Jempa

"Hello, Master Obi-Wan."
"Hello."

―Jempa and the rest of Bear Clan greet Obi-Wan Kenobi — 20?cb=20250116042720

Jempa was a Whiphid member of Bear Clan, a group of younglings within the Jedi Order. In 22 BBY, Jempa and the rest of the clan were given a lesson on lightsaber use by Grand Master Yoda in the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant. Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi interrupted the lesson to ask Yoda about a planet he could not find in the Jedi Archives and was greeted by Jempa and the other younglings.

Biography

"Reach out. Sense the Force around you. Use your feelings you must."

―Yoda instructs Jempa and the rest of Bear Clan — 20?cb=20250116042720

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Jempa was a Force-sensitive Whiphid^[2] born at some point between around 30 BBY and 26 BBY.^[1] The Whiphid was inducted into the Jedi Order and taken to the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant for training.^[2] In 22 BBY,^[1] Jempa was one of two Whiphid members^[2] of the Bear Clan, a class of Jedi younglings all aged between four and eight years old.^[3] During a class taught by Grand Master Yoda, Jempa and the rest of Bear Clan donned^[2] youngling helmets that blocked their vision. This helped them to see using the Force rather than with their bodily senses alone while learning to sense blaster bolts fired by remotes and block them with training lightsabers.^[4]

Jempa and the other younglings greeted Obi-Wan Kenobi when he interrupted their training session in the Jedi Temple.

The lesson was interrupted by the arrival of Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, which caused Yoda to pause and have Jempa and the other younglings greet the visitor in unison. Kenobi returned the greeting and then explained to Yoda that he was searching for a planet that he could not find in the Jedi Archives. Yoda joked that losing a planet must be embarrassing for Kenobi, eliciting a giggle from the younglings. He then had them all gather around the room's map reader, from which Kenobi projected a holographic star map and showed where the planet ought to be. After Jempa's classmate J. K. Burtola suggested someone had erased the planet from the archives, Yoda instructed Kenobi to seek the world out.^[2]

Personality and traits

Jempa had gray skin and blue eyes.^[2]

Equipment

While in class, Jempa wore brown Jedi robes with a tan shirt and pants underneath. The Whiphid also wore a brown belt and boots and used a gray training helmet and a green training lightsaber.^[2]

Behind the scenes

"He's not allowed to use the Force!"
"I acted on impulse. I didn't mean to."

―The Togruta and Jempa in "Jedi Soccer"^[5]

Jempa appeared in the 2002 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.^[2] The character was portrayed by a child actor with digital effects used to add the alien head and hands,^[6] as well as the helmet.^[7] Stunt coordinator Nick Gillard oversaw the casting call for actors to play the younglings on July 7, 2000, after which the scenes in the Jedi Temple were shot on July 20, 2000, in Fox Studios, Sydney.^[8] In the current Star Wars canon, the character was identified in an entry for the Bear Clan in the StarWars.com Databank.^[3] The name was first used in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it appeared on packaging for a figure of Jempa released in 2003 by Hasbro as part of the Star Wars Saga toy line.^[9]

Jempa (second from the left) plays soccer with other younglings.

In "Jedi Soccer," a non-canon comic short published in the 2015 activity book LEGO Star Wars: Galactic Freedom Fighters, he/him pronouns are used for Jempa. In the comic, he is shown playing goalie in a game of soccer with a group of other Jedi Padawans. A Nautolan Padawan kicks the ball at Jempa, who then breaks the rules by using the Force to stop it in mid air. A Togruta Padawan complains at the Whiphid's use of the Force, but Jempa claims that it was unintential as he was acting on impulse. The Togruta and the Nautolan then joke that the Force is preferable to Jempa using a lightsaber as the Whipid is sick of having to buy new balls.^[5]