This Is the WayA bounty hunter. A child. Stormtroopers and Jawas and TIE fighters and Twi'leks and droids. Season 2 of 'The Mandalorian' is now streaming on Disney Plus.
While Mandalorian culture has only been hinted at during the big-screen Star Wars films, The Mandalorian on Disney+ kicked off a renewed interest in the fabled group of people from a galaxy far, far away. Thankfully, the Star Wars universe is much bigger than just a feature film franchise as there is so much lore to dive into - including Mandalorian history - that one could probably get an advanced degree in the subject. You can even find some of that lore in other shows like The Mandalorian.
Though everyone is wondering what's up with the widely popular "Baby Yoda" and his ties to the Jedi, the titular bounty hunter and the galactic history of his enigmatic warrior race are just as interesting, and even feature some other notable Star Wars characters. If you were one of those fans who was delighted by the return of Darth Maul at the end of 2018's Solo, you might be glad to find he also has some stakes in Mandalorian history. Even Obi-Wan Kenobi appears in the story of Mandalore. And some fans might be surprised to learn that Boba Fett is not a true Mandalorian, but rather a bounty hunter whose obtained Mandalorian armor.
From the Mandalorian language to the Old Republic Mandalorians, the history of Mandalore has seen its people face destruction and combat as well as peaceful resistance and, of course, an abundance of honor.
The Planet Was Devastated By Fighting Between Mandalorian Houses And Clans
One of thousands of canonical Star Wars planets, Mandalore is the home planet of the Mandalorian people, who were trained to be warriors. Mandalore is located in the Outer Rim, a place that is best thought of as a frontier-like expanse just before the unmapped expanse of Wild Space. Years of endless conflict between the many groups of the Mandalorian people has ravaged the planet and transformed it into an inhabitable shell of its former glory.
Eventually, the generations of conflict drove the Mandalorian people into domed cities to survive, and a new pacifist regime took over what remained of the planet. Due to the nature of their upbringing and who they are as a race, the Mandalorians eventually fell into unrest once again.
When Peaceful New Mandalorians Took Control, They Banished Warrior Clans To The Moon
Just before the events of 1999's The Phantom Menace, a Mandalorian civil conflict broke out between the so-called New Mandalorians, who wanted to rule Mandalorian space under the virtues of nonviolence and neutrality, and the old guard who wanted Mandalore to return to the warrior ways of old. When the fighting ended with the New Mandalorians victorious, Duchess Satine Kryze exiled the warrior clans to the Mandalorian moon of Concordia.
The Mandalorian civil conflict had an alarmingly high casualty toll, devastating a people that was already split by ideological differences. Conflict continued to find the Mandalorian people in the years between this calamitous in-fighting and the events of The Mandalorian, which takes place five years after Return of the Jedi.
Mandalorian Warriors Led A Series Of Crusades During The Old Republic That Brought Them Into Direct Conflict With The Jedi
With the Mandalorian people being a race consumed by the ways of the warrior, it is not all that surprising that they would seek conflict on other planets. At first, the Mandalorian crusaders stuck to the region of the Outer Rim, but they eventually found their way to the Inner Rim and the Jedi of the Old Republic certainly could not abide this. A lengthy fight between the two groups of incredible warriors ensued.
The end of the Mandalorian-Jedi War actually ended up being the last straw for the continuously ravaged planet of Mandalore, with the planet becoming fully uninhabitable in its natural state. The Mandalorian crusades bit off just a bit more than they could chew.
The First Mandalorian Jedi Made The Darksaber, A Centuries-Old Symbol Of Power On Mandalore
The Darksaber is wholly unique in the expandeduniverse and it exudes power. The Darksaber was actually created by the first Mandalorian Jedi, Tarre Vizsla, and the Jedi stored the saber in the Jedi Temple after his passing.
Mandalorians of House Vizsla, being who they are, would eventually take the saber from the Jedi Temple during the fall of the Old Republic and used its power to rule Mandalore for many years. Both the The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels animated series previewed the Darksaber in action when Pre Vizsla used it against the New Mandalorians in his siege of Mandalore. Eventually Darth Maul gets his hands on the Darksaber until Darth Sidious comes to Mandalore to reclaim his apprentice.
Mandalorian Clans Are Organized Like Crime Syndicates
Mandalorian clans are essentially groups of seedy individuals who are organized in a pyramid-like style with a boss at the top lording over everyone, protectors under him warding off threats, and various members of the family under them. Similarly to the way the Corleones or the various "goodfellas" are organized, Mandalorian clans are not above using questionable tactics to get what they want, while simultaneously upholding a strict honor with those close to them.
The Mandalorian clans are made up of contending crusaders organized in the fashion of crime syndicates; the main difference being the Mandalorians' warrior-like approach to conflict as opposed to illicit underground behavior.
One of the most notable and most memorable pieces of Mandalorian culture is their incredible armor. When Boba Fett introduced fans to the T-shaped visor, people understandably enjoyed and appreciated the new look. But the armor was actually created to fight the Jedi and their pesky lightsabers, once upon a time.
Without the Mandalorian-Jedi War, fans of the original trilogy wouldn't have their favorite jetpack-wearing, flamethrower-wielding race of fierce warriors. The armor is made of Beskar metal which can withstand blasters and lightsbaler blows alike. It is also fairly agile and not too heavy, and it can last for hundreds of years.
