Sand People, also known as Tusken Raiders or simply Tuskens, constituted a nomadic sentient species native to the desert planet of Tatooine. They frequently exhibited hostility towards settlers in the area. Uli-ah was the term used for Tusken children. The designation Tusken Raiders arose considerably later, stemming from a series of coordinated assaults on the settlement of Fort Tusken approximately eighty years prior to 19 BBY.
One clan took bounty hunter Boba Fett captive, but after he demonstrated his value, they welcomed him into their community.
The species known as Tusken Raiders originated on the desert planet Tatooine. Due to the severe conditions of their home world, they became extremely protective of their territory and resources, and showed xenophobia by often attacking the outskirts of smaller settlements such as Anchorhead. They considered themselves the rightful owners of Tatooine, viewing all non-native species as intruders. The Sand People held water as sacred, believing it was promised to them, leading them to raid moisture farms established by colonists. Rare water sources, like Gafsa, were also considered sacred. Even approaching one of these wells could result in immediate violence. Furthermore, Tusken Raiders gathered black melons from the Jundland Wastes, which provided them with a reliable milk source. Worrts, a non-sentient species also native to Tatooine, were considered a delicacy.
Tusken society was nomadic, with clans consisting of 20 to 30 members, led by chiefs, warlords, and other leaders. They traveled in single file to conceal their numbers. Tribal cultures varied significantly; some survived by killing outsiders, while others used more peaceful methods. They communicated in Tusken, which encompassed both their spoken language and a sign language used for trade with outsiders. Upon reaching the age of 15, a Tusken became an adult, and boys were required to slay a krayt dragon and extract the valuable pearl from its stomach to earn their adult status within the tribe. Their encampments were scattered across The Needles in the rocky Jundland Wastes, guarded by fierce massiffs to deter intruders.
Male Tusken Raiders served as warriors, frequently attacking vulnerable travelers who strayed into their territory. They fought with gaderffii sticks and used cycler rifles to target vehicles. Each warrior crafted their own unique gaderffii stick. Their clothing consisted of rough wrappings and garments designed for protection and mobility. While males served as warriors, females fulfilled various roles. In some tribes, females were distinguished by their ornate, jeweled masks with eye-slits and sand-shrouds covering their torsos. Tusken children, known as Uli-ah, wore unisex cowls and simple cloaks, and were not permitted to dress like adults until they came of age. All Sand People wore mouth grilles and eye coverings to retain moisture and keep out sand. Protecting their bodies from Tatooine's harsh climate evolved into a taboo against exposing any part of their bodies in public. Consequently, Tuskens almost never removed their masks, even among themselves. They were only permitted to remove their clothing in front of others during childbirth, on their wedding night, and at coming-of-age ceremonies. Furthermore, no outsider is known to have ever seen behind a Tusken's mask and survived.
The Sand People and banthas had a close, almost spiritual connection. During warrior initiation, a young Tusken received a bantha of the same gender and learned to care for it, developing a strong bond as the youth earned their place in the clan. A rider and their bantha shared a deep affinity, trust, and respect. When Sand People married, their banthas also mated, and if a rider died, their bantha typically died soon after. If a bantha died before its rider, its remains were placed in a large graveyard, treated with great respect by both Tuskens and other banthas.
Although generally hostile to outsiders, one tribe entered into an agreement with Cobb Vanth, the Sheriff of Freetown. Vanth and Malakili secured their protection by providing water and a pearl from a krayt dragon. These Tuskens also shared Vanth's animosity towards criminal elements, especially slavers. Another tribe welcomed bounty hunter Boba Fett after he proved himself. Many Tuskens were known to negotiate with outsiders, with bounty hunter Din Djarin knowing he could secure safe passage through their territory in exchange for tribute. Djarin also noted that Tuskens were known to always honor their agreements.
The Tusken tribe that accepted Boba Fett had a gekko capable of entering a host's body and inducing hallucinations. The tribe used the lizard to guide individuals on spiritual quests. During one such vision, Fett discovered a wortwood tree in the desert, from which he broke off a branch to create his own gaderffii stick. The tribe also had a tradition of dancing around a campfire. Upon the death of a member, their body and weapons were burned on a funeral pyre.
