Spamel

"Even if the storm subsided, Cere is too far to reach on foot."
"Hmm. Unless…"
"What are you thinking?"
"We might be able to hitch a ride."

―Merrin and Cal Kestis as a spamel grunts in the distance^[2]

Spamels were blue- or purple-skinned, long-legged riding creatures native to the desert moon of Jedha. The beasts featured a thick neck that carried their wedge-shaped head. Standing up to 4.9 meters tall, spamel mounts were fitted with a saddle and a rope ladder for their rider to reach the back of the beast. The creatures were used as part of a parade held in Jedha City on the eve of the annual Reflection Day festival.

In 9 BBY, Jedi Knight Cal Kestis and his companions, the Nightsister Merrin and the droid BD-1, mounted a spamel to reach the Hidden Path network's secret base on Jedha after Kestis used the Force to tame one of the beasts.

During the Galactic Empire's occupation of Jedha, Imperial sandtroopers mounted spamels to traverse the moon's cold desert landscape and patrol pilgrimage routes to Jedha City. The beasts were also used by the surviving members of Saw Gerrera's rebel Partisans as well as Rebel Alliance members Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker while they were on a mission to locate and help the survivors on Jedha in 1 ABY, following the destruction of Jedha City by the Empire's Death Star battle station.

Biology and appearance[]

"We're the cavalry. The… strange, whatever-these-are-called riding cavalry."

―Leia Organa, riding a spamel^[4]

SpamelSkeleton — Skeletal remains of a spamel

Native to the desert moon of Jedha in the Mid Rim,^[6] spamels were a mottled blue–^[2] or purple-skinned^[3] quadrupedal species. They possessed a pair of brown^[2] or gray eyes,^[4] a dorsal stripe of black hair along their spine, and a small tail. Featuring a skeleton that supported their body,^[2] the creatures had a thick, stubby neck and a wedge-shaped head that swayed as they walked.^[7]

With their four long slender legs, which could be partially covered by striped pieces of tan-colored cloth,^[5] they stood up to 4.9 meters, or sixteen feet, high.^[1] Spamel riders thus utilized a rope ladder to reach the saddle on the back of the beast.^[8] Spamels that dwelled on Jedha after the destruction of Jedha City also had a breath mask strapped to their face due to the harsh conditions on the moon. According to the Alderaanian Princess Leia Organa, who did not know the species' name, spamels had a strange appearance.^[4]

Behavior and intelligence[]

SpamelFront-Survivor — Spamels enjoyed having their heads scratched.

"Spamel friend, can you go any faster?"

―Merrin^[2]

Used as mounting creatures, spamels were capable of understanding verbal commands to dictate their movement in some capacity. They could also be ordered to stand up via vocal clicking sounds and could be summoned by whistling. In combat, the creatures would leap forward and butt their head against enemies. Spamels often grunted and groomed themselves. They also enjoyed having the top of their head scratched.^[2]

History[]

Before the occupation of Jedha[]

"Thank you. I think you've just saved my life."
"All lives are precious. Even those of the incredibly rude. I couldn't let you get trampled."

―Zallo Blaak and Kasmira^[7]

Spamel-Survivor — Spamels were used as riding creatures on their homeworld of Jedha.

Spamels inhabited Jedha during the reign of the Galactic Republic^[9] and its successor, the Galactic Empire. Skeletal remains of dead spamels lay on Jedha's surface, and an ancient temple on the moon known as Pilgrim's Sanctuary housed murals that depicted the creatures.^[2] Spamels were also used as part of a parade that moved through the streets of Jedha City on Reflection Eve, the day before the annual festival of Reflection Day. As the beasts carefully picked through the crowds with their long legs, their riders bore banners proclaiming a better future for all who gave their lives over to the eternal Force. When the visitor Zallo Blaak became swept up in one such parade and fell, he was nearly unknowingly trampled by one of the spamels but was dragged to safety by the scholar Kasmira before he could come to harm.^[7]

Shortly after the Battle of Jedha^[9] in 382 BBY,^[10] Jedi Master Orin Darhga and Jedi Knight Gella Nattai passed near a small fenced-in area with a tiny barn for spamels located on Jedha while they were pursuing Axel Greylark, the son of Republic Supreme Chancellor Kyong Greylark.^[9]

Reign of the Empire[]

"A cave! The spamel saved us."
"So we can forgive it for leaving us to die."
"Agreed."

