A spirit ichor-channeling shaman from the Nightsisters.
Within the culture of the Dathomiri witches, an elder Nightsister, known as the Nightsister shaman, was believed to possess access to, and power within, the spirits' world. Their worship centered around the balance of nature, and they offered a unique religious and cultural interpretation of the dark side of the Force.
The shamanistic beliefs that existed on Dathomir came before the arrival of Allya, the exiled Jedi, which occurred around 600 BBY. In fact, both male and female shamans and seers originating from this little-known planet are known to have been among the original founders of the Je'daii Order around 36,453 BBY. A green inverted triangle marked on their foreheads identified these shamans. Even in those early days, the Dathomiri seers possessed skills in animal friendship, having successfully tamed mount rancors thousands of years before Allya's arrival. Their traditions endured and likely intertwined with Allya's Jedi teachings, ultimately shaping the distinctive culture of the Dathomiri Witches. Following Allya's arrival, Dathomir's culture evolved into a female-dominated society of Force-wielding women, explaining the disappearance of male shamans.
Following the death of Queen Zalem, who had appointed herself to the position, in 31 BBY, Mother [Talzin](/article/talzin-legends], a shaman of great power, ascended to leadership and brought unity to the warring Nightsister covens. She held her position as Dathomir's primary shaman until the era of the Clone Wars.
Typically, shamans were "called" or chosen through omens in their early years. Talzin recounted how she assumed the role after the spirits rescued her during childbirth. As she was giving birth to her first daughter, she was stricken with a deadly illness, and Talzin said she "saw the matching landscapes of the two realms." Having overcome their test, the spirits healed her, and Talzin willingly became their conduit. From that moment onward, the spirits would "pull upon the folds of her robe" as she moved and "echo beneath her voice" when she spoke—which is the reason for her strange voice and serpentine movements.
Serving as a medium, the shaman bridged the gap between the tangible and spiritual realms, often through dreams or visions. The shaman's words carried the echoes of the spirits, and to challenge their authority was to challenge the spirits of life themselves. They also used their magick to attempt to discern the future, employing mysterious objects such as crystal balls.
Furthermore, the shaman possessed expertise in manipulating spirit ichor, a luminous green smoke originating from the Winged Goddess, which was employed for healing or even for conjuring tangible objects.
Beyond her ability to commune with the spirit world, the Nightsister shaman also functioned as the craftswoman and guardian of artifacts. It seems that all Nightsister talismans and other Force-imbued objects were communal property, entrusted to the shaman's care. The witches were required to borrow these artifacts and return them afterward. When Charal betrayed her sisters and fled Dathomir, she secretly absconded with the Talisman of the Raven. Years later, in her work Wild Power, clan shaman Talzin lamented that "one of the sisters" had failed to return the talisman. Some of the most valuable artifacts, such as the Talisman of Resurrection, were zealously guarded by the shamans, and other sisters were seldom permitted to borrow them.
In an interview conducted by the well-known fan website TheForce.net, Daniel Wallace, the author of Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side, drew a comparison between Nightsister shamans like Mother Talzin and Wiccan witches.