Kalit

Kalit was a Jawa native to the planet Tatooine who became a chief and king, leading a clan with his mate Aved Luun, who served as the clan's shaman. By 4 ABY, Kalit had gotten into a rivalry with the clan led by Jawas Wittin and Herat, who organized raids and stole salvaged goods from other Jawas while accusing Kalit's clan of the acts. Going along with Wittin and Herat to the palace of Tatooine's crime lord Jabba the Hutt, Kalit was hoping for Jabba to mediate the clans' rivalry, not knowing that Wittin and Herat were in fact plotting with the Hutt to conquer Kalit's territories.

Kalit, Wittin, and Herat were present in the Hutt's palace when several allies of Jabba's prisoner Han Solo arrived in an attempt to free Solo from captivity. Those events led to the deaths of Jabba and Wittin, with the latter's death being to Kalit's good fortune.

Biography[]

Jawa chieftain and rivalry with Wittin's clan[]

Kalit SWI 60 — Kalit was a Jawa chieftain on Tatooine.

The Jawa Kalit^[2] hailed from Tatooine, the homeworld of his species.^[1] He became a Jawa chief^[6] and king,^[3] leading a clan^[5] and owning a sandcrawler that provided enclosed shelter from the harsh Tatooine climate, Tusken Raiders, and krayt dragons. He also offered sanctuary to travelers, including members of enemy Jawa tribes.^[7]

Kalit's clan was also led by Aved Luun, who was both his mate and a shaman.^[5] The clan also included Thedit, who organized perimeter patrols for Kalit's territory,^[8] and Kalit's friend Iasa,^[3] whose influence with Kalit allowed the former's Jawa ionization blaster to be equipped with improved ion regulators and a spare power pack.^[9] At some point prior to 0 BBY's Battle of Yavin,^[10] Kalit went on a trip and trusted Iasa with his credits, mate, and sandcrawler. Kalit returned to find his credits spent, and between the mate and sandcrawler, one was sold and one was missing. Iasa was subsequently banished from the tribe.^[3]

By 4 ABY,^[11] Kalit's clan had almost gotten into a war with a rival clan led by the Jawas Wittin and Herat. Wittin stole salvaged goods and water and organized raids on other Jawas, with the latter being staged by Nebit,^[5] another one of the planet's Jawas.^[12] Wittin accused Kalit's clan of staging the raids, with both the raids and the accusations continuing even with the Jawa elders believing Kalit's innocence. For unknown reasons, Kalit approached Tatooine's crime lord Jabba the Hutt to peacefully settle the long-standing issues with Wittin, hoping for the Hutt to mediate their talks,^[5] with Luun suspecting Wittin's betrayal.^[13]

Mediation attempts at Jabba's palace and Kalit's good fortune[]

In 4 ABY,^[11] Kalit was in Jabba's Palace on Tatooine along with Herat^[4] and Wittin.^[6] Unbeknown to Kalit,^[5] Herat and Wittin were plotting with Jabba to usurp their rival^[14] and conquer Kalit's territories. Kalit was present^[6] in the Hutt's courtroom after Jabba had chosen to convert the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, who had arrived on behalf of their master, Alliance to Restore the Republic Commander Luke Skywalker, in an attempt to rescue Jabba's prisoner Han Solo, into servants. When the Hutt dropped the slave dancer Oola into the pit of his pet rancor,^[4] Kalit was among the individuals who rushed forward and watched Oola's demise.^[6]

Alliance leader Leia Organa, the Wookiee Chewbacca, and Skywalker would later arrive to free Solo, with Skywalker also being dropped into Jabba's rancor pit. Kalit watched Skywalker fight back against the rancor, with the intended victim ultimately killing Jabba's pet. Jabba subsequently sentenced Skywalker, Solo, and Chewbacca to be executed at the Great Pit of Carkoon,^[4] with Kalit's rivals Wittin and Herat accompanying the Hutt aboard the luxury sail barge Khetanna for the trip.^[5]

The trip would result in Jabba's captives fighting back, with the Hutt being killed and Khetanna destroyed.^[4] Fortunately for Kalit, Wittin died during the trip as well. During the next swap meet held at the Dune Sea, Wittin's leaderless clan was absorbed into the other clans.^[5]

Personality and traits[]

Kalit's trust in Iasa led to the latter Jawa betraying him.^[3] His generosity for travelers included even offering Jawas from enemy tribes a place in his sandcrawler.^[7] Kalit entered Jabba's Palace in good faith, naively believing that a fair settlement was possible in the Hutt's court.^[6] He jeered and peeked down into the rancor pit after both Oola and Skywalker were dropped in by Jabba. Kalit had yellow eyes.^[4]

Equipment[]

Kalit wore brown Jawa robes with a bandolier strapped across his chest.^[4]

Behind the scenes[]

Kalit first appeared in the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. While not credited in the film itself,^[4] Andy Herd acknowledged playing the character using a film still of Kalit peering down at the rancor pit during Skywalker's fight with the former.^[15] In 1998, Kalit was first named by the Jabba's Palace Limited expansion set of Decipher, Inc.'s Star Wars Customizable Card Game. While that game itself only identified Kalit as a Jawa peering down at Skywalker's fight with the rancor,^[2] the June 4, 2002^[16] article "Who's Who in Jabba's Palace," written by Daniel Wallace and published in the sixtieth issue of the Star Wars Insider magazine, also identified Kalit as one of the Jawas who peered down into the rancor pit after Oola was dropped into it.^[6] The scene where Kalit was peering down at Oola was filmed between January 25 and February 2, 1982, while the scene where the Jawa peered down at Skywalker was filmed between February 3 and February 5, 1982. Both scenes were filmed at Elstree Studios's Stage 8.^[17]