Death

Factors Contributing to Death

Death is an unavoidable and inherent aspect of existence. While certain species, like Yoda's species, enjoy extended lifespans, all organisms exist for a limited duration of time before passing away and merging with the Cosmic Force, the origin of the Living Force. With advancing age, beings progressively weaken and become more susceptible to ailments, ultimately succumbing to natural death. Furthermore, severe physical trauma can render a living being unable to sustain bodily functions, leading to death if injuries remain untreated or are irreparable. Warfare, conflicts, and suicide—the intentional act of self-inflicted death—can also result in mortality. Torture may also lead to death. Exposure to radiation, diseases, starvation, dehydration, or specific chemical substances can also prove fatal. However, in certain instances, death defies medical explanation. The GH-7 series medical assistance droid stationed at Polis Massa could not ascertain the cause of Padmé Amidala's impending death during childbirth, stating, "She's lost the will to live."

Perspectives on Death

The Jedi Order's Stance

According to the Jedi Code, "there is no death, there is only the Force." The Jedi taught that life does not end with death, but simply transforms within the Force. Thus, the Jedi comprehended life and death as a cycle that ensures the Force's perpetuation. Acknowledging that all living beings must eventually transform into the Cosmic Force, the source of the Living Force, the Jedi viewed death as a natural return to the Cosmic Force. A Jedi Knight had to learn to let go of everything they fear to lose - the fear of losing the living to inevitable death was attachment, the shadow of greed, a dangerous path to the dark side of the Force. Despite being saddened by it, they were advised to remember that one day they would all pass on, and rejoice and celebrate those around them who passed away and become one with the Force, instead of grieving and missing them.

Although everything that the Jedi knew about the Force told them that an individual retaining their identity after passing to the Cosmic Force was impossible, with the Jedi indeed not believing in the concepts of ghosts or reincarnation, there were actually ways to manifest one's consciousness after death as a Force spirit. Qui-Gon Jinn embarked on a journey to uncover the secrets of manifesting his consciousness. He journeyed to a planet imbued with the Force, a world regarded as the birthplace of life and the origin of midi-chlorians. There, he learned from five Force Priestesses who had preserved their consciousness after death. This knowledge was imparted to a select few: as the Clone Wars approached its conclusion, Jinn reached out to Grand Master Yoda, recognizing Yoda's destiny to complete the training he himself had not. Yoda underwent the trials and was deemed worthy of learning the secret of eternal consciousness.

Following the Clone Wars and the fall of the Jedi Order, Yoda revealed to Obi-Wan Kenobi that Jinn had returned from the netherworld of the Force and could guide his former Padawan in learning the secret. Although Anakin Skywalker—a fallen Jedi Knight and the Chosen One of the Force—never received the training that allowed his mentors to become Force spirits, his redemption and sacrifice made it possible for his consciousness to be preserved after death by Kenobi and Yoda, much like how his grandson became a spirit in 35 ABY. In 34 ABY and 35 ABY respectively, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa—Anakin's biological children—attained immortality like their father.

The Sith Order's Stance

While the Sith acknowledged that life transforms within the Force, they perceived mortality as a limitation of the physical realm, fearing it and asserting that death equates to oblivion. Consequently, they sought to prevent the transition of their life energy from the Living Force to the Cosmic Force, desiring eternal life and preventing the demise of loved ones. The Sith Order's dedication to the dark side stemmed from their pursuit of immortality.

Sidious characterized the dark side of the Force as a pathway to abilities deemed unnatural by others, particularly the power to "cheat death." According to a "Sith legend", the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis acquired unique abilities, including the power to create life through the manipulation of midi-chlorians, thereby preventing the death of loved ones. In his efforts to convert Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, Sidious offered to reveal the secrets of immortality, knowing that the Jedi Knight feared losing his secret wife, Padmé Amidala. Haunted by premonitions of the future regarding his pregnant wife's impending death, Skywalker, influenced by Sidious, came to believe that the dark side could ensure Amidala's survival.

