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Tatooine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Distance from Core | 43,000 light years |
|---|---|
| Region | Outer Rim Territories |
| Oversector | Oversector Outer |
| Sector | Arkanis Sector |
| System | Tatoo |
| Number of suns | 2 |
| Number of moons | 3 |
| Population | 200,000 |
| Species | Humans, Jawas, Tusken Raiders |
| Points of Interest | Anchorhead, Mos Eisley, Mos Espa |
| Surface water | 1% |
| Affiliation | Hutt, Galactic Empire, New Republic |
In George Lucas's Star Wars saga, Tatooine is the home planet of the Skywalker family and Ben Kenobi, the setting for much of the action in the saga's films (as well as several of the novels and other pieces of written fiction) and one of the most iconic Star Wars planets. The planet is seen in all the Star Wars movies except for episode five, The Empire Strikes Back.
Tatooine is a planet in a binary star system (the two suns are named Tatoo I & Tatoo II), inhabited by poor locals who are mostly moisture farmers. The planet has been the site of repeated and failed attempts at colonization. The planet was under the stranglehold of the Sith for thousands of years. The planet also was the area of many battles during the Great Sith Wars which occurred 4,000 years before the Phantom Menace. During the prequel-era, it was ruled for a long period by the Hutts, being beyond the reach of the Galactic Republic. After the fall of the Republic, the Galactic Empire established a token presence on Tatooine, but the crime lord Jabba the Hutt still retained control of the planet.
Tatooine has several sizable settlements, the largest of which is the spaceport Mos Eisley, widely known for its rough-and-tumble nature and pervasive criminal underworld. Other settlements include Bestine (the nominal capital of the planet, where the Empire's government is located), Anchorhead, Tosche Station, Mos Entha, Wayfar (near Jabba's Palace), and Mos Espa, home of a sector-famous podracing track.
Because Tatooine is not a member of the Republic, Republic Credits were rarely used by merchants on the planet, who preferred to use the Huttese currency system, which consists of (in descending order of value) Peggats, Truguts and Wupiupi.
Notable geological features include the Dune Sea, an enormous desert, and the Jundland Wastes, a rocky region. Despite the planet's extreme aridity, some forms of life do thrive on Tatooine, including the rodent-like Womp rat, elephant-like bantha, and the enormous, fearsome Krayt Dragon.
Tatooine is also home to two apparently native sentient bipedal species: Jawas, pygmy-like scavengers of technology, and Tusken Raiders, also known as Sand People, who are mysterious, reclusive, and extremely hostile to outsiders. Both races wear fully concealing robes keeping their true forms hidden from outsiders (it's stated in the Expanded Universe that Jawas are rodent-like and vaguely hinted that the Jawas and Sand People share a common ancestor). It is implied in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic that their common ancestor are Humans, and that Tatooine is the original human homeworld.
Tatooine was once a member world of the pre-Republic Infinite Empire. Tatooine once had large oceans and a world-spanning jungle. This biosphere was destroyed by an orbital bombardment by the Rakata that "glassed" the planet (that is, fused the silica in the soil into glass, which then broke up over time into sand) and boiled the oceans away. Tatooine is also one of the planets visited in the award-winning computer role-playing game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
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- Humans — Settlers
- Hutts — Slug-like crime lords
- Jawas — Scavengers and traders, particularly in droids
- Tusken Raiders (Sand People) — Violent nomadic tribes
- Toydarians
- Banthas; Large, ox-like creatures
- Sarlacc; A living mouth in the ground
- A form of mushrooms (They often grow on the moisture vaporators used by moisture farmers).
- Trees; but they are extremely rare. Most were planted by an exiled Ithorian.
- Non-native crops cultivated by moisture farmers.
Some critics have seen Lucas's use of a desert planet with aborigines reminiscent of the Bedouin as excessively derivative of Frank Herbert's Arrakis in the Dune series of novels.
