Ewok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Alternative meanings: Star Wars: Ewoks (animated series)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
In the Star Wars series of films, Ewoks are sapient furry bipeds native to the forest moon of Endor who help Rebel Alliance defeat the forces of the Galactic Empire in the Battle of Endor. Ewoks are curious individuals that stand about one meter tall; they are omnivorous and use spears and slings as weapons; they also use hang gliders, battle wagons, and bordoks as vehicles. Their diet is primarily composed of berries, fruits, and small critters although Ewoks are known to hunt larger creatures for food in packs. They debuted in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The word "Ewok" is not spoken in the film but it is used in the film's credits. George Lucas intended that a primitive race should overthrow the Empire in Return of the Jedi, and he had originally planned to use Wookiees, but decided against it after it had been established that Chewbacca was proficient with technology. His answer was to create a new race called Ewoks, which is "Wookiee" with the syllables reordered.
Although extremely skilled in forest survival and the construction of primitive technology like gliders and catapults, the Ewoks have yet to progress past stone-age technology. They are quick learners, however, when exposed to advanced technology with simple mechanical processes and concepts.
Most Ewoks live high among the trees of Endor's forests, in villages built between the closely spaced trees. Ewoks venture to the forest floor to hunt, and set traps to catch various prey.
For the forest dwellers, the surrounding giant trees play an important cultural role. These hunter-gatherers are a deeply spiritual people. They believe themselves to be descendants of the Great Tree, a sacred tree in the forests.
The tribal structure of the Ewoks has a Council of Elders ruling over them, and the Council is headed by the Chief. A medicine man also lives in the Ewok village, a keeper of mystical lore, and a healer to the injured.
When the Empire began operations on the moon of Endor, they dismissed the primitive species as harmless. Imperial operations were situated around the area near Bright Tree Village, the village led by Chief Chirpa. Princess Leia Organa, part of a Rebel strike team, befriended the Ewok Wicket W. Warrick, a scout from said village.
These Ewoks also worshipped the protocol droid C-3PO, thinking he was their god. Threepio told the Council of Elders the adventures of the Rebel heroes Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. The Ewoks accepted the Rebels into their tribe, and allied themselves to their cause. The Ewoks helped in the ground battle to destroy the Imperial shield generator on the forest floor, and their primitive weapons felled the Imperial Stormtroopers and the AT-ST walkers of the Empire. This assistance paved the way to victory at the Battle of Endor. Later that night, the Ewoks held a huge celebration that could be heard throughout the forest. In Dark Empire, a few Ewoks were part of the crew of the Rebel Star Destroyer, Liberator.
The Ewoks later appeared in the Star Wars animated series Star Wars: Ewoks (1985-1987) and two TV specials, Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985), all of which are set chronologically before their Return of the Jedi appearance. Both TV specials revolve around the tribe seen in Return of the Jedi befriending a human family whose spaceship crashed on their moon.
It has been theorized in many fan circles that nearly all of the Ewok population were killed due to environmental devastation caused by the destruction of Death Star II (See Endor Holocaust). Opposers of this theory believe the majority of the Death Star's debris was either removed by the Rebel fleet, blocked by deflector shields on the moon's surface, or sucked into a nearby wormhole called the Endor Gate.
Contents |
[edit] Language
The Ewoks speak Ewokese.
Some have noted that certain phrases uttered by the Ewoks resemble real languages sampled from Earth, such as Tagalog (the major basis for Filipino, the national language of the Philippines). The Ewoks seem to say "Ayon, puno daw ito!" when C-3PO is being worshipped. "Ayon, pinuno daw ito!" means "There it is! This is said to be a leader!" in Tagalog. "Puno" is a root word - from it comes pinuno, "leader", and pamumuno, "leadership". Immediately after, another Ewok replies with, "Maganda!" meaning beautiful. Also, when an Ewok is hit by a AT-ST laser, his companion (probably Wicket) apparently says, "Patay!", which is Tagalog for "Dead!". There are also resemblances to Hindi, an official language of India. "Yeh, Yeh gira." means "This, this fell," in Hindi.
The manager of a Tibetan Buddhist center in Seattle, John Vichorek, relates that a visiting monk from Tibet was brought to a theater to see this movie - the first movie this monk had ever seen - and he gleefully translated a fair bit of what the Ewoks were saying, much of it loosely corresponding to what C-3PO was "translating", which indicates that some element of the Ewoks' language must have been based on Tibetan.
Other phrases appear to be modified English (two Ewoks worshipping C-3PO seem to say something similar to "That guy's wise" and "As I am short") and Swedish.
[edit] Cultural Effect and Criticism
Many fans of the Star Wars series dislike the Ewoks, believing that the scenes with them defeating a legion of the Emperor's "best" Stormtroopers stretch credibility even for a space opera, and that their cuteness was purely an attempt to introduce opportunities for merchandising rather than a serious addition to the story -- criticism repeated nearly twenty years later about Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
Furthermore, despite the fact that the word "Ewok" is never uttered or mentioned in Return of the Jedi, most people know their name, providing additional ammo to those that believe them to be a product of the shrewd merchandising and marketing teams at Lucasfilm.
From Lucasfilm's own documentaries, the origin of the Ewoks is suggested to be more accidental. The dramatic role that the Ewoks played in Return of the Jedi was to demonstrate how the high technology in warfare could be overcome by a primitive people. This was a role originally to have been filled by Wookiees. However, by the time of Return of the Jedi, creator George Lucas believed the Wookiees were now too sophisticated to fulfill this story function, and so a smaller furry alien race was designed. When sketches of the new characters came back looking like teddy bears, Lucas determined to, in his words, "dare to be cute."
[edit] Ewoks in Popular Culture
- In a comic strip of Foxtrot, Marcus Jones claims that Anakin turned to the Dark Side because the Sith didn't have Ewoks.
- On Adult Swim's website, there is a game entitled "Insult Master" in which two people engage in verbal warfare, attempting to create the best insult with a selection of pre-written words, including "ewok" and "wookie." One of the site's famous word combinations is "ewok chiapet," which is sometimes used to compliment oneself rather than insult the opponent.
- Eric Cartman is a big fan of ewoks
 |
This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
[edit] External links
- Ewok on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki
- Action Figure Archive - Ewoks cartoon series action figure guide.
[edit] See also
| Species of Star Wars | |
|---|---|
| Major species Chiss | Ewok | Gamorrean | Human | Hutt | Killik | Mandalorian | Nikto | Rancor | Rakata | Shistavanen | Ssi-Ruuk | Tusken Raider | Twi'lek | Ugnaughts | Wampa | Whill | Wookiee | Yuuzhan Vong | Ysalamir |
|
| Species lists | |
| A-E | F-J | K-O | P-T | U-Z |
