Mandalorian vs. Jedi/Sith

Lately among my Star Wars friends there seems to be this divide. On one side there's the Force users whether they consider themselves a Jedi or a Sith, and on the other side there's Mandalorians. I think it's pretty clear where I stand in this divide, and it's rather nice knowing that the Mandalorian side is growing so much. However, because of this divide I think it's easy for people to think one is better than the other; especially when the topic turns to the ethics of the Jedi which is, I think, a touchy subject since the Jedi are meant to be the 'good guys'. But every time Jedi raising kids away from their families and possibly taking those kids in not so nice ways comes up that 'good guy' title gets a little murky. It also gets murky when the idea of Jedi essentially using a slave army to fight the war is mentioned. Because of the murky waters and many opinions I thought I'd go ahead and jot down my own thoughts on the subject.

Mandalorian Saying

In case I haven’t mentioned, Mandalorians aren’t big on bloodline. Family to them is more about relationship, who is there for you and who takes care of you rather than actual lineage.

Aliit ori’shya tal’din.

Family is more than bloodline.

Adoption is pretty common to the Mandalorians. Kal Skirata legally adopted almost every single clone trooper he ever trained, not because they had no family, but because he cared. It mattered to him what happened to them, and he helped them set up real lives outside the war. They called him Kal’buir, or “Papa Kal”. And sure, you may think adopted nearly a hundred clone troopers is obvious since, well, they never had parents to begin with. But Kal didn’t stop there. When a Jedi Knight named Bardan Jusik left the Jedi Order Kal adopted him too, and when his boys started to get married, he called his new in-laws ad’ike, or “little sons/daughters” (because there’s no gender specification in Mando’a). Family is family, blood or not, in-laws or not. You’re either family, or an aruetiise, which means anything from “outsider” to “traitor”, though it most often is used to talk about anything non Mandalorian.

And Kal didn’t do this because he didn’t have a family. He did; at one point. But his wife divorced him, and his two sons declared him dar’buir which means “no longer a parent”. Again, a legal term for Mandalorians. But even though his sons divorced him, his daughter never officially did. Despite all that Kal never stopped supporting his family, he still sent his kids money, even after 30 years of not having seen them. It may seem like nothing, but then after 30 years when his daughter reappears and needs his help he helps her, and she asks for cin vhetin, or “a fresh start”.

I meant this to be a quick little blurb about the Mandalorian saying “family is more than bloodline”, and it seems to have turned into more of a Kal Skirata bio. But I think that says something. There are all these little sayings that give aruetiise an understanding of the Mandalorian mentality, but it’s easier to prop Kal up and say, “Look! This man right here just about embodies everything that the Mandalorians stand for, and how they think”. Sometimes that helps.

Mandalorians: Identity and Language

In five millennia, the Mandalorians fought with and against a thousand armies on a thousand worlds. They learned to speak as many languages and absorbed weapons technology and tactics from every war. And yet, despite the overwhelming influence of alien cultures, and the absence of a true homeworld and even species, their own language not only survived but changed little, their way of life and their philosophy remained untouched, and their ideals and sense of family, of identity, of nation were only strengthened. Armor does not make a Mandalorian. The armor is simply a manifestation of an impenetrable, unassailable heart.


- Mandalorians: Identity and Language, published by the Galactic Institute of Anthropology

Star Wars: Republic Commando Triple Zero
Karen Traviss

Baltan Carid

What’s a hut’uun? A coward. Physical coward, moral coward, any kind of scum without the spine to stand their ground or do the right thing. We don’t have a word for hero. Being prepared to die for family and friends, or what you hold dear, is a basic requirement for a Mando, so it’s not worth a separate word. It’s only cowards we had to find a special word for.

- Baltan Carid

Star Wars: Legacy of the Force- Revelation

Karen Traviss

These quotes speak for themselves so I'll keep my commentary to a minimum. This one is one of my favorites, though.