―Cal Kestis and Merrin^[2]

Jedha mount-SWGA — Spamel-mounted stormtroopers patrolled Jedha under Imperial occupation.

Jedi Knight Cal Kestis, Nightsister Merrin, and the droid BD-1 mounted a spamel during their time on Jedha^[2] in 9 BBY.^[11] After Merrin's landspeeder was destroyed by Imperial stormtroopers, the trio went to the Divine Oasis, where several spamels were resting. Kestis then tamed one of the beasts using the Force, and the creature lowered itself to allow the group to get on. Due to an approaching sandstorm, the spamel's riders hoped to arrive at the Archive, a secret base used by the Hidden Path network, as quickly as possible by making the creature sprint.^[2]

Before they could reach the base, however, the spamel dropped its riders in fear when a deadly skriton creature emerged from beneath the sands on their path. While the lone spamel disappeared into the storm and then took refuge in a nearby cave, the beast inadvertently saved its riders, who followed the sound of the beast to reach the shelter. The group spent the night there and reached the base the next day. Not long after, Kestis, Merrin, and BD-1 undertook a mission to Pilgrim's Sanctuary to rescue Brother Armias, a Narkis Anchorite. To reach the temple, the Nightsister recommended using one of the spamels gathered near the Archive.^[2]

This section of the article assumes a specific path in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Any alternate paths may be noted in the "Behind the scenes" section. The events in this section may or may not have been confirmed as canon.

When the group mounted one of the spamels, Kestis was reminded of their previous steed as he sarcastically expressed his hopes for their new spamel to not abandon them. On one occasion, Merrin, who was curious about spamels' diet, jokingly asked one of the beasts what they ate.^[2]

Assumption ends here.

Spamels also served as riding mounts for Imperial sandtroopers on Jedha^[1] during its occupation by the Empire. Riding the creatures, Imperial troopers traversed the chilly sands of Jedha,^[5] patrolling pilgrimage routes to Jedha City, and watching for smugglers and the extremist rebel Saw Gerrera's band of soldiers^[1] known as the Partisans.^[4] The troopers who rode spamels also wielded pikes.^[5] In 1 BBY, the Empire destroyed Jedha City in an effort to test the strength of the Death Star battle station.^[10] The city's destruction devastated the entire moon^[4] and dealt a major blow to the Partisans.^[12]

The ashes of Jedha[]

"Chulco… are you okay? I saw you guys got hit."
"They killed our steed. I should have been able to dodge."

―Luke Skywalker and Chulco Gi^[8]

Luke on Jedha — Luke Skywalker rode a spamel on Jedha during the search for surviving Partisans.

In 1 ABY,^[10] Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker of the Rebel Alliance rode two spamels while leading a team on a battle for Jedha in an attempt to make contact with the surviving members of the Partisans. Shortly after the pair rescued two Partisans named Ubin Des and Chulco Gi, an Imperial LAAT/le patrol gunship shot down Skywalker's spamel. All four rebels were then forced to get on the same spamel, eventually escaping the Imperials with the help of the starship Millennium Falcon and leaving their mount behind. The group then headed for their camp on NaJedha,^[4] the planet that the holy moon orbited,^[6] where the rebels kept another spamel. The beast's presence there displeased the rebel protocol droid C-3PO, who had to feed the creature despite not being programmed for the task.^[4]

The Partisans also utilized spamels as a means of transportation—one of the beasts was ridden by Skywalker, Des, and Gi when they traveled to the settlement of Ai-jed to distribute filters to the civilians of Jedha.^[13] Not long after, the Partisan fighters, along with their new allies from the Rebel Alliance, rode spamels during their attack on an Imperial drill citadel that was mining for kyber crystals on the moon. While the mounted soldiers managed to create a distraction for the arrival of the Millennium Falcon into battle, an enemy gunner shot down Des and Gi's spamel.^[8]

Spamel-SW38 — A spamel-riding Leia Organa saves Skywalker from an Imperial gunship's fire.

