Sand People
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A nomadic and often violent species, the Sand People of the planet
Tatooine are as fierce and savage as their harsh desert environment. Also
known as Tusken Raiders, even their appearance - born of necessity - lends
them an air of menace. Wrapped in gauzy robes and strips of cloth from head
to foot, their faces are concealed with breathing masks and goggles to
protect their eyes. The frightening visage of a bandit Tusken Raider can
terrorize as easily as their weapons.
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The Sand People are easily intoxicated by sugar water and are most
dangerous during their adolescent years, when they must survive rigorous
rites of passage--such as hunting krayt dragons--to become adults. Since
there is no written Tusken language, the storyteller-historian is the most
respected member of Tusken communities. Many Tusken Raider clans of 20
to 30 individuals return annually to their traditional encampments in the
Needles, a section of the Jundland Wastes, to wait out the dangerous
sandstorm season.
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The Sand People have an almost symbiotic relationship with their bantha
mounts. A member who has lost his bantha is considered incomplete, and an
outcast among his people. Likewise, when a Raider dies, his mount engages
in a usually suicidal frenzy and is turned loose in the desert to survive or die
on its own.
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Tuskens live in an uneasy, and frequently shattered,
peace with Tatooine moisture farmers. They attack
settlements from time to time, using their traditional
weapon, the gaderffii (or "gaffi") stick, a kind of
double-edged ax, or older projectile rifles. Targets of opportunity also include
individuals or small parties roaming the desert, such as Jawa scavenging
parties.