mandalore and Concordia are producing more and more beskar, but Mandalorian armor remains hard to find - and the New Mandalorians treacherously destroyed many heirloom suits of beskar’gam.”

and

“Some of our warriors were exiled to the moon Concordia. Others - myself included - slipped away to resume the ba’slan shev’la”.

This raises a question: how close to the truth is the knowledge provided by the author? If warrior culture were systematically erased for ages within Mandalorian society, then there is a high possibility that author’s knowledge is either 

incomplete - the ancient tradition was passed in secret for ~700 years and from the start was designed to uphold customs that warriors should consider sacred, thus the only one correct and right version to believe. After such a long time Tor Vizsla (and Death Watch members in general) may simply repeat already whitewashed “history lessons” that for ages fitted Faithfuls’ needs. In that case we could assume the author himself does not lie on purpose and simply presents the knowledge passed through generations between traditional Mandalorians.  

deliberately present information in a way that fits the Death Watch’s rhetoric to manipulate/encourage readers to the author's case. This doesn’t mean Tor is lying about events per se, as Sith War, Mandalorian Wars and Republic attack on Mandalore did happen and have confirmation in different sources, however the manner of presenting is clearly non-objective. This is especially noticeable in a way Mandalorians are separated into Faithful working hard to keep their culture alive and thus in symbolic way face and overcome the trials of Kad Ha’rangir (the warrior / positive god) while Pacifist choose the easier way and follow the Arasuum (negative god) or how the text focus so much on connecting modern Mandalorians to their mythical-historical progenitors as Mandalore the Ultimate (who opened Mandalorian warrior ranks to anyone worth of the title) and Taungs in general. 

Of course, those two options don’t exclude each other and may easily co-exist, as the author operates on knowledge passed down to him while presenting it in a favorable way to potential members of Death Watch. Which leads me back to Taungs using swords and what traditional weapons means. 

Taungs at some point needed to pass down their metallurgist knowledge to humans and other assimilated Aliens so it is very possible that their blacksmiths in fact had made those types of weapon, especially in a period of time close to Mandalorian Wars. The new warriors (Neo-Crusaders) needed to be properly equipped  - and many “recruits”came from Republic territories thus could be more familiar with sword fighting than using axes, so the author may not be wrong about ancient Mandalorian design on which the modern beskar swords are based to some degree. With Mandalorian culture existing for over 7000 years, both (Taung) axes and (Mandalorian human) swords at some point became seen as traditional Mandalorian weapons however there is no way to say for sure did Tor Vizsla had a proper knowledge about Taung battle methods or did he stretched the facts for propaganda, as another cultural tradition that humans shared with the ancient Mandalorians?

Considering the nature of the Death Watch Manifesto and mentioned destruction of warrior culture by New Mandalorians (Republic), I tend to favor the latter possibility. Especially when the three most important ancient Mandalorian (Taung) deities presented in the same Manifesto carry no sword-like weapon. Which again raises a question, what is the point of a god called Kad (sword) if the available picture (interpretation) shows him with a Taung-like traditional ax?

Hod Ha’ran too carries an axe while only Arasuum either is using ceremonial(?) cane or his weapon is deliberately held blade down, as a sort of symbol of giving up warrior nature (that author of Manifesto clearly ties to “traitorous” pacifism).   

The ancient Mandalorian deities were led by the all-seeing Kad Ha’rangir (left), shown here beside the trickster god Hod Ha’ran (center) and the slothful Arasuum (right).

This is even more palpable, as:

🔶Mandalore the Indomitable was presented with a typical mythosaur axe and spear - weapons both used by the Taung leader in original comics.

Comparing his image to other important figures from Mandalorian history, this Taung is the only one that holds a traditional weaponry while the Ultimate (and some unnamed characters) has a blaster and the rest don’t hold any armament at all. Interestingly, Tor is pictured twice - first, with a sort of technologically advanced spear/lance(?) and secondly with a darksaber.

The lack of blaster connects him the strongest with Indomitable yet not with the gods who use solely axes. 

