in:Legends articles,Articles with conflicting sources,Articles needing citation,

and5 more

Twi'lek

<Twi'lek

Edit

This article details a subject that falls under the Legends continuity.

Click here for Wookieepedia's article on the Canon version of this subject.

This article covers the Legends version of this subject.

There are two conflicting sources for this article:Star Wars: The Old Republic andStar Wars: Dawn of the Jedi.

Lucasfilm has not established a cohesive timeline regarding this subject. Editor discretion is advised.

I have a bad feeling about this…

This article has multiple issues and is in need of major additions and/or work.

This article or section is in need of referencing per Wookieepedia'ssourcing guidelines.
It is requested that this article, or a section of this article, be expanded. ({{Expand}})

Please help Wookieepedia by editing this article. Once you have fixed an issue, you may remove it from the list of issues. See this article'stalk page for more information.

Twi'lek

Biological classification

Designation

Sentient^[1]

Classification

Mammal

Races

Physical characteristics

Average height

1.6–2meters^[3]

Skin color

Black^[4]
Blue^[5]
Green^[6]
Orange^[7]
Red^[8]
Lavender^[8]
Pink
Purple
Tan^[6]
Yellow
White^[9]

Eye color

Blue
Green
Orange^[1]
Yellow^[1]

Distinctions

Lekku^[9]

Sociocultural characteristics

Point of origin

Ryloth^[1]

Diet

Omnivorous^[1]

Language

"My people, the Twi'leks, have an ancient and rich history of non-violence. We prefer intellect and cleverness to outright brutality."

―Tott Doneeta — 20?cb=20250116042720

Link ▶️(file info)^[10]

Twi'leks ((pronounced /'twilɛk/) or /'twaɪlɛk/), sometimes referred to disparagingly as "Tail-heads", were an omnivoroushumanoid species originating from theplanet Ryloth. They tended to eat cultivated molds, fungi, andrycrit meat. Their distinctive features included colorful skin, which varied in pigment from individual to individual, and a pair of shapely prehensile tentacles that grew from the base of their skulls. The tentacles, called "brain-tails", "lekku," "tchun-tchin", or "head-tails", were advanced organs used for communication and cognitive functions. Twi'leks possessed a fairly standard humanoid vocal structure and were capable of learning most alien languages; however, they usually preferred their native language ofTwi'leki, which incorporated subtle movement of the lekku. When they wished, they could even communicate in complete secrecy using their versatile brain-tails. Twi'lekfemales were often used asslaves or dancers because of their beauty.

Biology and appearance[]

The Twi'leks were asentient species of mostlyhairless^[11]^[12]mammalian^[13]humanoids, with two legs and two arms.^[14]

The Twi'leks wereomnivores.^[14] This diet was essential given that food was scarce on theirhomeworld, Ryloth. Twi'leks possessed multiplestomachs, an unusual trait that enabled them to eat almost any food. When traveling off their homeworld, Twi'leks rarely refused food, which frequently led to obesity among starfarers. Twi'lek society also considered obesity a sign of affluence and success.^[15] In obese Twi'leks,ear flaps enlarged to store fat.^[16]

Although unsubstantiated, some in theNew Republic speculated about a possible relation between theYevetha and Twi'leks.^[17]

Lekku[]

Main article:Lekku

Bib Fortuna draped one of his lekku around his torso

The two most striking features of a Twi'lek were their broad range of skin coloration within the species, and a pair of brain-tails. The brain-tails, also called "tchun-tchin" or "lekku," protruded down the back of the skull and contained part of a Twi'lek's brain. The very word "Twi'lek" was believed to be derived from semi-Basic "twin lekku." A Twi'lek's brain-tails served many purposes in their daily lives and culture, such as storing fat and being used as erogenous zones. The Twi'leks' native language ofTwi'leki, or Ryl, was spoken using a combination of words and subtle movements of the lekku. Newborn Twi'leks had no lekku.^[18]

Subraces[]

