The Guardians of the Whills, also known as the Guardians of the Kyber Temple, were a religious order of spiritual warrior-monks that was founded by in Jedha City on Jedha. They traditionally handcrafted the lightbow, a complicated form of bowcaster native to Jedha, such as the one used by Chirrut Îmwe during the Battle of Scarif. The Guardians protected both the Temple of the Kyber and pilgrims who visited it.
Baze Malbus became a hardened soldier after the Empire arrived on Jedha
A religious order separate from though known to the Jedi Order that was founded by , the Guardians of the Whills' mantra preached about being one with the Force. As with many other Force-based organizations, the Guardians had a presence in Jedha City, where they handcrafted the native lightbow per tradition. Around that time, a priest of the order named Sachar Rold had a Force vision of a bright blueness which played a role in his departure from the Guardians. Coming to believe that the Force needed to be "freed" and that using its power in any way was wrong, Rold settled on the planet Dalna, where he founded a cult called the Path of the Open Hand. By 382 BBY, the Guardians of the Whills were one of several Force religions represented on the Convocation of the Force of Jedha. In 382 BBY, the Guardians received special jurisdiction to guard the peace summit between the warring planets Eiram and E'ronoh. After the summit failed, the Guardians fought alongside the Jedi in the Battle of Jedha, focusing on minimizing civilian casualties and ultimately had several Guardians die in the conflict.
Into the Imperial Era, the Guardians continued to defend visiting pilgrims to the sacred Temple of the Kyber in Jedha City. Although they protected the Temple, when the Galactic Empire pillaged it for precious kyber crystals that would be used for their new Death Star superweapon, the Guardians of the Whills remained around the fallen site.
In 0 BBY, rebels Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor visited Jedha in hopes of finding an Imperial defector who held vital information for the Empire's new weapon. As they weaved through Jedha City, the pair walked into a Partisan raid on Imperial tanks. As Imperial stormtroopers surrounded the rebels, however, the human Guardian, Chirrut Îmwe, entered the scene and distracted the troopers. With the assistance of his friend, Baze Malbus, a resigned Guardian of the Whills, Îmwe downed all of the stormtroopers, thereby saving the rebels. As the rebels went on their mission, Îmwe and Malbus joined the Rebel Alliance and followed until their sacrifice at the Battle of Scarif, making use of the Guardians of the Whills' teachings throughout.
Chirrut Îmwe wielding his lightbow
As part of their spiritual progression, a guardian traditionally had to construct a lightbow. The crafting process itself required that the guardian attained the necessary skill to combine hand crafted artisanry with technology.
In early drafts of A New Hope, the name "Whills" referred to an early version of what became the Force.
In the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, an unfilmed scene featured the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn telling Yoda that he learned the secret to becoming a Force spirit after death from a Shaman of the Whills. In another cut line, Yoda claimed the secret to immortality was held by the "Ancient Order of the Whills." Jinn's claim was repeated by the then-canon Databank and the Encyclopedia on StarWars.com.
A later, canon interpretation of this scene was featured in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but had Qui-Gon point Yoda to the Wellspring of Life as the source of immortality instead.