Although Sidious claimed to Skywalker that only one Sith had achieved such power, he stated, if they work together, they can unlock the secret. Skywalker ultimately joined the Sith, gaining new powers through the dark side as Darth Vader, but Amidala died nevertheless. However, despite claiming to be able to save her, Sidious later informed Vader that the dark side could not be used to restore Amidala to life. Through his master's teachings, Sidious managed to transfer his essence to an imperfect clone vessel that had been modeled on his original body. However His lifelong dream of eternal rule was finally quashed when his granddaughter, Rey called upon the strength of past Jedi to vanquish him by turning his own power against him, destroying Sidious and his Sith Eternal cultists.

The Sith honed their powers by undergoing trials designed to enhance their connection to the dark side of the Force. One such trial required the sacrificial death of a loved one. This tradition was not limited to members of the Sith Order; Kylo Ren was not a Sith, but was trained to be just as powerful nonetheless. During the Battle of Starkiller Base, unbeknowst to him, Ren completed his Sith trial of ascendancy when he killed his father, Han Solo. Committing patricide, however, did not lead to greater strength with the dark side, as Ren had believed. The death of his father contributed to his internal conflict, leaving Ren in a weakened state.

The Knights of Ren's Stance

Legend has it that the Knights of Ren were a nomadic group of dark side practitioners originating from the Unknown Regions. Besides Force-sensitivity, prospective recruits had to willingly commit murder to join the Knights' ranks. Darth Sidious described the Knights' initiation process as selecting a "worthy target" and ensuring their "good death." This requirement applied universally, regardless of prior killings.

Once, the Knights sought to recruit Karrst, who was being pursued by Sector Security for killing at least a hundred people. He was killed by his younger brother, Filin, when Ren—the Knights' leader—instructed Karrst to commit fratricide to join the group. However, Filin lacked his brother's connection to the Force and was subsequently executed by Ren.

While the Knights' connection to the dark side was limited by their lack of training, their philosophy appealed to the Jedi apprentice Ben Solo, who, despite his initial devotion to the Jedi way, struggled to fulfill expectations as a scion of the Skywalker family. Following his role in the destruction of the Jedi Temple of Luke Skywalker, Solo left the Jedi Order and tracked the Knights to Varnak. However, he was confronted by the Jedi apprentices Hennix, Tai, and Voe in an abandoned Jedi outpost on Elphrona. Although Hennix was killed by Solo, the Knights deemed his death insufficient, suspecting that Solo had not wanted his former ally to die.

After the death of Hennix, the Jedi tracked Solo and the Knights while they were on a mission to the Minemoon. Tai was killed by Ren, who was killed in turn by Solo. The death of Ren secured not only Solo's place among the Knights' ranks, but also his status as Ren's successor. In addition to adopting the name name Kylo Ren, the former Jedi assumed the title of master of the Knights of Ren.

The Kran's Stance

The Kran were monks whose religion revolved around the veneration of death, which they practiced through nighttime destruction. During the Clone Wars, Jedi Master Mace Windu resettled the Kran on a hospitable planet perpetually bathed in daylight due to its location in a binary star system.

Death and Culture

Disposal of Remains

Funerary Customs

Upon a person's death, those affected commonly expressed grief through tears. Ceremonies marking the end of life were also prevalent. Burial and cremation exemplify funeral customs. On Ferrix, it was customary to create funerary stones from the remains of prominent Ferrixians, such as members of the Daughters of Ferrix. A funerary stone was crafted by mixing the deceased's ashes with mortar and local dust, resulting in a solid brick inscribed with the citizen's name, birthdate, and death date—according to the Coruscant reckoning calendar. Another Ferrixian death ritual involved the deceased creating a prerecorded holographic speech to be played at their funeral. Maarva Carassi Andor, a former president of the Daughters of Ferrix, used her funeral to incite a local uprising against the Imperial occupation of Ferrix.

On the planet E'ronoh, the dead were neither buried nor cremated, but placed within the tombs of the Rook to showcase all were equal through death. Even members of the E'ronoh royal family were placed in the Rook upon death. The family or friends of the deceased wrote a byline for the coffin, although visitor Axel Greylark pondered who would get to write the line if no friends or family could be found. A robed priest gave a final blessing before the coffin was inserted into its resting place. Welcoming a crowd of mourners, a grand funeral was held for Captain Jerrod Segaru to honor the man as a war hero. However, another dead soldier, Braxen, did not receive the same level of honor. At Segaru's funeral, Axel Greylark asked Jedi Knight Gella Nattai if she found the display morbid, to which she answered that death was morbid for most people. Nattai also shocked at how glib Greylark was about the funeral before him.