🔶the sabers used by Taungs, as far as can be seen on the Mythosaur picture, don’t resemble the presented above sword design (it does however fit the author’s description “a single-edged, curved sword”). One may argue that those two types represent different eras, which is a fair argument - with a culture reaching 7 thousands years there is no reason to think the armament didn’t evolve according to the needs of warriors who took part in endless war campaigns. However, from a propaganda purpose solely, I find it interesting how the author didn’t try to connect each bit of lore of original Mandalorians to swords and in result, highlight the importance of the Darksaber. Instead we are told that Taungs used both swords and axes and the book even presented a bunch of unnamed warriors with sabers, yet the Indomitable and Mandalorian gods are tightly tied to axes first and foremost. It could be really easy to present both of those figures with mentioned single-edged, curved swords that Darksaber resembles to some degree and keep it as a continuation of a great, old tradition. Yet the best known Taung mythological-historical characters do not use swords at all.

Another source, Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author’s Cut, Part 2 – Ancient Coruscant was published on starwar.com in 2013 (and still can be read there). This in-universe text gives us some insight about historical education and archaeological works in regard to Taungs and prehistoric Battle of Coruscant:

Nor, says Hu, can we say anything about the Battalions of Zhell, or the Taung legions that confronted them. “When enthusiasts stage recreations of the battle they tend to use replica great axes and swords known from the excavation of Taung burial sites on Roon,” he says. “But by the time the Taungs reached Roon these were ritual objects -- species capable of traveling through hyperspace don’t still rely on edged weapons. Nor do you find such weapons still used by societies as sophisticated as the Zhell nations. It’s as if you staged a recreation of the Siege of Ramsir with the Imperial Army limited to parade sabers.” Hu says he knows it may be unromantic to imagine the confrontation at Zhell occurring between armies that possessed aircraft and atomic weapons. But he urges us to look deeper and examine the qualities of Dha Werda Verda that have kept the poem alive for eons.

(For those unfamiliar with the history of prehistoric Coruscant - Zhell nations were the ancient enemy against whom the forefathers of original Mandalorians fought for control over the planet. Ultimately, Taungs were driven away from the Coruscant and it is generally assumed that Zhells were humans.)

It is understandable that in-universe researchers won’t have the same knowledge as star wars fans familiar with Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War or Knights of the Old Republic various media - and in result in-universe assumptions may differ from “truth” (lore). Here are some vital details to take into account: 

🟢For one, Taungs (ancient Mandalorians) were capable of traveling through hyperspace yet still used edged weapons during fight, as was proved in The Sith Wars. So the assumption axes or swords were solely ritual objects before Taungs even got to Roon doesn’t hold true. The traditional axes and swords may have some ritual importance (and thousands years later Din Djarin, a modern Mandalorian will claim, “weapons are part of my religion”) but their primary function is still fulfilled on the battlefield.

🟢The second detail worth examining is that axes and swords are mentioned solely in the context of graves. Source does not provide any additional information about the nature of those old burial sites and so there is no way to tell whether Taung cremated their dead (a continuation of prehistoric Taung funeral rites known from Dha Werda Verda poem?) or preferred skeleton burials. We don’t have any clue where the weapons were placed in the graves, if swords and axes were next to each other and if not, which kind of weapon were more often found in the closest immediate vicinity of the remains. There is also no information on what kind of advanced research was conducted on the blades to test if those were indeed battle weapons or items forged solely to fulfill the cultural/religious purpose. Due to lack of additional data, we can’t exclude a possibility that in one grave several weapons could be deposited and only one or two truly belonged and were used by the dead while the rest was simply grave goods - like the trophies taken from defeated enemies, a parting gift from the Taung community or, in case Roon was inhabited by other species (conquered and dominated or living peaceful alongside warriors?), a grave good related to a different social group and/or culture. Additionally, a specific funeral rites like cremation may not leave enough organic remains for a proper science research. If Taungs co-existed with other species, the graves with swords could belong to non-Taungs, either as a sign of honor /good relationship between separated cultures or as sacrificial burials on the occasion of Taung's funeral (as sacrifice of a slave/conquered people). Of course, those are just possibilities worth taking into account though sadly, we do not know the extent of in-universe archaeological research in that regard.

