View source for Taung/Legends

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{{Youmay|the original Mandalorian species|the [[Mandalorian/Legends|Mandalorian]] warrior culture|linebreak=1}}
{{Species
|image=
|name=Taung
|designation=[[Sentience/Legends|Sentient]]<ref name="GaW">''[[Galaxy at War]]''</ref>
|class=[[Humanoid/Legends|Humanoid]] {{C|[[Primate/Legends|simian]] subgroup}}<ref name="GaW" />
|subspecies=
|races=
|height=2 [[Imperial standard meter|meters]]<ref name="GaW" />
|length=
|wingspan=
|mass=95 [[Kilogram/Legends|kilograms]]<ref name="GaW" />
|skincolor=[[Color/Legends|Gray]]<ref name="HotM">{{InsiderCite|80|The History of the Mandalorians}}</ref>
|haircolor=
|feathers=
|eyecolor=[[Color/Legends|Yellow]]<ref name="GaW" />
|distinctions=
|lifespan=85 [[Standard year/Legends|years]]<ref name="GaW" />
|planet=*[[Coruscant/Legends|Coruscant]] {{C|native}}<ref name="GaW" />
*[[Mandalore/Legends|Mandalore]] {{C|adopted}}<ref name="GaW" />
|habitat=
|diet=
|language=Archaic<ref name="TMPaC">{{InsiderCite|86|The Mandalorians: People and Culture}}</ref> [[Mando'a/Legends|''Mando'a'']]<ref name="GaW" />}}
{{Quote|The ash of the Taung beats strong within the Mandalorians' heart!|Excerpt from the traditional ''[[Dha Werda Verda]]'' chant|The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett}}
The '''Taungs''' were an ancient [[Species/Legends|species]] of [[Humanoid/Legends|humanoid]] [[Primate/Legends|simians]]. [[Homeworld/Legends|Indigenous]] to the [[Core Worlds/Legends|Core World]] of [[Coruscant/Legends|Coruscant]], the two-[[Imperial standard meter|meter]]-tall, [[Color/Legends|gray]]-skinned Taungs were [[Soldier/Legends|warriors]] from [[Youngling/Legends|youth]], and viewed battle as a source of honor both for the individual and their [[God/Legends|gods]]. Famous for their struggles against the [[Human/Legends|Human]] [[Battalion/Legends|Battalions]] of [[Zhell/Legends|Zhell]]—prehistoric Coruscant's other major power—the Taungs waged war against their enemies for hundreds of [[Standard year/Legends|years]]. When a powerful [[Volcano/Legends|volcano]] erupted and devastated the Zhell, spewing ash into the [[Atmosphere/Legends|sky]] with such density it blocked out the light of Coruscant's [[Coruscant Prime/Legends|sun]], the Taungs labeled themselves the "'''Warriors of the Shadow'''", or '''''Dha Werda Verda''''' in [[Mando'a/Legends|their language]]. Despite their loss, the Zhell eventually managed to drive the Taungs from Coruscant, and the defeated Taungs fled to the [[Planet/Legends|planet]] [[Roon/Legends|Roon]], located in the [[Outer Rim Territories/Legends|Outer Rim]]. There they remained for millennia, until legendary [[Mandalore the First]] led the Taungs to conquer a new world which they named [[Mandalore/Legends|Mandalore]] in honor of their [[Mandalore (title)|leader]], and the Taungs subsequently recast themselves as the '''Mandalorians''' or '''''Mando'ade'''''—"Sons and Daughters of Mandalore."

As the newly entitled [[Mandalorian/Legends|Mandalorians]], the Taungs set out to conquer the worlds around their new home, their nomadic nature and worship of war driving them crusading outward as they increased [[Mandalore sector/Legends|their territory]]. Under the rule of [[Mandalore the Indomitable]], another Taung warlord following in the leadership tradition established by Mandalore the First, the Taungs began to take in beings of other species into their culture, transforming what it meant to be Mandalorian forever after. This willing acceptance of other beings peaked during the [[Mandalorian Wars]], when [[Mandalore the Ultimate]] led the Mandalorians on a campaign against the [[Army/Legends|military]] [[Republic Military/Legends|forces]] of the [[Galactic Republic/Legends|Galactic Republic]]. Though initially victorious, the intervention of the [[Jedi Knight/Legends|Jedi Knight]] [[Revan/Legends|Revan]] and his loyal [[Jedi/Legends|Jedi]] [[Revanchist|followers]] turned the tide of the war against the Mandalorians, culminating with the [[Battle of Malachor V|devastation]] of the planet [[Malachor V]]. The Taung race had suffered heavy losses during the war, and by its end, were generally believed to have drifted into extinction, survived by the legacy of the Mandalorian culture they had passed on, that remembered the Taungs as the '''Progenitors'''.