Anchorhead is a fictional settlement located a few miles east of the Lars family home, south of the bustling spaceport of Mos Eisley, and primarily consists of moisture farmers.
Bestine, the "capital" of Tatooine, is situated far west of Mos Eisley near the south-western Dune Sea. It was also one of the earliest settlements on the planet but never thrived economically, sharing the same problems as many other settlements on the dry world. The Galactic Empire eventually established its base of operations here and placed its regional governor in the city's Main Hall. It is featured prominently in the MMORPG Star Wars: Galaxies (SWG).
The Dune Sea is a huge sandy desert, near the cities of Anchorhead, Mos Eisley and Tosche Station. It is inhabited solely by Tusken Raiders, Jawas, wraids, dewbacks and the occasional Krayt dragon. Moisture farmers often have many moisture vaporators located in the Dune Sea to collect the scarce water vapor from the air.
It was to this area that Obi-Wan Kenobi went after the destruction of the Jedi Temple and the corruption of Anakin Skywalker. At his home near the Dune Sea, Kenobi communed with the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn, while keeping watch over young Luke Skywalker, who lived on the nearby Lars Homestead.
The Dune Sea was also home to the Great Pit of Carkoon, location of the great Sarlacc creature.
The Great Pit of Carkoon is located within the Dune Sea. It is a large depression in the desert sand created by the Sarlacc, a large omnivorous creature that uses the pit to capture prey. The Great Pit of Carkoon is the site of a skirmish that takes place between Luke Skywalker and the forces of Jabba the Hutt. The Hutt crime lord and most of his minions are killed during the battle.
Jabba's Palace, made of stone and metal, is located in the desert known as the Dune Sea and was home to the gangster Jabba the Hutt. It is introduced as the main setting of the beginning of Return of the Jedi when Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, R2-D2, and C-3PO rescue Han Solo from Jabba. Jabba's palace also figures as the main setting in a compilation of intertwined short stories Tales From Jabba's Palace edited by Kevin J. Anderson. Jabba's Palace is also a playable area in the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II. The palace was originally a monastery built by the mysterious B'omarr monks, who still inhabit parts of the palace.
The Jundland Wastes occupy most of Tatooine's temperate area, a rocky region known for its numerous cliffs and a multitude of hidden dangers.
Most of Tatooine's indigenous creatures can be found in the Jundland Wastes including, Banthas, Dewbacks, and the fearsome Krayt Dragons. The nomadic Sandpeople, also called Tusken Raiders, live in the region as well as the scavengers known as Jawas.
Obi-Wan Kenobi lived in a small dwelling on the edge of the Jundland Wastes after he took the infant Luke Skywalker to live on a moisture farm with relatives to hide the boy from Darth Vader. This area is also a level in the video game LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.
Moisture farms are small agricultural settlements founds in the deserts of Tatooine that utilize a large amount of moisture collecting devices spread over a wide area to harvest water from the relatively dry air of the planet. Luke Skywalker spent his early years living with his Uncle Owen (Anakin Skywalker's stepbrother) and Aunt Beru on a moisture farm. Rather than growing the traditional crops that Tatooine's arid climate would not allow, moisture farmers harvest water vapour from the atmosphere. Using special condensing machinery known as 'vaporators', moisture farmers find that a typical vaporator will yield 1-2 liters of liquid water a day, a figure that can vary depending on location. Areas of the Dune Sea particularly near the Jundland Wastes are known to be particularly dry.
On Tatooine, the moisture farmer's primary enemy is the Sand People, or Tusken Raiders, who feel that moisture farmers infringe on their territory. Sand People attacks frequently result in damaged equipment. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that no maps are allowed on Tatooine[citation needed], therefore making respecting the territories of Sand People and Jawas extremely difficult. This inevitably leads to conflict. Some people believe the prohibition of maps is a deliberate action of the Empire as the conflict it causes necessitates the presence of stormtroopers under the guise of 'peacekeepers'.