Main articles:Rutian andLethan

One of Senator Orn Free Taa's aides was a Lethan Twi'lek

The Twi'lek species developed and mutated in such a way as to provoke changes in their skin pigmentation,^[15] which resulted in many races and subraces.^[3]^[19] These races were all physically identical, except for their skin color.^[20] The wide and vivid variety of skin coloration included^[8] many variations of blue, red, yellow, orange, deep green,^[21] white,^[9] pale brown, pink,^[22] and lavender.^[8] Some Twi'leks even exhibited varied phenotypes, including stripes,^[21] orange with red mottling, red with pink palms,^[23] and blue with pink lips.^[16]

These variations in pigment occurred with differing rates of rarity across the Twi'lek population. For example, the red-tintedLethan Twi'leks were one of the rarest subgroups,^[16] perhaps even the most rare,^[20] with only one in a million having red skin.^[24] By contrast, the blue-skinnedRutian Twi'leks were more common among the population.^[15]

Society and culture[]

"We are not one homogenous people any more than humans are."

―For'ali^[25]

A female Twi'lek uses her seduction skills.

Some female Twi'leks were considered to have a natural grace and exotic beauty that made them a popular target amongslave traders, becoming dancers and status symbols for members of theHutt Cartel. Slavery was the main currency of Ryloth, which was tolerated by theGalactic Republic. Twi'leks preferred to "ride the storm" rather than "defeat it," as a proverb went, and avoided taking a stand on most issues. This was exemplified when, during theClone Wars, their politicians were loyal to the Republic but other individuals kept negotiations open with theSeparatists.^[26] The Twi'leks worshiped a single femaledeity.^[27]

While many Twi'leks lived as merchants or even criminals, the species also had a proud and honorable warrior tradition. A Twi'lekMandalorian fought at theBattle of Vanquo during theMandalorian Wars in3964 BBY. Twi'lek warriors invented theChir'daki, orDeathseed,starfighters that married theTIE fighter cockpit to theS-foils of theX-wing starfighter as well as using a rotation system similar to that of theB-wing starfighter. During theBacta War, Twi'lek warriors assistedWedge Antilles in the fight againstYsanne Isard.

Government[]

Twi'lek society was divided into clans, with each clan having its own city. Each city had its own government, which was led by a five-member head-clan. These five Twi'leks would lead the society in all matters until one member of the head-clan died. At that point, the remaining members of the head-clan would be cast out into the barren landscape on the day-side of theplanet, presumably to die, thus allowing the next generation to take over. If the next generation was not yet ready to claim their inherited positions, then a set of regents would be selected to rule until the proper time.

Twi'lek names[]

"The joining of personal and clan names is, among us, a sign of belonging. Breaking the names apart is a statement of the distance between that person and his people."

―Cazne'olan^[28]

Twi'lek , born Aaylas'ecura — Twi'lekJedi Master Aayla Secura, born Aaylas'ecura

Rather than having separate personal and clan names, a Twi'lek would have a single name that combined these two elements. The personal portion of the name would be selected with the clan name in mind, often involving an intentional alteration of the words or a shift in the letters to change the meaning of the name as a whole. This change was meant to symbolize a way of unity. A Twi'lek's name would also be split into multiple parts if they wereexiled as a criminal, as this was considered very dishonoring.

In some cases, Twi'leks combined the multi-part name of a non-Twi'lek into a single name, often changing the pronunciation in the same way that they would alter their own given names and clan names. For example, Twi'leks often pronouncedWedge Antilles's name as Wedgan'tilles so that his name meantSlayer of Stars—if a Twi'lek were to use the Galactic Basic Standard pronunciation, it would mean, in a generous translation, "one so foul he could induce vomiting in aRancor."^[28]

An example of a true Twi'lek name wasNawar'aven. This name would be split into two parts when used outside of the local culture, becomingNawara Ven (the clan name in this case beingVen, but the nameNawara was selected with the intention of moving the lasta into the second half of the name, thus changing the meaning).

This naming convention did not appear to be in use during the waning days of the Galactic Republic, when even prominent Twi'lek leaders such asRo Fenn andPol Secura preferred using their core names even in private conversation with each other on Ryloth.