With such a large period of time Taungs spent on Roon, there is a great potential to create a proper correlation between type of weapon (its shape) and the chronology of burials and to theorize which weapon and when were the most popular. Similarly, there should be research done about correlation between type of weapon and alleged age, status and battle injuries of dead. As in, a certain type of weapon may be more often found in graves of esteemed adults (warriors) while the juvenile ones equipped appropriate to their age or lack of fighting experience. 

Of course, Roon burial sites are older than 7.000 years and so archaeological excavations won’t solve all Taung cultural riddles and will depend a lot on the type of burial and its state of preservation but the point is, fiding swords in Taung graves does not automatically means it was their traditional weapon.  

Thinking more about the issue, I’m intrigued by no mention of spears - and sure, organic parts such as wooden spar wouldn’t survive to modern times without proper conditions yet the stone or metal spearhead could. Especially since there are more examples of Taung using spear and spear-like weapons than swords.

The Essential Guide to Warfare gives an illustration of Taungs on prehistoric Coruscant (Notron) and if we take it at face value, spears are presented as a common weapon. 

In the same sourcebook, The Indomitable was presented as holding glaive(?), while The Sith War also featured spear-like weapons used by Taung!Mandalorians alongside mythosaur axes, including Mandalore himself.

In The Essential Guide to Warfare even the Ultimate was presented with a spear - and doesn’t this picture resemble the prehistoric Taung leader?

Of course, over time Taung & early Mandalorians’ weapon preferences could change, yet the spears and axes are present in both a prehistoric and ancient period of their culture, while swords themselves either fell out of favor or have never been that common to begin with. 

🟢 The third matter is that Taungs in times of living on Roon weren’t Mandalorians yet. Galaxy at War sourcebook states that they “battled the native Human nations for control of Coruscant before being driven off and forced to flee to the Outer Rim world of Roon, where they remain for millennia until the legendary Mandalore the First leads them to conquer another world.” 

Of course, Taung primary culture is what Mandalorians were based on, yet millennia is a long span of time and so naturally cultural changes happened within their society. There is no clue if Kad Ha’rangir even predates the Mandalorian era or if his cult evolved once Mandalorians for good started their holy crusaders and destruction brought to many species. On one hand, if Kad Ha’rangir was a part of mythology existing during the Roon era, then we could argue that using swords could become a sort of religious taboo once Mandalorian culture came to life. Thus Taungs relied on mythosaur axes (probably based on the great axes mentioned in Author’s cut), spears and similar weapons while swords were sacred and maybe played a special religious function. However, if that was true, then why would Taung!Mandalorians accept human warriors / vassals to carry a sacred weapon? 

Ancient Mandalorian society is implied to have more rigid structures than modern one, with a clear division into warriors and non-warriors social classes. If non-Taung part of society and newcomers could join Crusaders ranks before the Sith War then they should follow the same religious and/or cultural practices. Which could explain the general lack of traditional swords between Mandalore the Indomitable’s soldiers seen in the comics regardless of their biological species. At the same time Star Wars Miniatures included in Bounty Hunters set presented Mandalorian Blademaster - the set is not limited to one era but considering that 

A) Mandalorian miniatures don’t have Neo-Crusader typical armors - if anything the shape and gray-black colors resemble Ordo Canderous’ armor[4] who according to KotOR Campaign Guide was already a warrior before Neo-Crusaders dominated Mandalorian culture

B) includes Mandalore the Indomitable and basilisk war droid rode by a warrior with again, no Neo-Crusader armor 

C) various additional quotes and description on cards 

may as well imply the Sith War and/or pre-Neo Crusaders culture.

Of course, there is no way to tell for sure if said Mandalorian Blademaster was meant to represent Taung or human/non-Taung species yet the existence of warriors specialized in swordfighting may suggest using swords was not a matter of religious taboo in the original warrior culture. At least not during the twilight period of their religion, as in the Indomitable’s times Taungs were said to worship the war itself, not gods in their primal version. 

