Amaran

The Amarans, a species of small, two-legged sentient beings, exhibited traits of both vulpine and canine ancestry. Each limb had four clawed digits, and they moved digitigrade, walking on their toes. A bushy tail was a common feature among all members of the species. Their black eyes faced forward, and a pointed muzzle led to a small, black nose surrounded by whiskers, with a red mouth. Two large, pointed ears stood upright on the top of their heads.

The Amarans were covered in varied fur. One common pattern involved red-orange fur on the back, tail, and outer limbs, contrasted with white patches on the inner limbs, ears, snout, soles of the feet, neck, and belly. The fur was generally short, except for the tail and tufted jowls.

Amarans were noted for their tendency to haggle and dispute prices during transactions. Some Amarans specialized as beast charmers, often carrying a staff while performing their duties. They wore clothing such as trousers, vests, shirts, earrings, and necklaces.

The Amarans originated from the planet Amar, located in the Airon sector of the Inner Rim. By the time of the Clone Wars, Amarans had started to migrate to other planets. During the period when Vulpter was under the control of the Trade Federation, six percent of its 421 million inhabitants—amounting to 25.3 million individuals—were Amarans. The management of the Trade Federation's underground storage tunnels on Vulpter was exclusively composed of Amarans, while the labor force consisted of the native Vulptereens. This arrangement led to friction between the two species, as the Vulptereen workers felt underpaid for their strenuous work in the tunnels.

During the New Republic era, some Amarans established settlements in the Gungan Swamp on Naboo. They captured wild bursas there for breeding and selling off-world sales. They also engaged in this trade on Coruscant, where Amaran dealers were a significant part of the Coruscant Livestock Exchange and Exhibition, known for their selection of rare creatures. One such dealer was seen negotiating with a Pacithhip planning to resell a bursa to the Hutts, while a younger Amaran interacted with a Veknoid.

Robin Pronovost, an author and illustrator, created the Amarans for The Essential Guide to Episode I at the request of Daniel Wallace, envisioning them as a fox-like alien species. The name was inspired by "Amara," Pronovost's fox fursona named after Amara from The New Mutants. Although The Essential Guide to Episode I was canceled, Terryl Whitlatch used Pronovost's concept art as inspiration for including the Amarans in The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide, published by Chronicle Books in 2001.

Pronovost also included Amaran characters in their artist sketch cards for 2010 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Series 5, released by Topps in 2010.

On January 31, 2010, Pronovost shared their personal, non-canon description of the Amarans for fans to use in their Star Wars role-playing games. According to Pronovost, Amarans were relatively small, standing between 3.5 and 4 feet tall. They were generally wiry, and their long tails acted as counterweights for enhanced dexterity. Their fur came in various colors, including white, orange, black, yellow-orange, and gray, with white and gray being the most common. Their eyes were usually black, but green, blue, and red were also observed. Male Amarans were slightly larger than females. Amaran mothers typically had one pup at a time, and female Amarans only showed obvious breasts when breast-feeding young. An Amaran reached adulthood at eighteen.

Pronovost's vision of Amaran society and culture included a religion that revered the stars and celestial bodies, such as their moon, Rurrri. An Amaran myth told of Rurrri, lonely and visiting Amar as a white fox, crying all night until the sun, Surru, appeared as a gold-furred Amaran to keep Rurrri company. They mated, and their offspring became the stars. The species evolved to be frivolous and cunning, using these traits in trading, flying, and conning others. They were naturally adept with non-sentient animals and were known for their animal handlers. Their beast-tamers could capture and tame even large creatures, including the Vrrryyyk, a flying beast with bird and reptile characteristics, used as their primary mode of transportation. They enjoyed expensive food, drink, and clothing. They maintained their tails meticulously, as they were a source of pride.

Pronovost stated that Amarans were dedicated to preserving their homeworld's natural environment, a planet rich with life, and considered poaching a serious crime. They lived in cities. Mining was a major industry on Amar, but they took care to use non-destructive methods whenever possible. Amar's exports included artwork, foodstuffs, creatures, ores, cloth, and energy crystals.

Pronovost's notes explained that their reverence for the stars led them to develop a primitive form of hyperspace travel independently. This allowed them to discover Naboo, which became their gateway to the larger galactic community. Amarans who left their homeworld often became merchants, con artists, gamblers, and tourists. A large Amaran population settled on Naboo, selling tamed creatures to offworlders, the Human Naboo, and the non-Human Gungans. The Naboo Amarans grew wealthy from their swamp settlements and even saved the Naboo bursa from extinction by Gungan hunters. Some Amarans showed Force-sensitivity, but few became Jedi due to the restrictive nature of the Jedi Order; Amaran Jedi were therefore considered unusual by their non-Jedi counterparts.

• The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide (First mentioned)
• Coruscant and the Core Worlds
• "Byss and the Deep Core Part 4: Vulpter" on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• "Lostwords: The Essential Guide to Episode I" — Continuity, Criticisms, and Captain Panaka — Daniel Wallace's StarWars.com Blog (content now obsolete; backup link)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• 2010 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Series 5 (Card: Artist Sketch Cards by Robin Pronovost)

• Amarans Backstory and History by Robin Pronovost on Art by Robin Pronovost ( January 31 , 2010 ) (archived from the original on January 23, 2021)

• Related categories:

• Amarans

• Amarans