Burial and cremation were practiced on the desert planet Tatooine. Shmi Skywalker Lars was buried in a grave on the homestead of the Lars family. Her funeral was attended by her son, Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker, her husband, Cliegg Lars, and her stepson, Owen Lars, as well as Amidala and Beru Whitesun. During the Imperial Era, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and the droid C-3PO used a pyre to dispose the bodies of Jawa scavengers who were killed by Imperial stormtroopers.

A state funeral was held for Senator Padmé Amidala, a former monarch of Naboo, on her homeworld of Naboo in 19 BBY. Regarded as a "beloved representative" by her people, thousands of Naboo citizens—humans and Gungans alike—attended the ceremony to honor the late senator. After her death on Polis Massa, Amidala's funeral procession included family members and other significant people, such as Queen Apailana, Rugor Nass, and Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks. The Tomb of Padmé Amidala served as her final resting place. During the Imperial Era, Amidala's remains were nearly exhumed by her widower, Darth Vader, despite the Amidalans' efforts to prevent what they saw as the desecration of her grave. While he nearly opened her casket, Vader found himself unable to carry through with the act, with his droid companion ZED-6-7 assuming he did not want to damage any evidence. Despite only slightly opening her casket, Zed-6-7 was able to trace a med implant present on her body to Polis Massa.

Jedi Funerary Practices

The Jedi Order embraced cremation as their funerary ritual for all Jedi. During the Republic Era, the Order's zenith, the remains of deceased Jedi—either placed in a sarcophagus or on an altar and covered by a burial shroud—were lowered into a chamber beneath the consecrated grounds of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Upon being lowered, a beam of light ascended from the ground, cremating the Jedi. Upon death, a Jedi's Kyber crystal was also taken from their lightsaber and placed within the Kyber Arch.

Although the Jedi Order usually retrieved the remains of their fallen brethren for funeral services to be held in the Coruscant temple, as they did with the body of Jedi Master Katri who was killed on Raxus Secundus, sometimes the ceremony was conducted off-world. In 32 BBY, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was cremated in Theed, the capital city of Naboo, following his death during the battle that ended the Trade Federation's Invasion of Naboo. The body of Jedi General Even Piell, who was killed during the Battle of Lola Sayu, was wrapped in a shroud, and, with insufficient time and a priority to leave from Lola Sayu, was lowered into a river of lava by Jedi Generals Kenobi and Skywalker.

Jedi funeral rites were not exclusive to Jedi Order members. Government figures of the Galactic Republic, such as the Supreme Chancellor and members of the Galactic Senate, and during the Clone Wars, high-ranking officers from the Republic Military, might be present to honor deceased Jedi. Jinn's memorial service was attended by his former apprentice, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, in addition to the Jedi High Council, the newly elected Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, Queen Padmé Amidala, Governor Sio Bibble of the Royal House of Naboo, and Boss Rugor Nass of the Gungan High Council. When Obi-Wan Kenobi staged his own death to expose a looming Separatist scheme to abduct Chancellor Palpatine, his memorial was observed by various Order members, including the Jedi High Council, Senator Amidala, and Duchess Satine.

The cremation of Even Piell, conducted by Skywalker and Kenobi, was witnessed by Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Captain Wilhuff Tarkin, the astromech droid R2-D2, and their clone troopers, which included Clone Captain Rex, the Advanced Recon Commando Fives, and Clone Commander Cody. Later in the conflict, a terrorist attack involving a bomb targeted one of the Jedi Temple's starship hangars, resulting in the deaths of Jedi, clone troopers, and Temple staff. A service was conducted for the Jedi victims of the bombing, with Yoda delivering a eulogy to a congregation of Jedi and Republic officials. The Funeral of Tu-Anh took place on the planet Utapau, where she was discovered deceased. Skywalker, Kenobi, and several Pau’ans were present at the service.

