The Dantari were one of Dantooine's native intelligent lifeforms. A Near-Human species, they looked very much like baseline Humans, except that they were much more muscular and well-built. All Dantari sported large, flat faces with black hair and a tan, leathery skin.
Regarded as a child until the age of eleven, a Dantari reached young adulthood at twelve. At the age of sixteen, he or she grew out of the adolescence and live out their adulthood for nineteen years. A Dantari was considered middle-aged by the age thirty-six, old by fifty-five, and was considered "venerable" beyond the age of seventy.
As a whole, the Dantari were a stone level, technologically ignorant civilization. Even at the time of the Galactic Civil War, despite 4000 years of occasional encounters with offworlders, they still were completely unaware that starships traveled in space over Dantooine. They had not developed agriculture as a means of subsistence, nor had they discovered the secret of metallurgy. The Dantari spent their lives wandering across the plains searching for food, using simple weapons such as stone axes and spears to hunt animals. Usually, they would establish a temporary village at the end of each day and subsequently fold up their tents every morning before continuing their endless journey. Those villages were made of simple, animal-skin shelters, with multiple campfires in front of them.
Several Dantari tribes were known, including the Janta, Kunga and Mokk. Within a tribe, all important decisions were made collectively by five to six elders, who were chosen among the most experienced and oldest members of the group. That council of elders were tasked to solve any problems that their people could face. Although the Dantari did not have a king or a chief, one particular individual was regarded as an authority of special importance by their peers : the garoo. A highly respected member of the tribe, the garoo was a cross between a priest and a sorcerer. He was thought to be capable of commanding the animal spirits, and the Dantari said that a garoo never lied.
The Dantari had an extensive knowledge of the medicinal properties of the local flora and fauna. They treasured the root of the Vincha plant for its incredible anesthetic powers. They also participated in an elaborate form of gift exchange as a way of establishing ties between individuals and tribes. Any object could be exchanged, including magic stones, weapons, wooden statues, and even the treasured Vincha plant.
Their native language, known as Dantarian, only used a limited set of spoken words, which they supplemented with facial expressions and hand gestures.
The Dantari had been present since modern Republic colonization efforts began, circa 4000 BBY, but contact between the natives and colonists was rare. They were in fact so few that the Republic regarded Dantooine as an uninhabited planet. Speculation persisted that they were the descendants of an early, lost Republic settlement effort, but no research has ever confirmed the theory.
During the time of the New Republic a small colony was established by the Republic for the people of Eol Sha. However, Admiral Daala discovered the colony and chose it as one of her first targets. Under the leadership of Commander Kratas a regiment of AT-AT's were deployed. The ensuing battle destroyed the entire colony and caused the destruction of a single AT-AT.
A hunter of the Mokk tribe
As a result, the Dantari believed the Imperials to be gods. Some Dantari had crude tattoos of AT-AT's, or the Imperial insignia, or images of Imperial blasters, or the outlines and seams of stormtrooper armor on their chests. The Dantari are also known to have tried to make clothes that look like the pilots flight jumpsuit, and fashioned weapons and tools from shards of AT-AT armor.
The Dantari attempted to later communicate with refugees sent from the New Republic, however, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded and massacred the refugees, then proceeded to attack the Dantari. As a result, the Dantari were almost completely wiped out.