The Nartians were a sentient species of short, four-armed beings. Native to the planet Nars in the Senex sector, they were frequently employed as household servants for the nobles of the region, sometimes serving the same noble family for generations. The Nartian Nackhar worked in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina on Tatooine and was present when Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi visited the cantina seeking passage off the planet.

Biology and appearance[]

The Nartians were a sentient species, whose members had four arms each. They were slightly smaller than Humans in stature^[2] and scurried when they walked.^[3]

Society and culture[]

The Nartians had a number of celebrations and rites of ancient origins, which were celebrated during Nars Week. These were of such significance that many nobles of the Senex-Juvex sector region who had Nartian servants gave them permission to partake in the ceremonies. All Nartians were expected to make a pilgrimage to their ancestral homeworld Nars at least once in their lifetime. Elderly Nartians frequently spent significant portions of their savings for that purpose.^[1]

History[]

The Nartians evolved on the planet Nars, a pale, chilly world located in the Senex sector of the Mid Rim. For millennia, they served as household servants for the nobles of the region, becoming ubiquitous across both the Senex and Juvex sectors. Often Nartian families served the same noble family for generations.^[1] Some Nartians also made it into the wider galaxy, beyond the borders of the Senex-Juvex sectors, finding work independent of the noble families of their region.^[3]

Nartians in the galaxy[]

During the Galactic Civil War, the Nartian Nackhar lived on the planet Tatooine,^[3] located in the Arkanis sector.^[1] In 0 BBY,^[4] he worked two jobs: as a fast food vendor in the Mos Eisley marketplace^[5] and as an assistant bartender to Wuher in Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina. He was present on the day when local residents Luke Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi entered the cantina^[3] and met the smuggler Han Solo, setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to Skywalker destroying the Death Star.^[6]

On that day, Skywalker and Kenobi were accompanied by two droids, who were forbidden to enter the cantina. Noticing the droid detector going off as the droids entered, Nackhar alerted Wuher to their presence and the bartender then ordered them to leave. Shortly after that, another patron, Ponda Baba, drew his blaster to attack Skywalker after little provocation. Before he could complete his assault, Kenobi ignited his lightsaber and severed Baba's blaster arm. Following the altercation, Nackhar was assigned to clean up the blood and severed limb.^[3]

Later that day, Solo killed the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo. At Wuher's behest, the Nartian claimed the corpse for Chalmun's Cantina, fighting off scavenging Jawas who also desired the body. Wuher later used the corpse as an ingredient in liqueur for Jabba the Hutt.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

The Nartians first appeared with the character Nackhar in the short stories "Be Still My Heart: The Bartender's Tale" and "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale," published in the 1995 anthology Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina.^[3][5] The stories were respectively authored by David Bischoff^[3] and Barbara Hambly,^[5] with Bischoff's work being the first to introduce the species' name.^[3]

Appearances[]

• "Be Still My Heart: The Bartender's Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (First appearance, simultaneous with "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale") (First identified as Nartian)
• "Nightlily: The Lovers' Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina

Sources[]

• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Under Nackhar)
• The Essential Atlas

Notes and references[]