==Biology and appearance==
{{Quote|We call the Shadow Warriors our Progenitors, though we do not share their blood, and their bodies were those of beasts, not humans.|[[Tor Vizsla]]|The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett}}
A [[Humanoid/Legends|Humanoid]] [[Species/Legends|species]], the Taungs were a [[Foot/Legends|bipedal]]<ref name="GaW" /> race of [[Sentience/Legends|sentient]] [[Primate/Legends|simians]]. [[Color/Legends|Gray]]-skinned<ref name="HotM" /> and [[Color/Legends|yellow]]-[[Eye/Legends|eyed]], Taungs were typically tall and strong. On average, Taungs reached a height of two [[Imperial standard meter|meters]], and weighed around ninety-five [[Kilogram/Legends|kilograms]]. Taungs were known to be extremely resilient, able to endure physical hardships that many other species could not. Their five fingers were tipped with sharp claws, and bony ridges adorned the top of their [[Skeleton/Legends|skulls]]. Taung lifespans were known to reach and occasionally exceed eighty-five [[Standard year/Legends|years]]. Considered children until the age of six, Taungs attained adulthood when they turned thirteen, passed through middle age between the years of forty-six and sixty-four, and were viewed as elderly beyond the age of sixty-five. Galactic historical records document no known instances of Taungs with a [[Force-sensitive/Legends|sensitivity]] to [[The Force/Legends|the Force]].<ref name="GaW" />

==Society and culture==
{{Quote|Soon, rumors reached the Republic of worlds ruled by ferocious warriors. They served the god Kad Ha'rangir, whose tests and trials forced change and growth upon the clans he chose to be his people.|[[Historian/Legends|Historian]] [[Vilnau Teupt]]|The Essential Guide to Warfare}}
[[File:Taung.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Taung armored helmets resembled their facial structure]]
Taung society was nomadic and clan-based. Veterans of successful campaigns were honored, and looked upon with reverence. These battle-tested elders became [[Chief/Legends|chieftains]], ''de facto'' leaders of their clan and community; higher authority came only from the<ref name="GaW" /> [[Mandalore (title)|''Mand'alor'']], a title that meant "Sole Ruler" in the Taung [[Language/Legends|language]],<ref name="TMPaC" /> and a role that embodied a single leader of all the [[Soldier/Legends|warrior]] clans.<ref name="HotM" /> These aspects continued on throughout later [[Mandalorian/Legends|Mandalorian]] culture long after the Taungs themselves had passed from the galaxy.<ref name="TMPaC" /> Pragmatism and ruthlessness were common traits among the Taungs, matched only by their loyalty to their clan kinsmen. Their practical nature was reflected in their naming practices, typically choosing names that corresponded to traits they deemed desirable. Common names included such examples as Atin, Kot, and Tor—meaning "persistent", "strength", and "justice", respectively.<ref name="GaW" /> The Taungs spoke an archaic form<ref name="TMPaC" /> of what later became the Mandalorian language of [[Mando'a/Legends|''Mando'a'']].<ref name="GaW" />

The civilization of the Taungs was one steeped in war, and the Taungs were warriors above all else. Their combat-centered nature<ref name="GaW" /> gave rise to a religious warrior society governed by elaborate laws that evolved into the [[Canons of Honor]]. Early in their history, the Taungs waged war as a means of ritual worship to their [[God/Legends|god]]<ref name="HotM" /> [[Kad Ha'rangir]]—a destroyer god they believed to personify change and growth. The Taungs sought the favor of Kad Ha'rangir as they denied the temptations of [[Arasuum]], the sloth-god who was an avatar of idleness and stagnation.<ref name="EGW">''[[The Essential Guide to Warfare]]''</ref> But after the Taungs had recast themselves as the Mandalorians,<ref name="HotM" /> and [[Mandalore the Indomitable]] had risen to lead them, the act of war itself became the center of Mandalorian worship, and to wage war was to ''be'' divine.<ref name="EGW" /> Disputes were resolved through Taung [[Blood/Legends|blood]] duels that involved a challenge to single combat in a fight to the [[Death/Legends|death]].<ref name="Honor">{{TORcite|type=faction|Imperial|Honor Regained|Nar Shaddaa}}</ref>