After the Battle of Endor during the Galactic Civil War in 4 ABY, Anakin Skywalker was honored with a Jedi funeral by his son, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker. The ceremony was held on the forested moon of Endor, with Luke as the sole participant. The newly appointed Jedi Knight constructed a pyre to incinerate the armor of Darth Vader that his father had worn as a Sith. Despite Anakin's actions as Vader, including his role in the near-extinction of the Jedi Order, Luke chose to remember his father as the Jedi he once was, and the Chosen One who restored balance to the Force.

Sith burial

Deceased Sith Lords were interred on their ancestral world, Moraband, specifically in the Valley of the Dark Lords, which housed monuments and crypts dedicated to the ancient Sith "of millennia past." The largest structure in the Valley contained the tomb of Darth Bane, an ancient Sith Lord who established the modern Sith Order through the Rule of Two. His stone sarcophagus, containing his remains, was situated at the base of a massive Bane statue. He was the last Dark Lord of the Sith to be buried on Moraband before the Sith abandoned it.

The spirits of the Sith entombed on Moraband remained connected to their Order's homeworld. According to their successor, Darth Sidious, with whom they communicated, they lived eternally after death. In his book, The Secrets of the Sith, Sidious expressed his intent to visit Moraband and uncover the "dark secrets" of his Sith predecessors.

Remembrance of the deceased

Despite challenges in maintaining the tradition due to the Forever War, the E'roni of E'ronoh practiced a remembrance for the recently deceased, where the family would gather to celebrate their fallen loved one. In rural areas, entire towns held these Remembrances. Stories of the deceased were shared as their favorite songs and meals were part of the celebration. The Eirami on E'ronoh's rival world, Eiram, had a similar celebration on a specific day each year, where the entire planet remembered the deceased. The Eirami also believed in reincarnation.

Presumption of death

A presumption of death occurred when an individual was considered deceased, even without direct proof. During the High Republic Era, the Galactic Republic had an automated protocol declaring missing individuals officially deceased. As a result, Jedi Padawan Lula Talisola was officially declared dead one year after the Destruction of Starlight Beacon.

Sevran Tarkin was on Starlight Beacon when it fell and went missing, leading to her legal death declaration. Her uncle, Tragkul Tarkin, used her presumed death to promote his anti-Republic agenda. When Sevran reappeared, proving her existence proved surprisingly complex. Bureaucratic obstacles left her "technically dead." She lost favor with her uncle, who believed that dying in battle was not a noble death, as it signified defeat.

Death-related names and phrases

Death sticks were illegal and highly addictive, popular among addicts and thrill-seekers in the underworld of Coruscant and across the galaxy.

The Galactic Empire's first and second moon-sized battle stations were named "Death Stars." Elite soldiers known as death troopers, inspired by the Undead Troopers of Project Blackwing, protected high-ranking officials and members of the Imperial Security Bureau.

The clone trooper Fives said farewell to AZI-345211896246498721347 by saying they would meet "on the other side," a phrase the droid did not understand. Han Solo told deck officer Tigran Jamiro he would "see him in Hell" after the officer warned him about the dangerous conditions on the planet Hoth.

Death and the Force

The Force, a mystical energy field created by all living beings, consisted of the Living Force and the Cosmic Force, existing in symbiosis and balance. Qui-Gon Jinn stated that the Living Force, generated by life, powered the Cosmic Force. Upon death, a being's spirit would ascend to a different plane of existence and merge with the Cosmic Force.

Mass death caused disturbances in the Force, which Force-sensitives could perceive across the galaxy. During the final days of the Clone Wars, Yoda sensed the deaths of Jedi throughout the galaxy due to the systematic extermination under Order 66. When Kenobi sensed the destruction of Alderaan, he described it as a terrible sensation where "millions of voices cried out in terror and were then silenced."

Extinction

Extinction is the mass death of an entire species. Despite their technological prowess, the Zeffonians neared extinction due to the dark side's influence over the Zeffo Sages. With their race nearing its end, the remaining Zeffo retreated into unknown space, abandoning their homeworld and its system. The lethal Blue Shadow Virus was intentionally eradicated, but Separatist Doctor Nuvo Vindi reintroduced it. The Lasat species was nearly wiped out by the Galactic Empire. The Empire drove the Geonosian species to extinction.

