Jawas, standing approximately one meter tall, were a sentient species of furry humanoids. These beings were native to the desert world of Tatooine, located in the Outer Rim. Those Jawas who ventured beyond Tatooine's borders were known as Offworld Jawas.
The true appearance of Jawas beneath their concealing robes sparked considerable speculation among the colonists who settled Tatooine. Rumors circulated, suggesting they might be giant rodents or even devolved humans. While most Jawas were diminutive, standing at around one meter in height, some individuals were noticeably taller. One such unusually lanky Jawa was nearly as tall as a 3PO-series protocol droid, a protocol droid model that measured 1.71 meters.
Jawas were provided with moisture-regulated and insulated robes at the onset of their walking ability, garments that they would wear throughout their entire lives. Initially, these robes were hemmed to the armpit level. As the Jawas grew, the hem was lowered to accommodate their increasing height. A Jawa's height was typically measured by the number of hems their robes had undergone. An adult Jawa of average stature usually had robes with five or six hems.
The gangster Adwin Charu described Jawas as possessing a strong, animalistic scent, comparing it to a "fraternity of wet rats."
Peli Motto noted that Jawas were considerably furry creatures.
Jawas were avid scavengers, scouring the deserts of Tatooine for droids and scraps. They would capture these items and sell them to the local inhabitants, creating an interdependent trading system. However, they were known for their deceptive practices, often selling quickly repaired equipment and defective droids. Consequently, moisture farmers were cautious of their wares, yet they frequently made purchases due to the limited options available in their isolated locations.
Jawas were often present at podracing events, eager to collect the wreckage from crashed Podracers. They typically arrived first at the scene of a downed starship, as Anakin Skywalker discovered when he crash-landed the Twilight.
Jawas commonly spoke both their native tongue, Jawaese, which incorporated scent along with spoken language, making it incomprehensible to outsiders, and the simpler Jawa Trade Talk, which facilitated communication with other species. However, the Ugnaught Kuiil demonstrated the ability to understand and negotiate in their language.
The Jawas traversed the desert and transported their droids using sandcrawler transports. These vehicles, abandoned in the desert by defunct mining companies after failed projects, served as mobile bases for the Jawas. To stun droids, Jawas utilized ion blasters.
The Jawas maintained a fragile, peaceful relationship with the Tusken Raiders, also known as "Sand People," another aggressive species indigenous to Tatooine. However, the Jawas generally preferred to avoid the Sand People due to their unpredictable nature. They also feared the Krayt dragon, and the threat of being caught in a sandstorm was equally perilous.
Jawas on Arvala-7 displayed a fondness for mudhorn eggs, even trading a substantial collection of parts for a single egg.
In 232 BBY, during the peak of the High Republic Era, a Jawa group on Tatooine mistakenly kidnapped the RJ unit RJ-83 from young pilot Nash Durango and Jedi Initiate Kai Brightstar, believing they had agreed to a trade. The pair caught up to the Jawas, leading to some complications until they discovered their shared acquaintance with Mycho Zala, a prospector operating on Tatooine. Zala intervened and clarified the misunderstanding, returning the droid to Durango and Brightstar.
One band of Jawas played a crucial role in finding and reuniting C-3PO and R2-D2 after their escape pod crash-landed on Tatooine. Subsequently, the band sold the droids to Luke Skywalker's uncle, Owen Lars. Later, the entire clan was interrogated and then slaughtered by stormtroopers searching for the droids. The stormtroopers attempted to disguise the massacre as the work of Tusken Raiders, but Obi-Wan Kenobi recognized the deception when he and Luke Skywalker discovered the bodies. Kenobi then cremated the remains as a sign of respect.
After the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon, a Jawa group with yellow eyes encountered Boba Fett lying weakened in the desert after escaping the sarlacc. The Jawas relieved him of his suit of corroded Mandalorian armor. Fett regained consciousness, but a Jawa incapacitated him with a blaster. The Jawas then took his armor back to their sandcrawler. Later, following the destruction of the second Death Star, a group of Jawas with red eyes possessed the armor. They came across Cobb Vanth, who had recently fled the town of Mos Pelgo. After giving Vanth water, the Jawas quickly spotted his only possession: a camtono containing silicax oxalate crystals. Desperate for the crystals, the Jawas offered Vanth weapons, an astromech droid, and other items before Vanth indicated the Mandalorian armor. At that moment, the gangster Adwin Charu arrived at the Jawas' sandcrawler to trade for weapons. Upon seeing the armor, he became determined to acquire it. Vanth refused to let Charu take it, fatally shooting him before claiming the armor and returning to town.
A well-known galactic beverage called Jawa Juice was available and served in places like Dex's Diner on [Coruscant](/article/coruscant], although it was neither made from nor by Jawas.
Jawas were present on various planets throughout the galaxy, referred to as Offworld Jawas. Travel to and from Tatooine resulted in some migrating from their homeworld and settling on other planets. They continued their scavenging habits, seeking out technology wherever possible. Some were found on Nevarro, the planet where the Tribe sought refuge, and at least one clan with a sandcrawler resided on Arvala-7. Din Djarin, the Mandalorian bounty hunter, encountered this clan while on a job on Arvala-7. Upon returning to his ship, the Razor Crest, he discovered that the Jawas had largely dismantled it. In an effort to recover his parts, Djarin pursued the Jawa sandcrawler, killing several Jawas before being stunned by their ion blasters. Eventually, with the assistance of his friend, the Ugnaught Kuiil, Djarin negotiated a deal with the Jawas: he would obtain a mudhorn egg in exchange for his parts. After successfully acquiring the egg, the Jawas returned his parts.
The first appearance of Jawas was in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the initial movie in the Star Wars original trilogy.
George Lucas initially conceived a Jawa prototype resembling a rat, but this idea was abandoned as he deemed it too theatrical. In A New Hope, the Jawas were portrayed by twelve local children, including Gary Kurtz's daughter, Tiffany L. Kurtz, who played the Jawa Dathcha. They wore black stocking masks with wired-on eye bulbs to conceal their faces.
No official source has revealed the appearance of a Jawa beneath their robes. Behind-the-scenes footage from Return of the Jedi shows the Jawas with squarish heads covered in black cloth and large, seemingly mechanical, yellow eyes. However, this is a costume and may not accurately depict their canonical appearance. The original Star Wars novelization suggests a possible familial connection between Jawas and Tusken Raiders. It also describes Jawas as rodent-like and compares them to de-evolved Humans, although these descriptions could be figurative.
According to Stephen J. Sansweet's book Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible, the Jawas were central to an unusual copyright infringement case involving Star Wars. In 1978, small, hooded creatures with glowing eyes, dubbed "Roadeyes" by Neil Young, began appearing with the rocker on stage during a concert tour, in a tour film, and on the cover of the album Rust Never Sleeps. The case was resolved out of court.