Despite their violent, warring nature, the Taungs were far from primitive, and maintained a high priority of procuring the latest in technological advancement whenever possible, often through the plundering of a defeated foe. The tradition of [[Mandalorian armor/Legends|Mandalorian armor]] began with the culture's Taung founders,<ref name="HotM" /> and their unique [[Armor/Legends|helmets]] and war masks were forged in the image of the Taungs' face, including slanted outer angles and a pointed chin.<ref name="GaW" /> Unlike later iterations, the armor of the Taungs was sparse in its armament due to their belief that it was [[unarmed combat]] that brought the highest honor.<ref name="HotM" /> Taung children were trained in martial arts from a young age, and tested themselves repeatedly in numerous physical and mental challenges prior to achieving adulthood. The experience and skills they obtained through their robust upbringing made wandering Taungs valuable assets to [[Mercenary/Legends|mercenary]] companies.<ref name="GaW" />

==History==
===War for a world===
{{Quote|When the dawn came the Zhell awakened and saw the Taungs upon the high place and were afraid, for the morning light caught the glint of helms and weapons and created phantom warriors, made of dazzle and distance. But the cleverest of them were not deceived, and saw how few we were. And so they assembled without haste, merry in mockery, and prepared to march. And in the high place we awaited death.|Basic-translated excerpt from the ninth chapter of the Dha Werda Verda|The Essential Guide to Warfare}}
The Taungs evolved on the [[Planet/Legends|planet]] [[Coruscant/Legends|Coruscant]],<ref name="GaW" /> located in the central region of [[The galaxy/Legends|the galaxy]] known as the [[Core Worlds/Legends|Core Worlds]]. During the [[pre-Republic era]],<ref name="TEA">''[[The Essential Atlas]]''</ref> the Taungs inhabited Coruscant alongside the other major power to arise on the prehistoric world, the [[Zhell/Legends|Zhell]]. The Zhell—thirteen tribes of [[Human/Legends|Humans]] who also evolved on ancient Coruscant<ref name="TCSWE">''[[The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia]]''</ref>—and the Taungs waged war against each other for hundreds of [[Standard year/Legends|years]], struggling for control of the planet.<ref name="GaW" /> At some point amidst their warring, a [[Volcano/Legends|volcanic]] eruption brought devastation upon the [[Battalion/Legends|Battalions]] of Zhell, when it smothered their [[City/Legends|city]] with thick ash and nearly [[Speciecide|destroyed]] the early Human race. The enormous plume of released ash and smoke was so dense and wide-spread across the [[Atmosphere/Legends|sky]], that it blocked out the light from Coruscant's [[Coruscant Prime/Legends|sun]], leaving the land beneath in darkness for two years. The Taungs leaped at the advantage nature had provided, and in the aftermath of the eruption, subjugated their age-old enemy. They viewed the smoke and shadow as an emblem of their destiny, and it was then that they adopted the name ''[[Dha Werda Verda]]'' for themselves, a title that meant "Warriors of the Shadow" in the Taung language.<ref name="TCSWE" />

However, the Taungs' victory over the Zhell was doomed to be a fleeting one. Over [[Time/Legends|time]], the Zhell eventually managed to win back control of Coruscant<ref name="TCSWE" /> and drive the Taungs from their shared homeworld.<ref name="GaW" /> Though an offshoot sect of [[Priest/Legends|priestly]] [[Gender/Legends|female]] Taungs fled Coruscant for the galaxy's [[Unknown Regions/Legends|Unknown Regions]] in pursuit of atonement through introspective meditation,<ref name="TUR">''[[The Unknown Regions]]''</ref> the majority of the Taungs were forced to flee to the planet [[Roon/Legends|Roon]] in the [[Outer Rim Territories/Legends|Outer Rim]], there the Taungs remained until the legendary leader, [[Mandalore the First]], led his people to seek a new world.<ref name="GaW" /> The Taungs found another planet in the Outer Rim—a world of multiple ecosystems, uninhabited by intelligent life, and dominated only by a race of non-sentient creatures of colossal size known as [[Mythosaur/Legends|mythosaurs]]—and claimed this new planet as their own.<ref name="TEA" />