If we go further into the Great Adoption era, swords become more and more visible between warriors, as was presented:

on already mentioned illustration from The Essential Guide to Warfare

and here it is important to note that swords are held by Neo-Crusader(s) and Mandallian Giants. The latter were one of the first alien species included into Taung!Mandalorian ranks, before humans and Great Adoption.

Star Wars Miniatures also introduces Neo-Crusaders using swords such as 

Mandalorian Marauder - KotOR set - with description “For years the Mandalorians were content to raid worlds on the Outer Rim, but during the Mandalorian Wars they began launching assaults across the Old Republic” suggesting the era of Great Adoption (opening ranks to non-Taungs) 

Mandalorian Jedi Hunter - Dark Times set - with description “Some of the scattered survivors of the Mandalorian Wars seek out Jedi to punish for their humiliation”. This model (quote) is clearly representing the post-Mandalorian Wars era in which Taungs are believed to be extinct. 

yet still didn’t dominate the ratio of melee weapons. So we have previously mentioned KotOR Campaign Guide with majority of characters described as humans and whose stats of traditional weapons varied from unarmed, dragger, knife, mace, vibroblade, vibrodagger or bayonet while mythosaur axes are solely mentioned in regard to two Taungs, Mandalore the Indomitable and Ultimate. 

From the above set, Canderous Ordo (future Mandalore the Preserver) has a dragger gauntlet, while the KotOR II Prima Guide advises to equip Ordo with swords.

However in modern times, human Mandalorians are more commonly tied to swords (and knives or vibroblades in general) than axes, as can be seen in various sources:

A Practical Man

"And my name's Briika," said her hard-eyed mother. Her name came from the word for "smile," and Beviin enjoyed that kind of irony. She could shrivel anyone with that stare. "Those crushgaunts are illegal. But you know that." "I just like antiques," Beviin said. He patted the scabbard on his belt, rattling an ancient saber in its sheath. "I've got a proper beskad, too. On the road for a reason?"

and

It could have ripped Beviin open like a canister. But his armor was forged from beskar, real Mandalorian iron that even Yuuzhan Vong weapons might not penetrate. He reached into his belt and drew his ancient beskad, a short razor-edged saber forged from the same.

Republic Commando: Triple Zero

"I opted to take on Vau. He had a real Mando iron saber, and I was unarmed.”

Collapse of the Republic sourcebook

Jango Fett: Open Seasons 

Star Wars Miniatures

Mandalorian Quartermaster whose design clearly was inspired by Death Watchman from Jango Fett: Open Seasons.

Star Wars – Clan Wren Unit Expansion 

Card: Beskad Duelist (x)

The Clone Wars

introduced Darksaber

and the characteristic art seen in Pre Vizsla (and later in Duchess Satine)’s residence

and the mural decorating the city:

All presented there ancient(?) Mandalorian warriors carry a simple, two-edge(?) swords. 

Sidenote: Darksaber originally was introduced as heirloom passed down in clan Vizsla, not the item representing the right to title of Mandalore. However since the later lore presented Tarre Vizsla, the first and for now the only New Canon Mandalorian Jedi, there is a question - should TCW!art be seen as a cultural shift from Taung weapons to human swords inspired by the figure of Tarre and his legendary darksaber?

Star Wars Rebels

presents Darksaber as ancient and culturally important weapon:

"I didn't know Mandalorians developed a type of lightsaber." "We didn't. This was one of a kind. Legend tells that it was created over a thousand years ago by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. After his passing, the Jedi kept the saber in their temple. That was until members of House Vizsla snuck in and liberated it. They used the saber to unify the people and strike down those who would oppose them. One time, they ruled all of Mandalore wielding this blade."

Forces of Destiny: Art History

(the short animation can be seen here)

The statue of Tarre Vizsla though wasn’t presented in full details, clearly was built to represent the legendary Mandalorian holding sword blade down that brings to mind the medieval-like knights.

