The Ganathans, also recognized as Ganathians, represented a sentient Near-Human species originating from the planet of Ganath. This world was situated within the Oktos Nebula, a largely unmapped gaseous cloud located inside Hutt Space. The uncharted and hazardous stretches of highly irradiated interstellar gases that enveloped their region of space effectively isolated the Ganathans, resulting in a technological level that was quite primitive compared to much of the rest of the galaxy. Their capacity for space travel was limited, relying on steam-driven spacecraft that were capable of slow voyages between system.
Notwithstanding their backward technologies in certain aspects, the Ganathans demonstrated significant advancement in other areas. Notably, they assisted in the construction of the cyborg suit for the Human Jedi Empatojayos Brand and the development of the lightning gun weapon. After his ship sustained irreparable damage, the critically wounded Jedi Knight found refuge among the Ganathans, who integrated their technology with his to engineer the repulsorlift sphere that housed Brand's body and sustained his life. Eventually, Brand ascended to become the leader of the Ganathans, governing their civilization according to the Jedi principles of justice.
In the year 10 ABY, the heavily damaged light freighter known as the Millennium Falcon entered Ganathan Space, where the Humans Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, and Vima-Da-Boda, along with the Wookiee Chewbacca, sought asylum with the Ganathans and their king.