Genocide is the intentional mass killing of a species or culture, leading to its extinction. The Separatist attack on Mahranee in 19 BBY was considered a genocide of the indigenous Mahran species.

Attempts to cheat death

Eternal life

The legend of Darth Noctyss speaks of a forgotten Sith ritual, recorded in a citadel on Exegol, that could grant immortality. It required three days of incantations and the sacrifice of a willing subject, whose essence would be absorbed to reshape the performer's soul. However, this ritual transformed the performer into a twisted, grotesque version of their former self, cursed to exist as a feral creature, barely clinging to life: an undying existence unable to truly live.

Ignoring the price, Darth Sanguis, seeking eternal life, researched and completed the ritual. Later, Darth Noctyss traveled to Exegol, seeking immortality, and discovered Sanguis's laboratory and research, believing the miserable creature to be a slave. Sanguis helped Noctyss recreate the ritual, allowing her to sacrifice him to end his tortured existence. The ritual transformed Noctyss into a deformed creature, like Sanguis, haunting Exegol's depths.

Possessed masks

Sith masks were designed to instill fear, but could also serve as vessels for the spirits of their creators. The Mask of Lord Momin, an ancient Sith artifact created by Darth Momin, was one such mask. After his death, Momin's spirit transferred to and was trapped within his mask, granting him the ability to control anyone who wore it. The Jedi stored Momin's mask in the Temple vaults on Coruscant, but the Sith reclaimed it after the siege of the Jedi Temple and Sidious's rise as Galactic Emperor.

Momin initially tried to possess Darth Vader, Sidious's Sith apprentice, before becoming the architect of Fortress Vader on Mustafar. The mask possessed several hosts, starting with Lieutenant Roggo, who killed Colonel Alva Brenne under Momin's control. Upon the Fortress's completion, Momin opened a portal to regain his original body, but Vader killed him during the Battle of Fortress Vader.

The mask of Viceroy Exim Panshard, a Sith artifact of meteoritic metal, was strongly attuned to the dark side. Imprinted with the screams of a hundred victims of Viceroy Exim Panshard, a Sith Lord ruling a forgotten planet, Panshard's spirit survived through the mask. Yupe Tashu, the Emperor's adviser, gave the mask to Kiza, a member of the Sith cult known as the Acolytes of the Beyond. The mask allowed Kiza to hear Panshard's voice, leading the Pantoran acolyte to succumb to the dark side, enhancing her bloodlust and causing her to kill Remi, a fellow acolyte, during their attack on the New Republic's Devaron outpost.

Through the mask, Kiza communed with Panshard, who promised greater power if they found Exegol. Following Panshard's directions, Kiza established her domain on an asteroid near the Red Honeycomb Zone and built an army of battle droids from an old Separatist core ship. In 21 ABY, Luke Skywalker destroyed the mask during a fight with Kiza on Taw Provode's solitary moon, severing Panshard's connection to the physical world.

Transference

According to a "Sith legend", Darth Plagueis gained abilities like creating life by manipulating midi-chlorians. Darth Sidious, Plagueis's apprentice, confirmed his Sith Master's achievements, the first to discover the Force's ability to prevent death. Sidious attributed this power, known as transference, to Plagueis's knowledge of the dark side, yet Plagueis failed to survive his apprentice's betrayal.

After Plagueis's death, Sidious studied his methods and learned to transfer his essence to a new body, resurrecting himself in a clone. However, the process was flawed, and the Sith Eternal cultists's cloning methods failed to produce a viable specimen from his genetic template. The unstable clone, vulnerable to the dark side, prevented Sidious from leaving the Sith Citadel on Exegol due to its deformities.

Sidious stated that transference allowed a Force-user to send their consciousness "from one mortal vessel to another," but he risked dying again because his new vessel was compromised, making immortality elusive.

Witchcraft

The Nightsisters of Dathomir kept their dead close, suspended in pods near their village, believing that the dead could share the emotions of the living. With a magical chant, they could temporarily reanimate them as undead warriors. They resurrected their dead for the Battle of Dathomir, but General Grievous and the Separatist Droid Army destroyed them.

