Dewlannamapia

Commonly known as "Dewlanna," Dewlannamapia was a female Wookiee who was born circa 610 BBY. She was the life partner of Isshaddik and the mother to several cubs, including Utchakkaloch. Around 20 BBY, Isshaddik was forced into exile from their family's homeworld, Kashyyyk, due to a transgression he had committed. Dewlannamapia chose to follow her partner into exile, leaving behind her home and adult children. The couple then became part of the diverse criminal crew aboard the starship Trader's Luck (Trader's Luck), which was under the command of a Human named Garris Shrike. However, just a year later, Isshaddik met his death during a smuggling mission to the planet of Nar Hekka within Hutt Space. Shrike, who appreciated Dewlannamapia's culinary skills, offered her the opportunity to remain on the Trader's Luck. Despite having the option to return to Kashyyyk, Dewlannamapia accepted the offer and became the ship's cook. Aboard the vessel, Dewlannamapia resided in private quarters located near the galley. She befriended a nine-year-old Corellian boy named Han, who was one of the many children employed by Shrike as pickpockets and thieves.

Dewlannamapia instructed Han in the Wookiee language known as Shyriiwook, teaching him to both speak and comprehend it. However, Han found it challenging to replicate the growls inherent in Shyriiwook, so he preferred to communicate in Galactic Basic Standard. Because Dewlannamapia was fluent in both Basic and her native language, she and Han could communicate easily. Shrike didn't provide the children with much education beyond what was necessary for their criminal activities, such as basic math and reading. However, Han's rebellious nature led him to seek out further learning in secret. When Dewlannamapia discovered this, she encouraged Han to continue his studies. The young Corellian tended to focus on subjects he enjoyed and found practical, like mathematics, while largely ignoring those he disliked, particularly history. Dewlannamapia made a point of monitoring Han's curriculum, ensuring that he studied subjects he would have otherwise avoided. Eventually, Han began to appreciate history, especially after realizing that some historical battles were as captivating as those he had read about in adventure books. Dewlannamapia also taught Han how to cook, and he became a reasonably skilled chef himself. She kept in touch with her son, Utchakkaloch, sharing stories about young Han, who loved her wastril bread and dreamed of becoming a pilot.

One day, Han was brought onto the Trader's Luck unconscious, suffering from a high fever after completing a mission for Shrike on Corellia, during which he had stolen valuable jewelry. Dewlannamapia cared for the boy, and, fearing for his life, insisted that Shrike take him to a medical droid on Corellia. Shrike was reluctant to spend money on Han's treatment, believing that the boy would recover on his own. Dewlannamapia decided to take matters into her own hands, commandeering a shuttle and transporting Han to a medical droid. After examining Han, the droid diagnosed him with a severe case of Corellian Tanamen Fever and stated that he would have died if Dewlannamapia hadn't brought him to Corellia. The droid prescribed bacta immersion therapy, which Dewlannamapia paid for using her own savings. After Han spent some time in a bacta tank and recovered, the two returned to the Trader's Luck. Shrike was furious with Dewlannamapia for disobeying him, but she stood her ground and insisted that she had done the right thing. Shrike eventually calmed down when he realized that one of the stolen pieces of jewelry contained a genuine Krayt dragon pearl worth a considerable fortune. However, Shrike never reimbursed Dewlannamapia for Han's medical expenses.

Han had always been troubled by the fact that he didn't know his last name. He had been orphaned at a young age and brought to the Trader's Luck by Shrike, who had never mentioned Han's parents. When Han shared his concerns with Dewlannamapia, she decided to help him once again. To spend more time with Shrike, she learned how to play sabacc and frequently participated in games against him. When Han was eleven, the elderly Wookiee's strategy finally paid off. One night, while playing sabacc with Shrike, the man became very drunk and began boasting about the dragon pearl that Han had acquired for him and that Shrike had sold for a large sum. In a slip of the tongue, Shrike revealed that the boy's last name was "Solo." When Dewlannamapia tried to learn more about Han's parents or other relatives, Shrike grew suspicious and refused to divulge any further information. The Wookiee then went to Han's small cubicle and shared her discovery with him. Han was overjoyed and proudly embraced the name "Han Solo" from that moment forward.

