Japor snippet

"I made this for you. So you'd remember me. I carved it out of a japor snippet. It'll bring you good fortune."

―Anakin Skywalker giving the japor snippet to Padmé Amidala^[3]

Japor snippets were small wood jewels carved by youngsters on the planet Tatooine and used for good luck or as love charms. They were usually made from shell halves of Japor tree nuts,^[2] and less frequently from Japor ivory wood,^[1] and carved with tribal runes.^[2]

History

A good-luck-charm japor snippet was given as a gift to Padmé Amidala by young Anakin Skywalker while they were traveling to Coruscant aboard the J-type 327 Nubian royal starship in 32 BBY.^[3] Carved as traditional Tatooine sand symbols from a piece of japor ivory wood Skywalker acquired through trading, it was threaded with a string of jerba leather.^[1]

Thirteen years after Skywalker gifted it to her, Amidala still had the japor snippet in her possession, kept in a box along with Skywalker's Padawan braid.^[4] She privately wore it whenever she was with her husband.^[5] While she lay dying following Skywalker's fall to the dark side of the Force, and after giving birth to their children, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, Amidala gave the japor snippet to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi,^[6] Skywalker's former Master and the future Master of her son,^[7] to keep for her. However, Kenobi did not understand the significance of her gesture, only understanding Amidala's basic feelings about it, and returned it to her.^[6] After her death, Amidala's body held the japor snippet during her funeral procession,^[5] and was buried alongside her body^[2] in a privately owned mausoleum.^[8]

During the Galactic Civil War, a band of criminals stole all the stock of japor snippet necklaces and the carving tools from a japor carver on Tatooine.^[9]