When Asajj Ventress's body was laid to rest in the village pools, a green mist rose as her sisters welcomed her home. After death, the Nightsisters' spirits remained tethered to the altar in the Nightsister lair. Years later, during the Empire's rise, Merrin, the sole survivor of Grievous's attack, used the undead Nightsisters to attack Jedi Cal Kestis, believing he orchestrated the attack due to lies from the former Jedi Master Taron Malicos.

Ezra Bridger and Maul awoke the Nightsisters' spirits. Two spirits possessed Sabine Wren and Kanan Jarrus, Bridger's friends, to return to the physical world and rebuild their clan as payment for their aid to Maul and Bridger. However, Bridger destroyed the altar, and the spirits dissipated.

Experimentation

Project Blackwing, conducted by Sith scientists for the Imperial Military Department of Advanced Weapons Research, aimed to achieve immortality through science and Sith alchemy. In reviving necrotic tissue, the scientists created a virus that could reanimate infected hosts, causing aggression and cannibalism. An outbreak at the Blackwing research facility on Dandoran infected stormtroopers, who died painfully and reanimated as "Undead Troopers."

Transcending death

Immortality

It was possible, through specialized training methods, for certain individuals to maintain their individual consciousness even after their physical death. Jedi who achieved this feat became one with the Force, achieving a form of immortality as Force spirits after their physical forms vanished upon death.

Qui-Gon Jinn holds the distinction of being the first Jedi to master the technique of preserving his consciousness beyond death. However, his training remained incomplete, hindering his ability to manifest visually to the living. Consequently, he could only communicate with Yoda as a disembodied voice. Over time, Jinn progressed to the point where he could appear as a spirit, revealing himself once his former Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had become "ready" to perceive him. Jinn then imparted his knowledge to both Yoda and Kenobi. Following his death in 0 BBY, Kenobi continued to guide Luke Skywalker throughout his Jedi training. Skywalker, along with his twin sister, Leia Skywalker Organa Solo, also became Force spirits after their own deaths.

Anakin Skywalker's transformation into a Force spirit was a direct consequence of his redemption. By giving up his life to save his son, Luke Skywalker, the spirits of Yoda and Kenobi were able to preserve Anakin's consciousness after he passed away. Ben Solo, Anakin's grandson and the last of the Skywalker lineage, experienced the disappearance of his physical body after his return to the light side and subsequent death on Exegol.

Resurrection

Certain Jedi also unlocked the secret to bringing beings back from the dead. During their mission on Mortis, Anakin Skywalker revived his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, by channeling the life force of the Daughter into her after she was mortally wounded by the Son. Similarly, after Rey gave her life to destroy Darth Sidious, Ben Solo healed her by transferring his own life energy through their bond as a Force dyad. This act resurrected Rey but cost Solo his life.

Scientific ways to sustain life

Life support systems could be used to keep a person on the verge of death alive. Darth Vader was compelled to rely on life support following his near immolation on the volcanic planet of Mustafar, where he suffered defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Beyond the loss of his limbs, Vader sustained severe burns and irreversible damage to his lungs. Darth Sidious' Imperial shock troopers employed a medical capsule to safely transport the Emperor's injured apprentice to the Grand Republic Medical Facility on Coruscant. There, medical droids performed surgery to reconstruct Vader as an armored cyborg.

Cybernetics not only replaced his missing organic limbs but also facilitated his breathing of oxygen through mechanical lungs. A specialized suit of armor was crafted for the Dark Lord by Doctor Cylo and other Imperial scientists. This suit incorporated a masked helmet that worked in conjunction with the rest of the armor to regulate Vader's artificial respiratory system. The armor's intimidating appearance concealed its true function, and few in the galaxy knew that Vader was unable to breathe without his mask.

The King of Mon Cala, Lee-Char, was placed on life support sometime after the Galactic Empire invaded and occupied the world of Mon Cala. During the [Galactic Civil War](/article/galactic_civil_war], the imprisoned king was discovered in an Imperial base on Strokill Prime by Princess Leia Organa of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Organa observed the king's condition, noting that he was only being kept alive by machines.