The Tuskens held superstitions about various landmarks on Tatooine. For instance, they avoided Mushroom Mesa at all costs and always fired their blasters before crossing the B'Thazoshe Bridge.
Following the unexplained desiccation of Tatooine's oceans, the Sand People dispersed into numerous tribes and largely remained hidden from outsiders and colonists. While some tribes remained committed to isolation, others became aggressive, focusing on eliminating any outsiders they encountered.
About eighty decades before the proclamation of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY, Fort Tusken was established on the edge of the Jundland Wastes. It was almost immediately subjected to attacks by local Sand People. The settlers suffered significant losses of life and property, eventually leading them to abandon the fort. From that point forward, the settlers of Tatooine referred to the Sand People as "Tusken Raiders." During the thirty-two year reign of the bandit Alkhara, he hired a group of Tuskens to eliminate a local garrison of police. However, Alkhara later betrayed and executed his Tusken allies. Alkhara's actions, along with other negative encounters, fostered a poor relationship between the Tuskens and Tatooine settlers, resulting in a negative perception of the "Sand People."
In 32 BBY, during the [Boonta Eve Classic](/article/boonta_eve_classic], several Sand People camped at Canyon Dune Turn. During the first lap, they fired slugthrowers at passing podracers. Although initially unsuccessful, a Tusken managed to shoot down Teemto Pagalies's podracer on the second lap, causing it to crash.
In 22 BBY, a month prior to the First Battle of Geonosis, Sand People attacked the Lars moisture farm and abducted Shmi Skywalker Lars, imprisoning and torturing her. Her son, the Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker, returned to Tatooine to rescue her, but she died from her injuries after he found her in a Tusken camp. The vengeful Anakin then slaughtered every Tusken nearby. Following the massacre, the Tuskens began to fear Skywalker as a vengeful desert demon and performed ritual sacrifices to ward him off. They also learned of the connection between the massacre and the Lars family, leading to a lasting grudge.
In 2 BBY, while searching for Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine, Padawan Ezra Bridger and C1-10P were ambushed by Tusken Raiders, who destroyed their ship before being killed by Maul, the former Sith apprentice.
Two years later, a young female Tusken Raider named Reirin dreamed of proving herself to her people. She chafed at her clan's restrictions on women fighting, even though she was one of the best fighters in her clan. Eventually, Reirin left, having been hired by a trader in Mos Eisley to recover an item from a tribe of Jawas, in exchange for passage off Tatooine. She used the distraction of R5-D4's malfunction, after being purchased by Owen Lars and Luke Skywalker, to sneak aboard the sandcrawler.
Anakin's son Luke was attacked by a young Tusken named A'Koba after venturing from his homestead to retrieve R2-D2. A'Koba, along with A'Vor and his twin from A'Yark's tribe, began raiding Skywalker's X-34 landspeeder, but Obi-Wan Kenobi, cloaked in his Jedi robes, scared off the Tuskens by imitating a krayt dragon's cry. A'Yark had warned the three young Tuskens about Kenobi, believing him to be a powerful shaman whom the air itself obeyed. Upon seeing the cloaked figure, the three recognized him as the so-called shaman and fled. After greeting R2 and Skywalker and recovering C-3PO, Kenobi brought them to his home, knowing the Tuskens would return in greater numbers. Indeed, when A'Koba reunited with A'Yark, he wanted to go back with reinforcements. After advising caution, A'Yark let the three gather more Tuskens to return to the gorge, seeing it as part of a leadership rite.
Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Anakin, now the Sith Lord Darth Vader, massacred a village of Tuskens before meeting with bounty hunters Boba Fett and Krrsantan. Following the attack, a survivor showed the ruins of his village and the corpses of his people to other Tuskens. These Tuskens then built a shrine to Vader and sacrificed the survivor.
Sometime after, a Tusken known as the "Jundland General" led his people in a series of coordinated strikes against the colonists of Tatooine. However, he and his followers were defeated by a group of mercenaries led by Saponza and his partner.
