Jawas

Jawas appear to be gaunt, rodent-like creatures, with shrunken faces and yellow eyes. The only physical parts that are exposed were their hands, which have tufts of fur on the palms.   Jawas are renowned for their incredibly potent odor. Repulsive to most species, this odor containes incredible amounts of information such as other Jawas' identity, health, clan lineage, last meal, maturity, arousal and even their mood.   Jawas evolve several important survival traits, such as exceptional night vision and a strong immune system. A Jawa's normal body temperature is 46°C which resulted in a high metabolism and an efficient digestive system that draws all the needed nutrients from the Jawa staple diet of insects.

Insects

Jawas are a communal, compulsive scavenger species who spent most of their life devoted to scavenging the deserts in search of any scrap metal, treasures, or mechanical part left behind by others.    The Jawa's unofficial motto is not to look for uses in a salvaged item, but rather to imagine someone else who might find a use for it. And this is evidenced in their endless search for wares with which to trade with almost any being Jawas encounter

Jawas live in separate clan families, each with distinct, separate territories for living and scavenging. Each Sandcrawler is led by a Clan-Chief, who is male. However, the overall operation of the Jawa clan is overseen by a female Shaman. A female Jawa becomes a shaman by either possessing some kind of magical ability, overcoming an illness accompanied by a hallucinatory vision or is chosen and trained as the successor to the current Shaman. The shamans are believed to possess the ability to foretell the future, and perform spells, hexes and blessings to protect the clan and ensure the well being of all clan members. This title gives them a great deal of respect throughout the clan, which is strange in the largely patriarchal Jawa society, and this allowes the shaman to assume a position where they are to be consulted upon, and asked often for their wisdom. With the important position within the society, the shaman do not travel in the sandcrawler and instead remained within the safety of the clan's fortress. Other than shamans, females are shown little respect in Jawa society.    Upon reaching adulthood, Jawas are chosen to participate in the scavenger hunt, the search, trade and reselling of useful wares found within the deserts. All remaining Jawas live within fortresses, nestled deep in the desert where their collected wares are stored, and Jawa children can be born and grow safely. The scavenging Jawas will return to their fortresses before the storm season commences. These fortresses have high walls made from large chunks of old wreck for protection against Sand People, Dragons and sand storms.

Human or higher

They have a kind of instinctive feel for machinery and electronics, notorious for knowing how to get a piece of equipment functioning just well enough to sell.

Yautja, Dwarfian, Onigo, Orcrun

Jawas are easily identifiable by their traditional brown hooded robes, though it is not unheard of for them to wear other colors. At all times, Jawa faces remain obscured by a shroud of cloth to retain moisture, hide their identity and dissipate their body heat. Polished orange gemstones are embedded within the fabric to protect the Jawas' sensitive vision from the bright sunlight. Their odor is compounded by a mysterious solution Jawas dipped their clothes in to retain moisture, and their view of bathing as being a waste of precious water, which attractes swarms of insects to gather in the recesses of their hoods.

Adhering to their scavenger instincts, it is quite common for different family clans to trade their sons and daughters for marriage through an intense barter or trade agreement. A common Jawa term for this is the trading of 'marriage merchandise'. Jawas find it acceptable to consummate their marriages in public.

Once a year, just before the storm season, all the Jawa clans will gather in the great basin of the dune sea for the annual swap meet. Tthe Jawas meet to exchange their salvage. Other inter-clan business is also attended to such as the comparing of navigational data of the ever-changing desert and the arrangement of marriages to ensure cultural and genetic diversity.

Most non-Jawas regarde the Jawas as scavengers and thieves, a description that most Jawas find pleasing.