The Mandalorian

follows the The Clone Wars and Rebels take on Mandalorian culture with an even greater importance put on Darksaber and its meaning for warriors. The show treats Darksaber not only as an ancient relic and as a valid claim to the “throne”, but also as mystical item that may not accept its wielder like it did with Paz Vizsla (though this put under question all previously Mandalorians using the sword who were far away from heroic side of characters) and may even be cursed, as said Armorer:

If, however, it is not won in combat and falls into the hands of the undeserving, it will be a curse unto the nation. Mandalore will be laid to waste and its people scattered to the four winds”

Looking at the sources, it can’t be argued that some major cultural changes happened to Mandalorians and the further from Taung hegemony era, the swords became more prominent and in some cases, like Darksaber, are vital to secure “line of succession”. This shift is as much about weapons as about warriors themselves, as modern Mandalorian society is dominated by humans - although how much of an important role religion (Kad Ha’rangir) played in this change is up to debate.

Even if Taung society living on Roon used swords - whatever as weapons or ritual objects - during Mandalorian era this kind of weaponary is hardly seen used by confirmed Taung warriors (BHC so far is an exception) while modern human Mandalorians moved away from the axes in favor of swords, especially Darksaber.

[Next part] further sources to dispute

SIDENOTES:

[3] I say supposedly, as I support Jango Fett’s doubt it was written by Tor Vizsla. C’mon, can anyone imagine Legends!Tor writing anything like that?

[4] For better comparison, the typical Crusader and Neo-Crusader armors look like this

Ordo’s own armor resembles the Neo-Crusader type however it seems to still keep some elements from the previous kind. Ordo himself took part in the Mandalorian Wars yet as a veteran he was bitter about how his people from proud warriors degraded into mercenaries and criminals. When he became a Mandalore, he tried to bring Mandalorians back to the honorable ways which is why I personally count him more as example of pre-Neo Crusader Mandalorian culture.

#star wars #cienie's take on mandalorian culture #mandalorians #taungs #darksaber #bounty hunter code #mandalorian religion #cienie's research #i think the next part will be the last in regard to kad ha'rangir

[kalevalakryze]

Taungsdays, Am I Right?

For Bo-Katan Week Day 5, Mand’alor Characters: Axe Woves, The Armorer, Bo-Katan Kryze, Original Mandalorian Characters (background) Pairings: Bo-Katan Kryze/The Armorer, Bo-Katan Kryze & Axe Woves, Axe Woves & The Armorer Warnings: none Notes: Look, listen, I’ve been reading nonstop between American government books, and everything I can find about the Taungs and old Mandalorian ruling structures. But, keep in mind, I am not a wise man. And my pen ran out of ink during all my notes, so I had to just. . . stop taking notes because I have no other pen, and I can’t concentrate without handwritten notes lmao. Maybe this counts as more of a character study. And it’s a little shorter than I’d like, but I think ending it where I did is the best option right now Word Count: 1,929 AO3 Link: Here!

“She does not stop often, does she?” The Armorer questioned to one of the few who held the title of the Mand’alor’s most trusted. The mug of pot soup was passed towards Axe Woves  as she lowered herself into a seat beside him. 

Bo-Katan had been moving nonstop as of late, between sitting through the many different politics required of a new world leader, expanding the new rule to the rest of the Mandalore system, and ensuring her people were still given an equal amount of her time, between training, to rebuilding, and even just to aid them in small errands, Bo-Katan Kryze was a blur of near constant movement. They only had nineteen hours in a cycle in the system, and yet, she was often busy for nearly fifteen hours each day. 

“It’s how she’s survived,” Axe surmised, taking the offered food with quiet thanks. His gaze did not move from the woman in the middle of the small arena, how she walked the younglings and even some of the children of the watch through a training exercise, stopping often to fix posture and offer words of encouragement between them all. “Kriff, might as well be in her DNA,” 

The light that filtered into the cavern from the green hued crystal above highlighted the yellow in her eyes, irises seemingly caught in an illuminated glow as she looked towards her two spectators with a small smile puling at her lips. 

“Would you elaborate?” The woman requested as she settled herself in, nodding her head in acknowledgment of a youngling that seemed excited by her presence. 