The next time the Trader's Luck docked at Corellia, Solo visited the local public archives to investigate his last name. He discovered that the Solo lineage was both renowned and notorious; a man named Berethron e Solo had been the last King of Corellia and had introduced democracy to his planet three centuries ago, while more recently, a Dalla Solo had gained notoriety as a ruthless pirate, murderer, and kidnapper known as "Dalla the Black." Solo also found evidence of living members of the Solo family, including a reclusive widow named Tiion Sal-Solo and her only son, Thrackan Sal-Solo. Wondering if he was related to them, Solo consulted Dewlannamapia, who encouraged him to seek out Tiion and Thrackan, hoping that they would adopt him and protect him from Shrike. Solo eventually escaped from the Trader's Luck and tracked down the Sal-Solos on Corellia. He lived in their mansion for six weeks and learned that Tiion was, in fact, his aunt, making Thrackan his cousin. However, Thrackan proved to be a violent and sadistic bully who betrayed Solo to Shrike. Shrike brought the boy back to the Trader's Luck and brutally beat him for daring to escape.

Solo attempted to escape from Shrike several more times, but each attempt resulted in severe beatings. After one particular incident in 12 BBY—when Solo, feeling emboldened after winning the gladiatorial Jubilar-Free-For-All, tried to confront Shrike—he was left with badly split lips, and Dewlannamapia had to feed him soft food for a week while they healed. In 10 BBY, the nineteen-year-old Solo decided to attempt another escape. After acquiring a blaster, Solo went to the Trader's Luck's galley to say goodbye to Dewlannamapia. He told her that he planned to stow away on the Ylesian Dream, an automated droid freighter docked to the Trader's Luck and scheduled to depart soon. He would then travel to Ylesia, a religious colony near Hutt Space that offered sanctuary to pilgrims from the outside universe. The Ylesian priests were also seeking a pilot, and Solo hoped to secure the position, having already spent all his money sending them a message informing them that he was coming for a job interview. Solo also told the Wookiee that he would send for her once he had settled on Ylesia.

Upon learning that Solo was out of funds, Dewlannamapia offered him all of her savings. Solo initially protested but eventually accepted the money, promising to repay the debt. At that moment, Shrike entered the galley, accompanied by two other crew members: his brother, Larrad, and the Elomin Brafid. Shrike accused Solo of betrayal and threatened him with another beating and Devaronian blood-poisoning. In an attempt to protect Solo, Dewlannamapia stepped between him and Shrike, despite Solo's efforts to dissuade her. A fight broke out, during which Solo shot Brafid, and Dewlannamapia incapacitated Larrad by breaking his arm. Shrike then aimed his blaster at Solo, ordering Dewlannamapia to stop fighting or he would kill him. The Wookiee complied, and Solo dropped his weapon and surrendered.

However, Shrike declared that he was sentencing Solo to death and prepared to execute him. At the last moment, Dewlannamapia pushed Solo aside and lunged at Shrike, taking the blaster bolt directly in her chest. Enraged, Solo tackled Shrike, causing him to fall and hit his head on the deck, knocking him unconscious. Solo rushed to Dewlannamapia's side, but she told him to escape from the ship as quickly as possible. Solo wanted to stay with her to comfort her until she died, but Dewlannamapia insisted that his refusal to leave would render her sacrifice meaningless. She wished Solo a good and happy life, assuring him that she would be fine after death, as she would become one with the Force. Leaving the Wookiee on the galley floor, Solo hurried to the docking bay, where he boarded the Ylesian Dream. Dewlannamapia died, but her sacrifice enabled Solo to escape from the Trader's Luck.

Having come to see Dewlannamapia as the mother he never had, Solo mourned the Wookiee deeply. The memories of her death caused him emotional pain for a long time afterward. He often imagined Dewlannamapia alive, and those images were so vivid that he could almost hear her voice. Solo vowed to repay Dewlannamapia by helping her people whenever possible. After a series of adventures, Solo traveled to Coruscant, the galactic capital, to apply to the Academy of Carida in hopes of becoming a pilot in the Imperial Navy. Shrike, who had survived the brawl on the Trader's Luck, tracked him there but was killed by a bounty hunter, whom Solo then killed. Utchakkaloch also learned of his mother's death, although he didn't know the exact circumstances surrounding it.

After successfully graduating from the Academy, Solo was granted the rank of lieutenant. However, his service with the Galactic Empire was relatively brief. Around 5 BBY, Solo rescued a Wookiee slave named Chewbacca—a distant relative of Dewlannamapia—from being killed by Commander Nyklas on Coruscant. Solo helped the Wookiee escape slavery, was discharged from the Navy, and became a smuggler. Chewbacca swore a life debt to Solo and refused to leave his side, much to the Corellian's dismay, as he wanted to be alone and felt that he had saved the Wookiee only to repay Dewlannamapia. He soon changed his mind and came to consider Chewbacca his best friend. In 2 BBY, Solo attended the wedding of Chewbacca and his mate, Mallatobuck, on Kashyyyk. There, he met Utchakkaloch, who wanted to know how his mother had died. Solo told him that his mother had died a hero while protecting him from Shrike and that she had been avenged when Shrike was killed. Utchakkaloch was pleased to hear this and accepted Solo as his "adoptive brother," since they had been raised by the same "mother."

