Gai bal manda

"I should have done this many years ago, adi'ke. Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad—Mereel, Jaing, Kom'rk, A'den, Prudii. There. It's formal, legal. You're my sons and heirs."

―Kal Skirata, adopting the six Null-class ARC troopers as his sons^[1]

The gai bal manda was the name of the traditional adoption ritual in Mandalorian culture.

When translated from the Mandalorian language of Mando'a to Galactic Basic Standard, the expression meant "name and soul."

Comprised of a simple statement of intent, a prospective Mandalorian parent needed only to recite the phrase ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad—"I know your name as my child"—followed by the name of the individual to be adopted.^[2]

The tradition could be conducted on a singular basis, or toward a group of several individuals, and even in some cases, posthumously.^[1]

Adoption via the gai bal manda and a dedication to the Resol'nare, the six basic tenets of Mandalorian culture, was often considered all it took to make one a Mandalorian.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

The custom of gai bal manda was first mentioned and described in the 2006 Star Wars Insider article, The Mandalorians: People and Culture, written by Karen Traviss.^[2] Later that year, the adoption custom made its first full appearance in a Star Wars work in Traviss' e-novella, Boba Fett: A Practical Man.^[3] The gai bal manda subsequently featured in Traviss' Republic and Imperial Commando series of novels,^[1] as well as her additions to the multi-author series, Star Wars: Legacy of the Force.^[4]