Following the successful destruction of the drill citadel, Gi and Skywalker traveled to^[8] the Temple of Central Isopter at the edge of Jedha's blast crater^[14] by spamel for the former to complete his pilgrimage while the latter wished to learn more about the Force.^[8] The duo eventually reached the temple^[14] but not before losing their mount to a hostile sand slug along the way.^[8] Around the same time, the Wookiee Chewbacca was on board a Gran pilot's starship in hopes of reaching his rebel friends on Jedha. During the transport's engagement with an Imperial TIE fighter in NaJedha space, Chewbacca bumped into one of the spamels aboard the Gran's ship after the ship had been hit, causing the creature to fall on the ground and make a noise from its mouth.^[14]

Spamels were depicted in a hand-drawn map of Jedha that was believed to be created by the Ithorian artist Gammit Chond. The map, which illustrated Jedha as it appeared around 1 BBY, was later restored and collected along with other maps in the Graf Archive on the moon Orchis 2 at some point no earlier than 34 ABY.^[5]

Spamels in the galaxy[]

Spamel-Plazir-15 — A spamel was present on Plazir-15, where a flying creature landed on the beast's back.

At least one spamel lived in a domed city on the Outer Rim planet Plazir-15 during the era of the New Republic.^[3] Around 9 ABY,^[15] the Duchess of Plazir-15 and her husband, Captain Bombardier, held a banquet in a large hall in the city that was filled with a menagerie of different animals, including a spamel with purple skin. When a flying creature landed on the back of the beast for a time, the spamel remained indifferent to it and kept roaming the banquet hall.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Creation and development[]

"I'm not sure anyone's noticed the space camels that the stormtroopers ride in Jedha. If you look really very carefully when Jyn and Cassian are walking through Jedha, you'll see these giant camel things that Stormtroopers [sic] are riding on the left."

―Gareth Edwards, director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story^[16]

Jedha Camel — Jedha "Camel" concept painting by Christian Alzmann

Spamels were created for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,^[17] the 2016 film that marks the first entry in the Star Wars Anthology Series. Prior to the film's release on December 16,^[18] the creatures were first depicted, albeit unnamed, in the reference book Star Wars: Galactic Atlas, which included a map of Jedha in connection to the then-upcoming Rogue One. The book was illustrated by Tim McDonagh^[5] and published on November 3, 2016.^[19]

Inspiration for Rogue One's Holy City of Jedha was drawn from real-world holy cities like Mecca and Jerusalem^[20] as well as other locations in the Middle East and North Africa. Thus, spamels were inspired by camels^[17] that inhabit those lands.^[21] The creature was designed by concept artist Christian Alzmann, who dubbed the creature "Jedha 'Camel'" in his illustration. Artist Matt Allsopp also depicted a spamel in a concept art image for Jedha.^[17]

Appearance in Rogue One and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor[]

"One of the first shots featured a stormtrooper sitting on a camel, and I thought to myself: 'Wow, I'm in Star Wars!'"

―Felicity Jones, the actress who portrays Jyn Erso in Rogue One^[22]

SpamelErsoAndor — Computer-generated spamels appear in some scenes on Jedha in *Rogue One*.

During the filming of Rogue One between July 23–24, 2015, in Jordan, stormtroopers were filmed riding camels between Jedha City and the lookout rock where the characters Cassian Andor, Jyn Erso, and K-2SO stand in the film. The camels were to be digitally replaced with Alzmann's creature design, but the shots were ultimately cut. However, spamels can still be seen in some scenes within Jedha City,^[23] which were entirely digitally generated.^[24]^[25]

During Industrial Light & Magic's visual effects review for Rogue One, the creature was nicknamed "space camels" as a placeholder name, which was later jokingly shortened to "spamels."^[26]^[27] The shortened nickname was later adopted as the official name for the beast in "Every Creature in the Star Wars Movies," an installment of the Star Wars By the Numbers web series created for StarWarsKids.com and released on May 31, 2019.^[28]

Spamels also appeared in the 2023 video game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, where they function as a ground mount for Cal Kestis, the player character, and his companions on Jedha. Riding a spamel allows the player to scale sloping paths and jump high enough to explore areas that would otherwise be out of reach. As Kestis, the player can pet the beast and use it to attack enemies. While the game pluralizes the creature's name as "spamels" for the most part, some of the spoken dialogue renders its plural form as "spamel."^[2]