Dathomir
Dathomir
Dathomir is notorious among spacers for its two primary exports—rancors and witches. Though the planet boasts stunning natural beauty, nothing can overcome its reputation as a place of animal savagery and dark magic.
- Grid Location: O-6
- Region: Outer Rim Territories
- Terrain: Forest, desert, mountains
- Diameter: 10,460 km
- Length of Day: 24 standard hours
- Length of Year: 491 local days
- Population: 5,200
- Sentient Species: Humans
- Species Mix: Humans (97%), other (3%)
- Language: Basic, Paecian
- Government: Tribal
- Major Exports: Rancors
- Major Imports: None
- System/Star: Dathomir/Domir
Planets in the System:
| Planets | Type | Moons |
|---|---|---|
| Arro | Molten rock | 0 |
| Euton | Searing rock | 0 |
| Lascel | Jungle hothouse | 2 |
| Dathomir | Terrestrial | 4 |
| BABYgnon | Gas giant | 13 |
| Barnasel | Gas giant | 13 |
| Sindrinar | Gas giant | 20 |
| Arodoni | Gas giant | 18 |
| Chirgay | Ice ball | 1 |
| Chav | Barren rock | 0 |
"Dathomir is notorious among spacers for its two primary exports—rancors and witches. Though the planet boasts stunning natural beauty, nothing can overcome its reputation as a place of animal savagery and dark magic..."
Detailed History
Dathomir's varied terrain includes green forests and yellow deserts, tumbling waterfalls and oozing tar pits. To those sensitive to the Force, its atmosphere seems to crackle with life energy.
Two warm-blooded reptilian species have developed intelligence on Dathomir. The first, the Kwa, built a pre-Republic empire before their reversion into primitivism as the Kwi. The second species are the famed rancors, whose complex familial bonds have led researchers to classify them as semi-sentient.
Circa 3000 BBY Dathomir became an adjunct of the now vanished human empire of Paecia, then fell under the dominion of the methane-breathing warlords of Drackmar. In 600 BBY Allya, an exiled Jedi Knight, took command of Dathomir's Paecian descendants and established a matriarchal society with a genetic Force component. Thus began the legend of Dathomir's witches—female rancor tamers who used totems and incantations as props to work their Force-triggered wonders.
A majority of witches (concentrated in clan settlements such as Singing Mountain and Frenzied River) practiced benevolent spellcasting, but the outcast Nightsisters soon became symbolic of the planet's dark side potential. The witches lacked the technology for space travel, but savvy offworlders periodically raided the planet to choose enforcers and assassins.
The Empire built a garrison on Dathomir during the Galactic Civil War, and the planet's orbital star docks became a base for Warlord Zsinj when he seized control of the Quelli Oversector after the Battle of Endor. Zsinj died in battle with a Hapan fleet in 8 ABY, bringing about Dathomir's entry into the New Republic.
Many of Dathomir's witches rejoined the Jedi tradition after the establishment of Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy. The planet's profile improved accordingly, though the natives continued to shun all offers of technological improvement. The presence of so many Force users made Dathomir a target during the Yuuzhan Vong War, but the invaders could not make headway in a ground assault and soon abandoned their goal. The Witches of Dathomir have succeeded in preserving their unique culture into the modern era.