“It was always a rumor, that some of the oldest clans may have descended from the Taungs, our Progenitors,” The next time the Mand’alor glanced at them, her eyes seemed a warm amber, than the illuminated yellow they had been. “Their songs have been sung for eons, though much has been lost to history,” 

“The Taungs used warfare as a personal honor, but also to appease a god,” His gloved hand brushed over his stubble as he racked his brain for the name. 

“Ka Ha’rangir,” The Armorer supplied. The Children of the Watch did not have as much information as many of the Niteowls who had lived their history on the front-most lines, their convert had followed in the paths that were laid out by Mandalore the first themself. 

“Yes, and like with most religions based on an omnipotent being, there is a clearly defined ‘good’ and ‘bad’, for the Taungs, they strived to remove themselves from Arasuum’s temptation of stagnation and idleness. This was not a trait that died with the Taungs,” He gestured to the redhead that was now rolling on the floor with one of the children of the watch, giving a visual for how the moves she’d just taught would be used in combat. 

“Under Mand’alor the Ultimate, when the Taungs truly started to accept other species among their ranks, cross breeding was frequent, though many humans had been, supposedly, unable to survive the birth of a Taung, even if the child was only half Taung. Not all of our oldest clans have survived from those days, it was mainly Riduuroks that kept bloodlines alive as well, so, while unlikely to have found a Mandalorian descended from the first,” When he gestured to Bo-Katan again, it was to the woman wrapped in a headlock, before her sharp teeth pierced through the flight suit and arm of her opponent, until they’d released. 

“Even with less than a percentage of genetics that may have been passed down, they showed much more prominently in Bo-Katan, than they had in The Duchess Satine,” Axe had seen them both, and compared to Mandalorians’ they were obviously a different breed, in their own way. Even the Vizsla’s hadn’t been able to hold a flame to the traits of the Taungs that had stood out sharply in Kryze genetics. 

“It is safe to assume that these traits have clung so tightly through the bloodline, that she is simply hardwired like a Taung,”

“She is still human though, is she not?” The Armorer finally questioned, watching as Bo-Katan helped put bacta on the Mandalorian’s arm she’d bitten, who she’d sent off for water before jumping back into the lesson. 

“Without a doubt, and that has always been one of her flaws,” Axe shook his head “Worship and belief of Ka Ha’ragnir and Arasuum fell out of favor long before our time, though, with the way our lives, hers especially, have been led, I can understand some kind of base decline to the instincts of the Taungs. We have our songs, our ancient recordings, but we also have the behaviors passed from generation to generation about how our lives were to be lived and how to react.”

It was no secret that they’d all done unimaginable things in the name of survival, and their culture. It had always been written off as their bullheadedness and their way of life, though many had forgotten that it had once quite literally been in their blood. “Her flaw is not that she is human,” The Armorer’s voice was slow, steady, trying to ensure that she’d heard him correctly, while making sure her own point was known.

“No, no. That isn’t her flaw, but the activity is. When she… for lack of a better term: forgets that she’s human. The Taungs may not have needed to rest as often, and that may have been a leading factor to their belief and devotion to Ka Ha’ragnir and their pursuance of growth and change that she’s chasing subconsciously,” 

“You seem to have given this a great deal of introspection,” The Armorer noted. “We have not had a great deal of resources about our earliest ancestors, aside from the creed and the moments in history w have found that had defined a need for our existence as well,” 

“Being home has granted me more than my share of time to learn. We are all given an opportunity our ancestors had not, to be good at something other than war,” It was an echo of Bo-Katan’s own words. Axe was becoming a scholar and a rather skilled diplomat, now that they had access to records from the New Republic, and the old records from the Imperial Academy on Mandalore as well. He finally had the time to sit down and stimulate his brain with history, over battle strategies and espionage. “Lady Kryze has quite the extensive knowledge as well, more so about the more… dry aspects of our history. She has not limited herself to the governing past, or the past of warfare, but has extensive details about our prior trade, exports, and many other details I am sure had sparked her interest before the New Mandalorian rule had her splitting off.”