Mandalorians

Mandalorians are surprisingly unconcerned with biological lineage. Their definition of offspring or parent is more by relationship than birth: adoption is extremely common, and it’s not unusual for soldiers to take war orphans as their sons or daughters if they impress them with their aggression and tenacity. They also seem tolerant of marital infidelity during long separations, as long as any child resulting from it is raised by them. Mandalorians define themselves by culture and behavior alone. It is an affinity with key expressions of this culture- loyalty, strong self-identity, emphasis on physical endurance and discipline- that causes some ethnic groups such as those of Concord Dawn in particular to gravitate toward Mandalorian communities, thereby reinforcing a common set of genes derived from a wide range of populations. The instinct to be a protective parent is especially dominant. They have accidentally bred for a family-oriented warrior population, and continue to reinforce it by absorbing like-minded individuals and groups.

- Mandalorians: Identity and Its Influence on Genome published by the Galactic Institute of Anthropology

Star Wars: Republic Commando Triple Zero

Karen Traviss

Vode An

Kote!

Kandosii sa ka’rta, Vode an.
Coruscanta a’den mhi, Vode an.
Bal kote, darasuum kote,
Jorso’ran kando a tome.
Sa kyr’am Nau tracyn kad, Vode an.

[Bass Vocals]
Motir ca’tra nau tracinya.
Gra’tua cuun hett su dralshy’a.
Aruetyc runi solus cet o’r.

Star Wars Writing Role-playing

A friend that I have online and I spend a lot of time doing online role-playing. We don't follow the typical role-playing format, though, and use dice or anything. We do it fairly uniquely, and just make up our own stories and characters and play through different scenarios. I guess it's probably more like practice writing exercises than role-playing, but we've always referred to it as such.

I started and met my friend when I was 13 and we played on and off until I was in late high school but then of course high school got the better of us and we stopped. We started again a few months into my first year of college when she was already two years into her college experience.

After that we've pretty much kept up since then, though we've been taking a break since July. But that doesn't mean I have to take a break, right?

Writing is one of my hobbies that keeps me sane. I do some writing on my own, but I have the most fun writing with my friend.

Anyway, I wrote a short story involving one of my main characters and a new character I'm planning on introducing. Thought it might be cool to stick it up here.

Mandalorian Fathers

Jusik recalled a comment Kal’buir had made a couple of years ago. He couldn’t remember what had led to it, but it had moved him deeply, and every so often it surfaced in his memory: Bard’ika, if you ever want a father, then you have one in me. Yes, Jusik often wanted a father. He’d been handed over to the Jedi long before he was old enough to have any memory of his own. But he was now part of a culture where fathers and fatherhood mattered- not lineage of bloodline, but the long and infinite duty to a youngster who depended on you. He badly wanted to be part of this family, a real part, formal and permanent.

“Kal’buir,” Jusik said, “have you got room for another son?”

Skirata looked baffled for a few seconds, then smiled and held out his hand to grasp Jusik’s arm, Mando-style, hand to elbow. “Ni kry’tayl gai sa’ad, Bard’ika. I recognize you as my child.”

Mandalorian adoption was fast and permanent, a few words to recognize someone as child and heir regardless of their age. Given the emotional weight behind it, the oath seemed almost inadequate.

“Buir,” Jusik said. Father. Everyone called Skirata Kal’buir, a mark of affectionate respect, but the word was now changed forever for Jusik, because it was suddenly real and literal. He was finally someone’s son; someone with a name, someone he knew and cared about. For a man with no past, that sudden sense of completion was heady and unexpected.

- Republic Commando: 501st

Karen Traviss

I took this directly from the last Republic Commando book because it was one of the scenes from it that will stay with me forever. It’s just another scene that shows how important fathers are in general, but even more so to Mandalorians. It’s the reason why Kal Skirata is my favorite Mandalorian.

I hope it doesn’t cheapen the impact of this post, but for anyone out there who wants to talk about Mandalorians, check out and join this message board: http://mandoade.proboards.com

I used the term Mando’ade because it means Children of Mandalore in the Mandalorian language, Mando’a.

Also, I took this post directly from another blog I had, located here at Echo Base.