Language[]

Main articles:Twi'leki andGalactic Basic Standard

The Twi'leks' primary language was Twi'leki, which was also known as Rylothean or Ryl. Although it primarily utilized subtle body language and thus was difficult to understand, they also utilized enunciable words in the language, and it was as widespread as Galactic Basic. The Lekku language, on the other hand, was exclusively used by Twi'leks, since it entailed body language.

Some of those who spoke Galactic Basic Standard, at least during the Clone Wars, possessed an accent that placed particular emphasis on certain vowels, such as dropping the "s" if it was at the end of a word, or saying a high-accent vowel in a way that indicated a low-accent vowel, and vice versa.

History[]

Early history[]

According to Ashaa, theMother Machine, the Twi'leks originated as a synthetic life form she created under orders from theRakata, as part of experimentation they hoped would give them insight into the loss of their connection tothe Force.^[29] This would place the origins of the species circa25,200 BBY.^[26] However, despite the fact that the Mother Machine's creation of her "children" on the planetBelsavis postdates the fall of theInfinite Empire,^[30] an advanced Twi'lek civilization was already present on Ryloth in the year36,453 BBY, when a visitingTho Yor starship took a group of Force-studying mystics toTython.^[31]

Around10,000 BBY, the Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth was discovered by the Galactic Republic. Although their society was still in a primitive state,^[8] the Twi'leks had spent the past several centuries in relative harmony with one another,^[32] and they joined the Republic soon after being discovered.^[26]

Twi'lek society consisted of a series of clans of various sizes. When the galaxy took a sudden interest in Ryloth's wealth ofryll spice, the Twi'lek clan leaders increased production of the drug and prepared to ship it offworld.^[33] Unfortunately, the clans were inexperienced in the galactic economy, andHutt criminal cartels soon took control of the planet'smining operations. The Twi'leks were enslaved and labored in their own mines for the profit of the Hutts, or were sold outright on the open market. After generations of slavery, the Twi'lek species became far more numerous across the galaxy than on Ryloth,^[26] and most felt little connection to their own homeworld.^[32]

Homeworld reclaimed[]

Sometime after3643 BBY,^[34] the Twi'lek clans regained control of their planet from the Hutts, but the prosperity of their ryll mines still made them targets ofpirates andmercenaries. To ensure their continued wealth, most of the Twi'lek clan leaders chose to deter such threats by selling their own people—in particular, theirwomen—into slavery.^[33] The sale of Twi'lek dancing girls was continually tolerated by the Republic, and slavery remained Ryloth's primarycurrency as it had for past millennia, while the ryll trade fueled the planet'sblack market economy.^[26]

Behind the scenes[]

The name Twi'lek was coined in the1987 West End Games publicationThe Star Wars Sourcebook.^[35] The name was not spoken in any of theStar Wars films.

George Lucas himself has used theExpanded Universe name Twi'lek, as evidenced by a remark of his during the production ofStar Wars: Episode IIIRevenge of the Sith that is documented in anEpisode III Set Diary entry.

The Twi'leks featured inThe Clone Wars all speak with French accents. According to Dave Filoni, Lucas specifically requested this.^[36] This is also done by a few audiobook readers.

The booksOrder 66: A Republic Commando Novel andImperial Commando: 501st state that Twi'leks and Humans are not inter-fertile, whereasThe Clone Wars television series has portrayed Twi'lek/Human hybrid children, as clarified byStar Wars: The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia. It has not yet been clarified if this is possible naturally, or if Twi'lek/Human pregnancies require some level of genetic engineering before being viable.

The gameStar Wars: X-Wing has a training mission to be played around the planet "Twi'lek." "Twi'lek" is another name for Ryloth.

In the gameStar Wars: The Force Unleashed,Chop'aa Notimo's generic blaster-wielding thugs are Twi'leks.

Female Twi'leks are among the playable species forJaden Korr (canonically a human male) inStar Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. Korr is also portrayed as a female Twi'lek inHoth: Under the Ice.

Twi'leks are among the default playable species for players who choose theSmuggler, Jedi Knight,Sith Inquisitor or theJedi Consular class inStar Wars: The Old Republic. However, since patch 1.2, they can be unlocked for any class. If they choose to take dark-side options, their basic skin color fades toward white.