The Rebel Alliance agent Gita went undercover as a Tusken Raider sniper named Urrr'k. While undercover, Gita was recruited by the Hidden Hand's leader, Gwi, to be part of a team led by the cyborg bounty hunter Beilert Valance on a hunt for the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Although Valance suspected she was an imposter because Tusken Raiders don't leave Tatooine.
After Commander Skywalker's rescue of Captain Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, a tribe of Tusken Raiders captured bounty hunter Boba Fett. They also captured a Rodian. When Fett tried to escape, he was defeated by one of the raiders, though he began to earn their respect after defeating a sand beast. A warrior taught Fett how to use a Gaderffii stick, and Fett taught members of the tribe how to use speeder bikes. Eventually, after leading the tribe to a victory against a Pyke Syndicate repulsortrain that had attacked the tribe on multiple occasions, Fett was inducted into the tribe. The Tuskens used a gekko that crawled inside Fett's body, giving him a vision and making him walk in the desert, until he came across a Wortwood tree, from which he broke a branch to forge his own gaderffii stick in a Gaderffii stick workshop. However, the tribe was massacred some time later by the Pyke Syndicate, who painted the symbol of a speeder bike gang known as the Kintan Striders to place the blame on them.
Prior to the Battle of Jakku, the Sheriff of Freetown, Cobb Vanth, made an agreement with local Tusken Raiders to protect his settlement from criminals. Like Vanth's community, the Tuskens despised criminals, particularly slavers. When the Red Key Raiders under crime lord Lorgan Movellan captured Freetown, the Tusken tribe ambushed the criminals and liberated the town.
In 9 ABY, the Mandalorian Din Djarin reluctantly partnered with rookie bounty hunter, Toro Calican. The two set out on speeder bikes across the Dune Sea to capture the Master Assassin Fennec Shand. On their way to the target, they encountered some Tusken Raiders. The Mandalorian negotiated through Tusken Sign Language to allow them safe passage through their land. The Tuskens allowed this, in exchange for the rookie bounty hunter's binoculars, which Djarin willingly gave to them despite Calican's objection.
Sometime after, a group of Tuskens allied themselves with Djarin and Cobb Vanth to team up and take down a massive krayt dragon living nearby. Having studied the dragon's digestive cycle for generations, the Tusken Raiders attempted make the dragon sleep longer by feeding a bantha to it, but the animal devoured a Tusken instead. Being out of ideas how to handle the dragon, the group joined forces with the people of Freetown, now once again known as Mos Pelgo. In exchange for their collaboration, the Tuskens promised to not attack Mos Pelgo again unless one of the villagers broke the peace. The Tuskens were also promised the corpse and ichor from the dragon. To take down the beast, Vanth and his men contributed explosives and worked alongside the Tuskens, who set up ballistas. Despite several Tuskens being eaten by the dragon, the group succeeded in killing the beast when Djarin sprung their explosives. The Tuskens then butchered the carcass, with one member finding a pearl inside, which greatly excited the tribe.
In 34 ABY, during his self-imposed exile on Ahch-To, the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker had a dream where he ignored Princess Leia Organa's message and never joined the rebellion. In his dream, two decades had passed since any Tusken Raider had been seen on his side of Anchorhead and that nothing was left of them except for bones. Luke noted that for some reason, it made him feel sad.
The Tuskens first appeared in the second draft of Star Wars: A New Hope as Imperial spies deployed as a platoon on Tatooine to find the cause of Deak Starkiller's presence. They were depicted as humanoid, with red eyes, and used distinctive landspeeders. They were changed to a native species of Tatooine in the third draft.
For the Star Wars Rebels episode "Twin Suns," the Tusken Raiders were designed without flowing robes to conserve animation rendering time and resources.
The Tusken Raiders' barking vocalizations were inspired by the sounds of donkeys and mules used to transport filming equipment to remote Tunisian locations. These sounds, echoing off canyon walls, were sometimes frightening and disruptive to filming. Sound designer Ben Burtt used these recordings, along with other animal breathing and wheezing sounds, to create the Tusken voices.