As of 25 ABY, Solo still believed that Dewlannamapia's loving upbringing, along with the deeds and sacrifices made by his Wookiee friends over the years, made him indebted to the Wookiees rather than the other way around. He expressed this belief when he tried to discourage Chewbacca's son, Lumpawaroo, and nephew, Lowbacca, from assuming Chewbacca's life debt after his death. In his interviews with the New Republic's—and later, the Galactic Alliance's—Historical Council, Solo remembered Dewlannamapia as the only positive influence in his early life.

At nearly six centuries old at the time of her death, Dewlannamapia was considered elderly even by Wookiee standards. She possessed blue eyes. Her fur was originally [tan](/article/color-legends], but it began to turn gray with age. She was devoted to her partner, Isshaddik, willingly following him into exile—despite not being obligated to do so—and never discussing his crime. After joining the crew of the Trader's Luck, Dewlannamapia formed a strong bond with the young Han Solo. She became the closest thing the Corellian had to a mother or, given her age, a grandmother. She often tousled his hair, giving him an attractively "scruffy" look with his hair standing up like a Wookiee's, despite Solo's protests. Dewlannamapia was deeply concerned for Solo's health and well-being, ensuring that he received the best possible education and paying for his treatment when he contracted Corellian Tanamen Fever.

Dewlannamapia went to great lengths to assist the young Corellian. She learned to play sabacc solely to spend more time with Garris Shrike and discover Han's last name, and she gave the boy all of her savings when he came to say goodbye. Shortly after this, she willingly took a blaster shot meant for Solo so that he could live and be happy. Overall, Solo considered her a hero who had sacrificed her life to save his. In his adult life, he remembered Dewlannamapia's love and wisdom, recalling old Wookiee proverbs she used to share with him, such as, "Joy unmixed with sorrow is suspect" and "To have a good memory is to be both blessed and cursed…" Unlike most of the Trader's Luck's occupants, Dewlannamapia wasn't afraid of Shrike, openly arguing with him, defying his orders, and violating his rules on several occasions. Dewlannamapia was generally calm and lovable, but she entered a battle rage when trying to protect Solo during his successful escape attempt. She fought fiercely, grabbing Larrad Shrike by the wrist, spinning and snapping him like a whip, and ultimately breaking his arm.

Dewlannamapia believed in the Force, which Solo mistranslated as "life-power" due to the complexities of Shyriiwook. She was steadfast in her belief and was certain that she would become a spirit in the afterlife, safe within the Force. Although Dewlannamapia couldn't speak Basic, she understood it easily. She was also a skilled pilot, competently handling the controls of the shuttle she used to transport Solo to a medical droid on Corellia. Dewlannamapia was an excellent cook, and she was given a place aboard the Trader's Luck primarily because Shrike enjoyed her cooking, though not to the point where he considered her indispensable. Dewlannamapia often baked Solo's favorite bread, wastril, and prepared nerf sausages. When translated from Shyriiwook to Basic, Dewlannamapia's name had several components. "Dew" meant "fierce, stern, stout"; "lanna" meant "cry, growl" or "roar"; and "mapia" stood for "rain, season," or "storm."

Dewlannamapia's first appearance was in the 1997 novel The Paradise Snare, the initial book in The Han Solo Trilogy by Ann Crispin. Although the Wookiee died in the same story, she was mentioned in the second and third books of the trilogy, The Hutt Gambit and Rebel Dawn, as well as in various other novels and reference books. Nevertheless, The Paradise Snare remains her only appearance. Although Dewlannamapia debuted in The Paradise Snare, the character's origins can be traced back to George Lucas's 1974 rough draft of what would eventually become Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. According to the version of the rough draft available on the website of the Jedi Bendu, a group of fans who collect copies of early Star Wars movie scripts, "Dewanna" was a large male "Wookee" who lived on the Wookee planet of Yavin. He and other Wookees were captured by Yourellian trappers but were rescued by R2-D2 and Annikin Starkiller, who had arrived on Yavin while escaping from the Sith. During the fight, Starkiller was knocked unconscious, and Dewanna carried him to the Wookee camp to meet the father of Chewbacca, Auzituck, the chief of the Kaapauku tribe.

A Dewlannamapia appears in James Luceno's 2003 novel The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force, the final book in The New Jedi Order series, attending the dedication of a memorial portrait to the late Chewbacca on Kashyyyk. However, as the novel is set thirty-nine years after Dewlannamapia's death, the Wookiee in The Unifying Force must be a different individual.