People across the galaxy have heard the stories of the Mandalorians, the great warrior race. Mandalorian history is one of destruction, bloodshed, loyalty, betrayal, and kinship, so this entry will probably not be my last on the Mandalorian culture. Mandalorian isn’t just the name of the people born on the planet Mandalore but also the people indoctrinated through the culture. Race doesn’t matter so long as you could fight you had a Mandalorian’s respect.
The first Mandalorian we see was on the big screen in Star Wars episode 5 Empire strikes back, Boba Fett. Although not a true Mandalorian he was raised under the culture by his father Jango Fett.
(Green armor is Boba and blue armor is Jango)
The armor of the Mandalorians is iconic, something recognized and envied by all who see it. Not just because of its unique design but also because of the metal its made of, Beskar. One of the few materials in the known galaxy that can deflect blaster bolts and the blade of a lightsaber. It is one of the most valued elements out there due to those reasons. However it can only being found on Mandalore and the Mandalorians aren’t too keen on sharing the precious element. Very few outside of the culture personally hold anything Mandalorian originated, and even less of those that were given such items as a gift. One that comes to mind is an attire that Ahsoka Tano wore at the Siege of Mandalore which was gifted to her by Bo-Katan Kryze.
It wasn’t given to her just for protection but also out of respect, as shown by a very special design on the tunic. The diamond threaded outline on the chest is called the Kar’ta Beskar or Iron Heart it’s a very important part of Mandalorian culture. That small design is on every Mandalorian chest piece ever crafted, representing the indomitable spirit of all Mandalorians.
The armor is usually passed down from parent to child to wear when they come of age or after death, unless they are a foundling which in some cases they will be given their own set sometime down the line usually if they’re a different type of species or if the armor was lost. A foundling is similar to what a padawan is to a Jedi, except where the Jedi and padawan relationship is a teacher/student type, a Mandalorian and foundling relationship is more of a parent/child relationship, shown by Din Djarin and Grogru.
Now, a little more on the culture there are many factions all of which follow under more or less the same code with some added rules. An example being The Children of the Watch (CotW), a faction of Mandalorian religious zealots who follow the ancient way of the Mandalore. The code the CotW follow is back during the Old Galactic Republic era, 3994 BBY 3700 years before the High Republic era, the time of the Mandalorian War where they recked havoc across the known galaxy. But that era deserves it’s own post as it has one of my favorite characters from Legends so I won’t be delving too deeply into it today. As I mentioned the CotW followed the way of the Mandalore one rule they had was about taking off their helmets, no one is allowed to see their face besides a loved one. So as a way to show affection or respect to one another in public they turned one of the most aggressive attacks into a term of endearment, the head bud.
Now they didn’t smack their heads together like rams. They would instead lightly tap their foreheads together, this term of endearment was called the Keldabe kiss and is still used by todays Mandalorians. The gesture isn’t just used romantically either it was used as a greeting between family members and close friends as well.
Now for my last piece of lore as I feel I’ve rambled on long enough. There is a sigil that all Mandalorians fall under regardless of factions or clans, the Mythosaur.
For as long as the Mandalorians have been around so has the Mythosaur sigil. Legends say that Mandalorians would ride them into battle. Of course those are just stories, as a Mythosaur hasn’t been seen in centuries it is really unknown if the stories are true but who would dare question the Mandalorians ability to tame incredible creatures.
That is all I will say on the culture of Mandalorians in this post. I hope you enjoyed todays post and learned something new. May the Force be with you and have a great day