===Mandalorian rebirth===
{{Main|Mandalorian/Legends}}
[[File:Mandalorian_on_dxun.jpg|thumb|left|180px|The future [[Mandalore the Ultimate]] looks for [[Mandalore the Indomitable]].]]
{{Quote|We are the rage of the Warriors of the Shadow! The first noble sons of Mandalore!|Excerpt from the traditional ''Dha Werda Verda'' chant|The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett}}

===Old Sith Wars and decline===
The Mandalorians, both Taungs and otherwise, were drawn into a whole [[Great Sith War/Legends|new war]] when the latest in the tradition of the ''Mand'alor'', a Taung warrior by the sobriquet Mandalore the Indomitable, challenged the [[Dark Jedi/Legends|fallen Jedi]] [[Ulic Qel-Droma/Legends|Ulic Qel-Droma]]. The former [[Jedi Knight/Legends|Jedi Knight]] bested Mandalore the Indomitable in [[Lightsaber combat/Legends|single combat]] on the planet [[Kuar/Legends|Kuar]], and from that point the ''Mand'alor'' swore the loyalty of he and his followers to Qel-Droma and, by extension, his [[Sith Master/Legends|Sith Master]] [[Exar Kun/Legends|Exar Kun]]. The Mandalorians waged war against the [[Galactic Republic/Legends|Galactic Republic]] on behalf of the [[Sith/Legends|Sith]], even striking against their former homeworld of Coruscant, but when they had been tasked with taking the planet [[Onderon/Legends|Onderon]] late in the campaign, Mandalore the Indomitable was slain within the [[Tree/Legends|jungles]] of Onderon's [[Moon/Legends|moon]], [[Dxun/Legends|Dxun]]. Another Taung took up his ceremonial [[Mandalore's Mask|mask]] and became the new ''Mand'alor'',<ref name="TSW6">[[Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War 6|''Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War'' 6]]</ref> proclaiming himself [[Mandalore the Ultimate]]. 

===Legacy===
{{Quote|Leeber soong whar tung tach picta / Manner manner migta richta / Schelecht varn toom-soing pa ho-grunten / Gersh ve dala funken mimpa / Droit! / To Gropen wettkampf Zunken!|[[Notron Cant|Ancient Basic]] excerpt from the ''Dha Werda Verda'' poem left behind on [[Roon/Legends|Roon]]|Shadows of the Empire (soundtrack)}}
In [[15 BBY/Legends|15 BBY]]{{Fact}}, the Human [[Merchant/Legends|merchant]] [[Mungo Baobab]] discovered the fabled [[Roonstone]]s on the planet Roon.<ref name="Droids">''[[Star Wars: Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO]]''</ref> Encoded in one of the Roonstones was an ancient recording of the poem ''Dha Werda Verda'', detailing the Taungs' struggle against the Zhell on prehistoric Coruscant in an [[Notron Cant|archaic form]] of Basic.<ref name="SotE">[[Shadows of the Empire (soundtrack)|''Shadows of the Empire'' soundtrack's]] liner notes</ref>

==Behind the scenes==
The Taungs were first mentioned in the liner notes for the [[Shadows of the Empire (soundtrack)|''Shadows of the Empire'' soundtrack]],<ref name="SotE">[[Shadows of the Empire (soundtrack)|''Shadows of the Empire'' soundtrack's]] liner notes</ref> and it was the ''[[Star Wars Insider]]'' article, "[[The History of the Mandalorians]]", that [[Retcon|retconned]] the Mandalorian warriors from the ''[[Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi — The Sith War]]'' [[Star Wars comic books|comic book]] series as the Taung race.<ref name="TSW6" />

==Appearances==
*[[Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War 1|''Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War'' 1]] {{1st}} {{Ret}}
*[[Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War 2|''Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War'' 2]] {{Ret}}
*[[Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War 3|''Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War'' 3]] {{Ret}}
*[[Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War 4|''Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War'' 4]] {{Ret}}
*[[Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War 6|''Tales of the Jedi &ndash; The Sith War'' 6]] {{Ret}}

==Sources==
*[[Shadows of the Empire (soundtrack)|''Shadows of the Empire'' soundtrack]] {{Ln}} {{C|First mentioned as Taungs}}
*{{GalaxyCite|9|Galactic Bazaar|Galactic Bazaar: Collectors' Comlink}}
*''[[The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons]]''
*''[[Secrets of the Sisar Run]]''

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Core Worlds species]]
[[Category:Extinct sentient species]]
[[Category:Human and Near-Human species]]
[[Category:Mandalorian culture]]
[[Category:Outer Rim Territories species]]
[[Category:Pre-Republic]]
[[Category:Taung| ]]