Pau'an

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Pau'ans were gaunt, long-limbed humanoids from Utapau. They dwelled in their planet's sinkholes, and tamed the local varactyl for riding. Due to their long life-span, they were also known as the Ancients. The Utai, another indigenous species that lived on Utapau, along with the Pau'ans, were collectively known as the Utapauns.

Biology and appearance[]

Pauan Jedi Teacher DoH — A female Pau'an

The Pau'ans were a species of gaunt humanoids with gray, furrowed skin, and sunken eyes. Their arms ended in long, pentadactyl hands with an opposable thumb and sharp nails.^[1] Being carnivores with a preference for raw meat,^[9] they also had sharp, jagged teeth.^[6] In addition to those intimidating features, Pau'ans were tall—Tion Medon, a Port Administrator during the Clone Wars, stood at about 2.06 meters.^[11] Pau'ans had two stomachs.^[12] They had hypersensitive hearing, which prompted them to wear special coverings to protect their fragile ears. Their life-span was measured in centuries, which earned them the nickname of "Ancients".^[3]

Society and culture[]

The Pau'ans were sentient beings, capable of intelligent thought.^[1] Although they often appeared fearsome to outsiders, most of them were peaceful and amiable.^[2] On their homeworld of Utapau, they preferred to dwell in darkness rather than light,^[9] and their cities were built within the planet's many sinkholes.^[13]

PauanEarCovering-SWBC68 — Pau'ans wore special covers to protect their ears.

Pau'ans shared Utapau with at least three other species, namely the Utai, the Sugi, and the Amani.^[14] The Utai were a fellow indigenous species on Utapau, with whom the Pau'ans had a symbiotic relationship. The two races were collectively referred to as Utapauns.^[15] Like the Utai, the Pau'ans built their cities and buildings in the Ossic architectural form.^[16] The primary Pau'an settlement and spaceport on Utapau was Pau City, which was administrated by various officials including the Governor, the Police Inspector,^[14] and the Port Administrator.^[1]

The Pau'ans' native language was Utapese,^[3] but they were also capable of speaking Galactic Basic Standard.^[1] Some Pau'an's, such as Gen Tri of the Spice Runners of Kijimi, used the gender-neutral singular pronoun "they, them".^[17]

It was typical for creatures to be freshly slain every day for meals on Utapau, rather than being killed and then cooked or stored for later consumption, due to the Pau'an preference for raw meat.^[3] They domesticated the fast-paced varactyl to use as mounts.^[18]

History[]

Pauan and Utai DoH — A Pau'an ambassador confers with two Utai.

Originally, the Pau'ans occupied the surface of Utapau, while the Utai lived in tunnels and caverns. Over time, however, hyperwind storms became more frequent all across the planet and forced the Pau'ans underground. The two societies then merged and started founding sinkhole cities.^[3]

At the end of the Clone Wars, the planet was occupied by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi came searching for General Grievous: Port Administrator Tion Medon discreetly informed him of Grievous's location, allowing him to bring the forces of the Republic to liberate the Pau'ans.^[1]

SW42-GrandInquisitorcover — The Grand Inquisitor was a Pau'an

During the Clone Wars, a Pau'an male served the Jedi Order as a Jedi Temple Guard.^[5] The same Pau'an would turn to the dark side of the Force and attain the title of Grand Inquisitor, the leader of the Empire's Inquisitorius.^[9]

During the reign of the Empire, many Pau'ans fled their homeworld after it was occupied by the Empire.^[19] Although Imperial Senator Pau'an Daho Sejan was against the idea of Utapau joining the Galactic Empire, he made concessions, which in his words, gave his people a future. However, most Pau'ans did not agree with Sejan, so much so that they would spit in contempt when they heard the senator's name.^[20]

At the time of the Battle of Yavin, a Pau'an drug dealer worked at a cantina on Coruscant. He would recruit strays to make deliveries. Anandra Milon visited him with her brother to find shelter, but refused and fled when a stormtrooper and underworld policeman arrived.^[21]

Behind the scenes[]

Grand Inquisitor on Daiyu — The Pau'an design featured in *Obi-Wan Kenobi*

The design of the Pau'ans for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith was originally intended for the natives of Mustafar.^[22] The Pau'ans themselves were designed as lemur-like creatures per George Lucas.^[23] These lemur concepts would later become the Lurmen.^[24] Artist Sang Jun Lee drew some initial sketches of the Pau'an species, and Robert E. Barnes and Michael Murnane created sculptures of their faces. The design developed over time and was later changed to the Pau'ans' current appearance as Revenge of the Sith developed.^[25] The Pau'ans in Revenge of the Sith were created through a mix of prosthetic makeup effects and computer-generated imagery.^[23] The design of their face was inspired by an African tribal mask.^[26] For the Disney+ streaming series Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Grand Inquisitor, and by extension the Pau'an species, was redesigned^[27] despite its prior appearance in a live action production via Revenge of the Sith.^[1]