Sitter's pillar

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The title of this article is conjectural.

Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

"The Sitter keeps a lonely vigil on this tower in the shadow of Carbon Ridge. The Teedos sometimes bring him offerings."
―A note on Gammit Chond's map of Jakku, Galactic Atlas[2]

The Sitter's pillar was a stone tower located close to the Pilgrim's Road in the Goazon Badlands of the desert planet Jakku. The human known as the Sitter sat motionless on top of the pillar under Jakku's sun every day, climbing up at sunrise and climbing back down at sunset. He became famous, with some residents of Jakku considering him a prophet and gathering at the base of the pillar to shout up questions, although he never answered. The scavenger Rey wrote about the pillar and its occupant in her survival guide by 34 ABY.

Description

"You'll find him near the Pilgrim's Road, almost in the shadow of Carbon Ridge. You can't miss him—he's the only thing visible for kilometers, a hunched figure sitting atop a pillar in the sun."
―Rey writes about the Sitter in her survival guide[3]

The Sitter's pillar was a tower[2] of stone[1] that stood atop a rise in the Goazon Badlands of the Inner Rim desert planet Jakku. Located close to the route known as the Pilgrim's Road, it was the only landmark visible for kilometers around it, although it nearly fell within the shadow of the Carbon Ridge mountains. The pillar had a flat top but rough, uneven sides, one of which had a set of hand holds carved into it, allowing ascent to the top. A set of curving steps was carved into the rise leading up to the pillar.[3]

History

"If you pass by his pillar at sunrise or sunset you might see the Sitter climbing up or down, but otherwise he just sits cross-legged atop his pillar, completely still. As far as I know he's never spoken—certainly he's never said anything to the crazy people who think he's a prophet and stand beneath his pillar asking him questions."
―Rey writes about the Sitter in her survival guide[3]
A sketch of a small robed mand sat atop a stone pillar in the desert of Jakku, with another small figure shown ascending a set of stairs up to the pillar.

Rey sketched the Sitter's pillar in her survival guide.

The human who became known as the Sitter climbed the pillar each day at sunrise, sitting atop it cross-legged and hunched all day,[3] keeping watch[4] until sunset, when he would climb back down. He became famous among the residents of Jakku, and some came to believe he was a prophet, gathering at the base of the pillar to shout questions up to him, although he never answered.[3] Members of the Teedo species also venerated the Sitter,[1] chasing away those that bothered him and bringing him offerings[2] of spinebarrel[3] and thwip[5] flesh, nightblossom rind, and water, which kept him alive.[3]

While traveling the Pilgrim's Road on her speeder, the scavenger Rey saw three Teedos climbing the stairs up to the Sitter's pillar.[5] By 34 ABY,[6] she wrote about the Sitter and his pillar in her survival guide and included a sketch of the tower.[3] During that year,[7] Rey left Jakku and began training under Jedi Master Luke Skywalker as a Jedi on the planet Ahch-To. Her hopes that the training would not include anything akin to the Sitter's daily ritual on the pillar were dashed when Skywalker had her meditate on a mountain ledge in a similar fashion.[1] The Ithorian artist Gammit Chond at one point created a map of Jakku that included a sketch of the Sitter's pillar. It was later published in the Galactic Atlas by the Graf Archive at some point after 34 ABY[2] and also included in the updated version of the book.[8]

Behind the scenes

A map from Complete Locations depicts the deserts of Jakku, with the Pilgrim's road at the top of the image and a point annoted as "the Sitter" marked near the bottom beside Carbon Ridge.

Complete Locations depicts the Sitter as distant from the Pilgrim's Road (depicted as a brown line), contradicting other sources.

The Sitter's pillar was first mentioned in Rey's Survival Guide, a 2015 replica journal written by Jason Fry and illustrated by Andrew Barthelmes.[3] The pillar then appeared for the first time in the Star Wars Forces of Destiny chapter book Forces of Destiny: The Rey Chronicles, which was written by Emma Carlson Berne and released in 2018.[5]

The reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations,[9] released on September 27, 2016,[10] marks a point at the foot of Carbon Ridge with the annotation "The Sitter," however, the location is a great distance from the Pilgrim's Road.[9] As Rey's Survival Guide,[3] The Rey Chronicles,[5] and the reference book Star Wars: Galactic Atlas—written by Emil Fortune, illustrated by Tim McDonagh,[2] and released on November 3, 2016[11]—all describe the Sitter's pillar as being close to the Pilgrim's Road,[3][5][2] it is unclear if the placement in Complete Locations is erroneous or represents the Sitter while he is not on the pillar.[9] The placement was repeated when the map was reprinted in the 2025 reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations, New Edition.[12]

Appearances

This article has an associated index page with page numbers and/or timestamps.

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Rey's Survival Guide
  4. ↑ Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Forces of Destiny: The Rey Chronicles
  6. ↑ Rey's Survival Guide includes an addendum at the end describing some of the events of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, written several days after they take place. The addendum is the final entry in the guide and is included chronologically after the entry mentioning the Sitter's pillar. Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of the film to 34 ABY.
  7. ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi: Expanded Edition to 34 ABY.
  8. ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas: Updated Edition
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Star Wars: Complete Locations
  10. ↑ DK-Logo Star Wars Complete Locations on Dorling Kindersley's official United States website (backup link)
  11. ↑ Egmont-Favicon Star Wars: Galactic Atlas on Egmont's official United Kingdom website (original link is obsolete)
  12. ↑ Star Wars: Complete Locations, New Edition