Famous moisture farmers include Bill and Natha Carfgord, Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle, as well as Ggeilc Carfgord, Bill's father.
Mos Eisley is a spaceport town. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi described Mos Eisley as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy." It is also the home of the Mos Eisley Cantina and Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes.
The Mos Eisley Cantina, officially named Chalmun's Cantina, is a bar located in the pirate city of Mos Eisley. It is the haunt of freight pilots and other dangerous characters of varying races and contains booths, a bar counter, and some free-standing tables, and sometimes a band of musicians named Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. This is a busy area in the video game Star Wars Galaxies, or SWG.
Mos Espa is a city known for its distinct "desert-proof" domed buildings. It is home to a podracing track and was the home of Anakin and Shmi Skywalker in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. There was a large slave quarter within the rugged city.
The Tosche Station, or Tosche Power Station, is a general store found in the city of Anchorhead. It sells a variety of goods such as power converters. Tosche Station serves as the central location in the Anchorhead Story of Star Wars, a series of scenes that were deleted from Episode IV. It is described as a frequent hangout for Anchorhead's youth due to the fact that its owner, Merle Tosche, is seldom around. In his absence, "Fixer" runs the business, accompanied by his girlfriend Camie, and assisted by a repair droid.
Script reference from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope:
- LUKE: Me and my friends were going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters...
- OWEN: You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now come on, get to it!
The planet is not actually named in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope; according to Lucas he intended to name it Utapau but finally he named it retrospectively after the movie's desert location, Tataouine (French spelling) or Al-Tatooine (التاتوین) (Arabic spelling) in Tunisia. Tataouine was a French penal colony until 1938. Utapau however was given to a different planet, in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Tunisian region Tatooine was also featured in The X-Files: Fight the Future film.
Tatooine was referenced in the television show House in the episode "Cane and Able," when they have a patient who believes he is being tortured by aliens.
"Tatooine" is a song by Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives, a Massachusetts-based band.
In the episode "Diet" of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force", Master Shake claims he has three hearts because he is from Tatooine.
The California Institute of Technology reported on July 13, 2005 that Maciej Konacki, a senior postdoctoral scholar in planetary science, discovered a planet orbiting a triple-star system known as HD 188753 in the constellation Cygnus about 149 light-years from Earth. It is the first planet to be discovered orbiting a multi-star system, and Konacki refers to planets of this type as "Tatooine planets" after Luke Skywalker's home world.
Lego Star Wars
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Star Wars Battlefront
Star Wars Battlefront II
Star Wars Empire At War
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (novel)
Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (mentioned only)
Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (game) (movie clip only)
Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds (non-canon)
Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
- Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays, softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau, ISBN 0-345-40981-7
- Star Wars: Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, 1st paperback printing, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson (editor of anthology). ISBN 0-553-56468-4
- Star Wars: Tales from Jabba's Palace, 1st edition, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson (editor), ISBN 0-553-56815-9
- Star Wars, Darksaber, 1st paperback printing, 1995. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-57611-9
- The Essential guide to Planets and Moons (Star Wars), 1st edition, by Daniel Wallace, Scott Kolins. 1998. ISBN 0-345-42068-3
- Tatooine in the Star Wars Databank
- Tatooine on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
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| Major planets | Alderaan • Almas • Anoth • Bespin • Byss • Caamas • Chandrila • Corellia • Coruscant • Dagobah • Dantooine • Dellalt • Geonosis • Hoth • Ithor • Kamino • Kashyyyk • Korriban • Malachor V • Manaan • Mon Calamari • Mustafar • Myrkr • Naboo • Onderon • Ossus • Taris • Tatooine • Telos IV |
| Planet list | A-B • C-D • E-G • H-J • K-L • M-N • O-Q • R-S • T-V • W-Z • Destroyed planets |
| Moons | Dxun • Endor • Nar Shaddaa • Yavin IV • List of Star Wars moons |
| Other | List of Star Wars sectors • List of Star Wars systems • Star Wars galaxy |