Tchuukthai

"When lightning rushes over the evening plains,
I return to my cold den
with a thula rat in my jaws.
Then, I smell your sweet spoor
smeared on the bones by the cave's maw.
Then, then my head fins begin to tremble
And my tail sways majestically as my mating howl
begins to fill the hollow of the night."

―C-3PO's translation of a Tchuukthai love poem^[6]

Tchuukthai, also called Wharls, were sapient ceratopsian quadrupeds from the Unknown Regions.

Biology

This reptilian^[2] quadruped species had a brutish appearance^[4] as hulking beings with thick, leathery skin and armor plating protecting their head, joints, and vital organs.^[3] Bony spikes protruded from their shoulders and jaws, and they had large, clawed feet,^[2] wide-set eyes, flaring nostrils, and sharp fangs. Bristling fur covered their shoulders and back. An adult Tchuukthai stood at two meters at the shoulder, or three meters when standing upright on the hind legs.^[3] Normally walking on all fours meant that individuals were unable to carry a weight heavier than two kilograms in either hand, but could carry much heavier weights, unbearable to certain other species, on their backs.^[4] The species had a lifespan of over three hundred years.^[3]

The Tchuukthai vocabulary of Tchuukthese consisted of grunts and growls.^[4]

Society and culture

As a people, the Tchuukthai were contemplative and free-thinking. Some preferred to be left alone, and the species as a whole was secretive, though others displayed genuine interest in meeting new species. Though slow to anger and disdainful of conflict, Tchuukthai fought fiercely when sufficiently provoked, and could react with annoyance to other species' reactions to their appearance and size. Depending on demeanor, such reactions could otherwise elicit amusement.^[3]

Tchuukthai who consorted with other species typically wore clothing, while other members of the species chose not to.^[3]

History

The Tchuukthai were a rare species^[7] originating on a planet deep in the Unknown Regions, and information about the species and their world remained sparse and unreliable. Lacking any meaningful designation for the species, the Galactic Republic Bureau of Xenology arbitrarily named it Wharl,^[5] which was considered to be the original name of the species.^[2] The Tchuukthai were considered little more than beasts for centuries, with their brutish appearance and grunting vocabulary helping to perpetuate the myth, and indeed they were more than happy for the misconception to thrive to keep their intelligence a secret. Over the course of several centuries, the Tchuukthai were discovered more than once by explorers, though most avoided contact with these seemingly dangerous beasts. Those urged to learn more were met with vicious snarls and ferocious displays.^[4]

The true intelligence of the Tchuukthai was only discovered when a Jedi Master encountered the species and befriended the Tchuukthai later known as Thon. Learning much of the galaxy, the Tchuukthai was interested in leaving his homeworld but feared that his people would be exploited if their true nature became known. The Jedi gave his word to protect the secret of the Tchuukthai, and the species' existence remained little more than rumor across most of the galaxy,^[4] which remained the case by the New Republic era.^[3]

The so-called Wharls referred to the origin point of the Lugubraa as the Stratos Distribution.^[8]

A number of famous love poems were composed by Tchuukthai, although they translated poorly into Basic.^[source?] C-3PO once recited one of his favorite Tchuukthai love poems, considering it a beautiful masterpiece, and offered a translation to Han Solo when prompted. However, Solo prevented the droid from reciting all five hundred thousand lines of the epic.^[6]

Tchuukthai in the galaxy

Befriended by a Jedi Master, the Tchuukthai later known as Thon departed his homeworld and was instructed in the Jedi arts, eventually becoming a Jedi Master himself around the time of the Great Sith War.^[source?] For thousands of years, he was the only member of his species to leave his homeworld for the wider galaxy.^[4] Thon used the name "Wharl" for his species, hinting that it hid the former name of his kind for reasons he did not wish to discuss, though he refused to comment on the Bureau of Xenology's usage of the name as a species designation, and scientists gave up on their inquiries to the recluse. He also declined to answer questions about his origins from fellow Jedi Masters on Ossus,^[5] and claimed that he was the last surviving member of his people.^[9] Since Thon's departure, it was believed possible that other Tchuukthai may have ventured away from their world, possibly as pets or zoological exhibits, though their existence was largely considered rumor across most of the galaxy.^[4]

Common Tchuukthai names

Bval^[3]
Drol^[3]
Gaarx^[3]
Huun^[3]
Nrak^[3]
Tkur^[3]
Zvod^[3]

Behind the scenes

The first mention of the Tchuukthai, by that name, was in The Courtship of Princess Leia in 1994, in a brief reference to Tchuukthai poetry. Previously, in the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi miniseries, the character Thon had appeared without a given species name. Tales of the Jedi Companion identified him as a "Wharl" in 1996, with the suggestion that that name was "hiding" the species' former name.^[5] At this point Daniel Wallace had already contemplated making Thon's species the Tchuukthai, and when Wallace wrote The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons in 1998, he retconned the Wharls and Tchuukthai as the same species.^[10]