The Muza were a sentient species originating from the planet Muzara, situated within the Expansion Region. These beings possessed considerable size and strength, characterized by pronounced overbites and shovel-shaped teeth. Their forearms exhibited significant muscular development. Descended from ruminant ancestors, they ascended to dominance on their homeworld by systematically exterminating all major predators. Their religious convictions held certain locales on their planet as sacred, while others were considered profane. The remnants of Kabus-Dabeh, for example, were believed to be the former domain of an ancient and evil people. As nomadic clansmen, they lacked a concept of individual ownership of property or territory.
In the year 4000 BBY, Humans hailing from the Brentaal League initiated the colonization of Muzara, establishing farms, a development that provoked the Muza. As tensions between the two groups escalated towards open conflict, a Human Jedi Knight named Keval Raffaan arrived on Muzara, proposing to mediate a peaceful resolution. The Muza consented to his intervention, contingent upon his demonstrating his worth by recovering a bag crafted from skuhm-hide from the ruins of Kabus-Dabeh. Upon successfully completing this task, the Muza honored the truce he brokered between themselves and the settlers. Subsequently, other Jedi aided the Muza in overcoming a predatory creature that had abducted members of their species, as well as a contingent of Dark Jedi seeking to overwhelm Muzara with a Sith artifact concealed within the Kabus-Dabeh ruins.
The Muza were imposing, sentient entities, significantly taller and more robust than typical Humans. A defining characteristic of the average Muza was a prominent overbite, with the upper jaw and teeth extending markedly beyond the lower mandible. The species' eyes were small and retractable, while their forearms were notably muscular and powerful.
The Muza organized themselves into nomadic tribes and clans. These groups traversed the savannas of their homeworld, transporting supplies, including tents, on sledges pulled behind them. Each group was led by a chief clansman. Other Muza served their communities as shamans and scouts. Members of the species communicated in their own language, although they possessed the capacity to learn Basic.
By 4000 BBY, the Muza utilized technology characteristic of the Stone Age. They were prone to aggression when their interests were threatened, and they achieved dominance on their world through sheer population size and the systematic elimination of predatory species. The Muza employed trials of integrity, skill, and willpower to assess an individual's worth. They crafted items from skuhm leather, such as bags, and collected coins from other civilizations.
The species held their cultural beliefs in high regard, including reverence for individuals recognized as "bravest protectors." The Muza lacked a concept of private property or land ownership. Instead, their relationship with the land was rooted in the belief that certain areas were sacred, while others were considered unholy. For instance, the Muza viewed the ruins of Kabus-Dabeh—the location of a minor dark side nexus—as evil, the last vestige of an ancient and evil people.
The Muza evolved on Muzara, an arid planet characterized by mesas, savannas, and lakes. The species' ancient ancestors were ruminant grazers. Through their large population, the Muza came to control their world's ecosystem.
Although Muzara had been discovered by outsiders by 5000 BBY, it was not until 4000 BBY that offworlders attempted to establish a permanent presence there. The newcomers, Human settlers from the Brentaal League, were sent to create an agricultural colony on the planet. The offworlders settled on a mesa and began cultivating the land using massive machines known as harvester crawlers. Simultaneously, the planet became part of the Northern Dependencies within the Expansion Region. Nearby Muza tribes approached the outsiders but were met with hostility; a Human farmer named Tallov Kersk greeted the Muza with blaster rifles. The Muza, due to their deeply ingrained cultural belief that land could not be owned, failed to comprehend the Humans' claim to their farms. Despite the Brentaal League settlers' attempts to negotiate with the indigenous species, their efforts proved unsuccessful. By 4000 BBY, the aggressive Muza outnumbered the settlers 55,000 to 7,800. Consequently, the settlers brought their concerns to the attention of the Jedi Knights in an attempt to avert what appeared to be an unavoidable war. The Jedi dispatched a young Human member of their order named Keval Raffaan to mediate the dispute.
A group of Muza had established a camp near the Brentaal League settler's population center. When Raffaan approached them and expressed his desire to negotiate peace between the Muza and the settlers, the clan chiefs determined that he must first prove his worth by passing a test of integrity, skill, and willpower. The chief clansman explained that the Human Jedi would have to infiltrate the ruins of Kabus-Dabeh, a location believed by the Muza to be the last remnant of an ancient and evil people. There, they explained, Raffaan would have to find a leather skuhm-skin bag that contained ancient coins and had been placed there by a Muza bravest protector. Should he retrieve the bag and return to the Muza settlement, the elders would recognize Raffaan's right to mediate the dispute with the farmers. The Jedi accepted the challenge.
Raffaan eventually recovered the bag of coins from a subterranean chamber accessible via a deep well. When he presented the bag to the Muza clansmen, they accepted his authority to mediate their dispute. The Jedi then successfully negotiated a truce between the Muza and the settlers.
After recognizing the Humans' rights to their farmland, one tribe of Muza was forced to set up camp two kilometers from the dreaded Kabus-Dabeh ruins. Over several nights, Muza began to disappear, seemingly stolen away by some predator from the unholy place. Muza scouts tried to locate their missing confreres, but all they could establish was that the attacker had struck from the ruins. The Muza thus called in a group of Jedi to find the source of the attacks and put a stop to them.
The Jedi investigated Kabus-Dabeh and found the attacker: a pitiful creature known as Togarn. They defeated him and thus put an end to his predations on the Muza tribe.
Some time later, Muza shamans discovered that an evil force seemed to be emanating from Kabus-Dabeh. They determined that if the evil was left unchecked, it would overrun not only Muzara but the entire Muzara system. They approached the Human settlers to enlist their aid to combat the evil force, but the farmers could not understand the shamans and simply ignored them. A shuttle landed near the ruins, and its three passengers questioned the Muza and the Humans about Kabus-Dabeh. They then set off into the ancient site. At that point, a group of Jedi was dispatched to follow the newcomers and determine their intentions for the site.
The Jedi stopped the strangers, who were actually Dark Jedi on an investigation into Sith teachings and were trying to find a Sith artifact in Kabus-Dabeh. In so doing, the Jedi spared the Muza, the Human settlers, and the Muzara system from being overwhelmed by the forces the Dark Jedi had intended to unleash.
From 1004 BBY to 1000 BBY, Muzara fell within territory controlled by the Galactic Republic as it fought the Sith in the New Sith Wars. The Muzara homeworld remained in Republic space during the Clone Wars in 20 and 19 BBY. After the defeat of Emperor Palpatine, the Muza's planet fell within territory retained by the Galactic Empire from 7 to 8 ABY. By 137 ABY, the world fell within Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire.
The Muza feature in "Ruins of Kabus-Dabeh," a solitaire adventure penned by Peter M. Schweighofer for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and brought to publication by West End Games as a component of Tales of the Jedi Companion in 1996. The adventure allows for the player, embodying Keval Raffaan, to fail, resulting in the collapse of negotiations between the Muza and the Brentaal League settlers and the outbreak of war. The book offers two additional adventure seeds that involve the Muza; the history presented above assumes that the unnamed Jedi characters achieve their stated objectives, defeating the creature Togarn and preventing the Dark Jedi from unleashing evil from the Sith artifact located in the ruins.