Seven-string hallikset

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Cal Kestis plays a seven-string hallikset
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The seven-string hallikset was a stringed musical instrument. The instrument was popular on the planet Naboo, which was known for their adept artists and musicians. Before becoming a Royal Handmaiden, Sabé, who came from a family of hallikset players, studied music and played the instrument at the Theed Conservatory, a school renowned for producing musical talent. The former Jedi Cere Junda owned a hallisket, which Padawan Cal Kestis found and used psychometry to play in 14 BBY. In 34 ABY, the musician Sudswater Dillifay Glon played a hallikset as part of the Shag Kava band at Takodana Castle on the planet Takodana. Not long after this, a hallikset was displayed in Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities on the planet Batuu.

Description[]

The hallikset was a seven-stringed musical instrument consisting of a circular witherstring topboard, a fingerboard, and nut.^[1]

History[]

"That song… I wrote it. Years ago. You touch an object and witness events connected to it. You feel its history."

―Cere Junda witnesses Cal Kestis playing her seven-string hallikset —

Listen (file info)^[2]

Tsabin, a handmaiden of Queen Padmé Amidala of the planet Naboo, came from a family of hallikset players, where she had learned breath control. After some time attending the Theed Conservatory to study music and play the hallikset, Tsabin was approached by Head of Security Quarsh Panaka, who offered her a chance to become a Naboo Royal Handmaiden. Accepting the job and changing her name to Sabé, she moved to the Theed Royal Palace and began to teach the queen various skills she had, including breathing exercises she had learned from being a musician that would help Queen Amidala appear calm at all times.^[3] Her brothers were famous players, and Amidala once mentioned that if Sabé had stayed a musician, she could have been the third-best hallikset player in the family.^[4]

The mining world Kreeling sold its high-quality ore to Naboo, part of which was used in building halliksets. As part of the Chommell sector summit in 32 BBY, the Kreeling representative Tobruna mentioned that Kreeling was being forced to sell Naboo the ore at a fixed price due to an outdated treaty. When asked how to cut down on Naboo's need for the ore, Governor Sio Bibble told Queen Amidala that some of the ore was used to decorate the halliksets. With input from a hallikset player in Sabé, Amidala suggested that they could start accepting lesser-quality ore, and start a trend in the palace for a new type of instruments made from it.^[3]

Cal-Hallisket — Cal Kestis played Cere Junda's hallikset.

The former Jedi Cere Junda owned a seven-string hallikset and at one point wrote a song using it years later.^[2] In 14 BBY,^[5] she kept the instrument aboard the S-161 "Stinger" XL yacht Stinger Mantis while on the run as a fugitive from the Galactic Empire. After joining the crew of the starship, Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis found the hallikset sat upon the Mantis's couch and using psychometry saw the object's history, enabling him to play the song Junda had written using the instrument. Junda witnessed him playing and recognized the song and surmised he had used psychometry.^[2]

The musician Sudswater Dillifay Glon played a red seven-string hallikset as part^[1] of the Shag Kava band.^[6] In the year 34 ABY,^[7] Glon played the hallikset at the castle^[8] of the pirate Maz Kanata on the planet Takodana,^[1] where the band performed the songs "Jabba Flow" and "Dobra Doompa" shortly before the castle was destroyed by the forces of the First Order. The musician preferred to play the hallikset with a bow while at Kanata's castle.^[6]

At some point during the war between the First Order and the Resistance following the Battle of Crait, the Ithorian antiques dealer Dok-Ondar had a seven-string hallikset on display on the upper shelves of his store, Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities, in Black Spire Outpost on the planet Batuu.^[9]

Behind the scenes[]

A seven-string hallikset first appeared in the 2015 sequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens.^[8] It was not identified in the film,^[8] but was named in the reference book Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, written by Pablo Hidalgo^[1] and released on the same day as the film.^[10] Amy Fry was one of the artists who designed the art asset for the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.^[11]

When Padmé Amidala and Sabé discuss the latter's family in the 2019 novel Queen's Shadow, written by E. K. Johnston, the instrument was mentioned and misspelled as "halliket."^[4]