“What are we talking about?” Bo-Katan questioned as she dropped herself into a lower level of seating in front of the two, armored back pressed into both of their legs as she leaned back and actually sat for the first time all day. 

“You,” The Armorer provided, a gloved hand reaching to smooth out loose strands of sweat slick hair to calm any rising thoughts she could see gathering beneath a furrowed brow. 

“Why are we talking about me?” The redhead questioned as the convert member shed bitten earlier brought over an extra canteen of water, receiving a quiet thanks as the rest of the class let out, either back to the surface, their mentors, or their duties. 

“You are a big part of Mandalorian history,” Axe pointed out, when Bo-Katan’s lips parted to argue the point, he was quick to continue. “Think about it, Bo. For the first time in our history, Mandalorians are not at war, not with each other, not with the dar’jetti, and not with the republic. Our people are united under a common banner, and for the first time since our Progenitors, the Mythosaur is back, and has revealed itself to only you, You have wielded the dark saber on more than one occasion, and yet, you have proven that a successful Mand’alor does not need to hold a weapon to be successful. You’ve led us to a new age,”

Bo-Katan shifted uncomfortably against their legs as she drank and wiped sweat away from her brow. “That’s a lot,” The woman shed her gloves and reached to scratch at the back of her neck with sharer than usual nails. “But I didn’t do it alone, and I never would be able to do any of it, without either of you, and without Din Djarin, or without Paz.” There were many among their ranks that had given much more than her, had sacrificed more of themselves than her in the pursuit of their home. 

“That does not exclude your leadership and influence through it all, however,” The Armorer reminded, causing the redhead to nod as she processed. 

“This is true, I supppose,” A pause, and a small smile. “Mandalorians are becoming something new,” 

“Like those who were formed directly from the Taungs,” Axe chimed in, bringing an excitable expression from the Mand’alor.

“That’s actually so true,” There was a knowing smirk on Axe’s lips as he forced his elbow into The Armorer’s side, as their Mand’alor went into an extensive tangent about their similarities to the first Mandalorians, and the fall of the Taungs that had secured their system, how, in regaining their planets and moons from Imperial control, they were almost like the crusaders of old. It was almost comical, the way the woman of near fifty standard years could turn into an excitable teenager the moment their history was mentioned. It was a side that he’d never seen much of until they came home, but one he enjoyed nonetheless, as he’d always find something new to learn from her. 

Koska joined the trio some time later, her arm draping around The Armorer’s shoulders as she dropped her chin on Axe’s shoulder, listening as the Mand’alor spun the stories of their people with excited hand gestures and the like. 

Truthfully, it was the most down-time Bo-Katan had given herself since the most recent bout of hyper-activity. She kept herself leaning on The Armorer and Axe’s legs, one arm tossed back to rest on The Armorer’s thigh as she explained the Taungs’ last stand, and the different ways their culture had branched off since the split. 

Their history was sprinkled with the hazards and the costs of war and destruction, even her sister, who’d done all she could to do better by their people, had not achieved such a feat. Many of the prior Mand’alor’s held titles that would have them remembered for eons, such as Mand’alor the first, Mand’alor the Indomitable, Mand’alor the Ultimate, and Mind’alor the Great.Bo-Katan would be remembered as the World Strider, the Mandalorian who brought their people back to a life like under the rule of Mand’alor the Uniter. 

Their system found safety and security under her rule, and they found a boom in hundreds of those oppressed by the Empire to create new clans, searching for a people and a purpose among their ranks. 

Mandalore was thriving once more under their rule, because it wasn’t truly hers alone, no matter who they’d allowed to hold the title, they had each poured themselves to get to this point, and as long as she was standing, Bo-Katan would ensure their songs would never be lost, that they would be seen not as just another soldier in a war, but as the foundation of their rebirth. 

#bo katan kryze #the armorer #the mandalorian #star wars #bo katan x the armorer #nitearmor #the mandalorian season 3 #Axe Woves #Taungs #Ka Ha'ragnir #Arasuum #Mandalorian Culture #Bo-Katan Is A Descendant Of The Taungs #BKW 2023 #Bo-Katan Week #Bo-Katan Week 2023