Twi'leks, sometimes referred to xenophobically as Tail-Heads or Twi's, occasionally referred to as Rylothians, were a tall near-human species whose most striking feature was a pair of long appendages protruding from their skulls, called lekku. They hailed from the planet of Ryloth, in the Outer Rim Territories, and female Twi'leks were often exported offworld as slaves. Twi'leks were considered one of the most common species in the galaxy, with its members easily able to blend into a crowd without drawing attention, as opposed to rarer, more prominent species, like Togrutas. Some armies used this to their advantage, employing Twi'leks as undercover agents.
Since female Twi'leks were regarded as graceful and beautiful beings, many of them were forced into a life of slavery at the hands of the galaxy's wealthy and powerful. Other Twi'leks, however, found themselves in positions of power: Bib Fortuna served as the majordomo to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt for decades, Aayla Secura and Finn Ertay were Jedi Knights of the Jedi Order, and Senator Orn Free Taa represented his homeworld Ryloth in the Galactic Republic's Senate and later the Imperial Senate. Due to their frequent use as slaves as well as their commonality in the galaxy, Twi'leks could move surreptitiously through places an army could not penetrate. Because of this, some found employment as undercover agents.
Cham Syndulla was a leader of the Twi'lek Resistance during the Clone Wars and later became the leader of the Free Ryloth movement. His daughter Hera Syndulla was the leader of the Spectres and was later promoted to Phoenix Leader in the Phoenix Squadron, eventually achieving the rank of General.
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Basic Information
wi'leks were a species of tall humanoids whose skin spanned a vast array of colors, including white, orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, purple, black, gray, and red. Their most distinctive feature was the pair of prehensile appendages that sprouted from the crown or base of their skulls, known as lekku, or head-tails. Although Twi'leks normally had two lek, some individuals had four. Super sensitive lek could grab and hold objects and react to the slightest touch. A damaged lekku could cause serious harm to a Twi'lek's health.
The species had two sexes, male and female. While most males typically had ears with lobes resembling those of humans, some males had cone-shaped hearing organs located in the same place on the head, a trait customarily found in the females of the same species. Although Twi'leks naturally had blunt teeth, males typically sharpened them to points.
Twi'leks were usually thin, although corpulent individuals were known to exist. Under normal circumstances, they generally had a higher body temperature than other humanoid species. They had even higher body temperatures when in fear.
Twi'leks and humans could breed to create a hybrid of the two species: shortly after the death of Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla gave birth to their son who appeared mostly human but inherited his mother's green pigment in his hair and ears. He was born after the liberation of Lothal, in which Syndulla lived to participate.
Additional Information
The Twi'leks had a language of their own, called Twi'leki, which combined verbal sounds and an elaborate, subtle sign language using their lekku. Twi'lek's lekku could be moved to create gestures with meanings such as hello or goodbye. For example, both lekku tips crossed twice meant, "I love you." Twi'leks were capable of speaking Galactic Basic Standard, many with a noticeable accent; although it was possible for some to lose this accent if away from Ryloth for an extended period of time, it could still resurface. For example, Hera Syndulla lapsed back into the common Twi'leki accent during an argument with her father and also used it consciously when passing herself off as a slave.
Mynock Cloud City and Mynock Coronet City were spicy dishes made from mynocks that were popular with Twi'leks, as well as a dish known as fried mynock. Twi'leks were eaten by gutkurrs, vicious insect carnivores that used their sharp, curved claws to snare their prey. An integral part of Twi'lek culture and the familial clan was the Kalikori, an heirloom based down through the generations, each of which would add to the totem. The Kalikori was only of value to the family from which it came from and was worthless to outsiders, who had no connection to that familial line.
