Sanyassan

The Sanyassans were a reptilian, humanoid species from the stormy world of Sanyassa IV, located in the Inner Zuma Region. They had ape-like faces, scaly skin, and a tall stature that averaged two meters in height. They engaged in piracy from ancient times, becoming the scourge of the greater Moddell sector. In the wider galaxy, these sentients had the reputation of being fierce fighters, armed with short tempers and even shorter levels of intelligence. They were sometimes employed as bodyguards or mercenaries, and at least one of them, Tun-Badon, pledged allegiance to a Sith Lord.

When the Shi'ido anthropologist Mammon Hoole wrote his Essential Guide to Alien Species at the height of the New Republic, little was known about the Sanyassans, despite their occasionally fleeting presence in broader galactic affairs; In fact, so little was known of their species or their history, with few knowing of their home planet, they were collectively referred to as "marauders”—or “Sanyassan marauders”—by most scientists.

On their homeworld, the Sanyassans had only achieved feudal-level technology by the time of the Galactic Civil War; their most advanced development by that time was the implementation of a writing system. Like the rest of the Moddell sector, the peoples of Sanyassa IV were excluded from galactic politics for most of their history. However, in the distant past, they had once been a more advanced civilization (prior to the Din supernova turning into a pulsar, around 5000 BBY). According to the neighboring Ayrou species, that event may have drastically altered the Sanyassans' way of life, causing their focus to shift from intellectual, societal growth to pure survival. Thus, after the cataclysm, their leaders established a complex caste system and social hierarchy, in which the “pecking-order” was determined by might.

In the first century before the Galactic Civil War, a large group of Sanyassan criminals (known as the Marauders) crash-landed in the forests of the moon of Endor. As they were unable to get off of the moon, these Sanyassan Marauders established a colony in the Dragon's Pelt savanna, under the leadership of King Terak. In 3 ABY, the Sanyassans of Endor suffered a terrible defeat against the native Ewoks, with their numbers then decreasing over the years. When the New Republic was established, the government scouts who were sent to the forest moon found no trace of them.

Text and facts from the “Sanyassan/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.