Four Ways We Should All be More like Star Wars’ Mandalorians
You might remember that I’m married to one of the world’s largest Star Wars’ fans. In the past, he’s written guest posts for me on Five Reasons I Wish I Was a Jedi and Ace Combat: Wedge Antilles vs. Kara Thrace. Since we were out of town most of last week, he agreed to visit my blog today with another Star Wars post. Please give him a warm welcome and some comment love.
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Mandalorians aren’t all bad guys—even Boba Fett.
In Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett helps the Sith Lord Darth Vader freeze Han Solo in carbonite. He then loads the now-frozen Han into his ship, Slave I, for the flight to Tatooine, where he turns Han over to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt. The situation is made all the more poignant because it comes on the heels of Han and Leia finally coming to terms with their feelings for each other.
Thus begins a years-long feud of sorts between Boba Fett, considered a typical honorless Mandalorian, and Han and Leia, who become heroes to most of the civilized galaxy. Throughout the Expanded Universe books (and somewhat in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), Mandalorians are portrayed as violent, money-loving, honorless, uncultured brawlers who care more about their bounty commissions than about anything else.
But that perception of Mandalorians, long held by even major Star Wars nerds like myself, is wrong. It’s often said that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Mandalorians are a perfect example.
In fact, I’ve become quite a fan of Mandalorians because their culture, while seemingly at odds with the rest of the galaxy, embraces some of the attributes that I personally value and strive to incorporate into my life. I think there are four ways in which we should all be like Mandalorians.
A Mandalorian’s Word Is His Bond
It used to be true that, when a man gave his word, you could count on it. If a man told you he’d do something, he did it. Everybody was more or less able to trust everyone else. Mandalorians are the same way—their word (or contract) is always kept, exactly, no matter what. You can always trust a Mandalorian to keep his word to you.
Mandalorians Spend Time With Their Families
Mandalorians take their children into battle with them starting at age 8, and Mandalorian children are considered adults at 13. Both mothers and fathers teach their children how to fly, fight, cook, and perform the family trade. Mandalorians take an active role in raising their children, and they also take an active role in the greater good of Mandalore (their planet).
In fact…
Mandalorians Take Care of Their Own
Mandalorians have a very Marine Corps-like mentality when it comes to taking care of their own. Even though, in the heat of battle, they put their mission’s success above all else, when the fighting is done, they regroup, take stock, and take care of any of their casualties. Mandalorians don’t leave anyone behind on the battlefield. They also don’t shirk their responsibility to the dependents of those who die. It’s very common for a Mandalorian to adopt the children of a comrade who died in battle. In fact, Mandalorians are habitual adopters, and think nothing of enlarging their clans through adopting those in need.
And this leads me to my next point…
Mandalorians Don’t Discriminate
It doesn’t matter to a Mandalorian who you are, where you come from, what you did in the past, or even what species you are. Anybody who throws their lot in with the Mandalorians becomes Mandalorian, with no exceptions, no questions asked. All that matters to Mandalorians is what you do starting now. If you do right by your fellow Mandalorians, they’ll do right by you. Remember: a Mandalorian’s word is his bond.
Which Mandalorian quality do you think we need more of?
Photo Credit: Aksoy on www.sxc.hu
Jun 18, 2012 @ 08:02:21
I like the idea of a man’s handshake being his bond. I’ll have to send my daughter to read this – she’s the Star Wars fanatic in my family. great post
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:21:36
Indeed. Marcy can attest to the fact that I strive very hard to keep all my promises, and that I tend to not make promises if I think I can’t keep them. I sure wish I could trust everything that everybody said to me, but sadly that era seems to be lost.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 09:28:39
I think all four are admirable traits, but the non-discriminating adopter thingy rates highest in my books.
Thanks for a great post.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:08:56
I can’t say that Mandalorians being habitual adopters is the best of the four qualities, but it’s probably the one closest to my heart — I was adopted, and I love how Mandalorians can overcome any prejudices they have to adopt someone who wants to become one of them.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 10:21:07
All great qualities! Another thing I like about the Mandalorians is they’re inventive and not afraid to take up new tactics and technology to help their tribes.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:10:35
I love that about Mandalorians, too. They have somehow mastered the art of holding to ancient traditions, even while absorbing new races, cultures, tactics, and technologies. More than anything else, Mandalorians are practical people, which is something I definitely aspire to.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 10:33:36
I’ve long been a fan of Boba Fett. He’s my favorite of all the numerous Star Wars characters. He may have been cold and calculating, but he had a strong sense of values, a sense that couldn’t be portrayed in brief glimpses on the screen.
One of my favorite scenes is in Tales of the Bounty Hunter (I think). It’s when Leia is being held captive at Jabba’s Palace. She’s sent to Boba’s room as a “present” for him and she’s prepared to fight for her integrity tooth and nail. Instead, he refuses to touch her while still forcing her to stay there so the guards don’t kill her. He even offers her the bed out of chivalry, but she stubbornly refuses and curls up in a corner. Any other man in his position would’ve taken full advantage of the situation, but he held tight to his albeit confusing moral values.
This is an excellent post that shows a different side of a often misrepresented culture!
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:16:08
I actually pretty much despised Boba Fett until I read Bloodlines (part of the Legacy of the Force series). A lot of his implacable personality stems from the fact that his father, who he essentially worshipped, was killed right in front of him by Jedi Master Mace Windu. He had to grow up in a hurry, and his shattered childhood combined with his bounty hunter ethics to make him one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy.
I haven’t read the story you’re referring to–my Star Wars novel collection unfortunately isn’t complete–but his treatment of Leia totally squares with his personality as revealed later in the timeline. He may be the only one who understands it, but Boba Fett DOES have morals, and he DOES stick to them regardless of the situation.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:23:51
Every birthday and Christmas, I’m working on fleshing out his collection 🙂
Jun 18, 2012 @ 10:37:29
I love Star Wars.
I think all four qualities need to be worked on in our society.
Great post!
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:22:53
Agreed. I think society would be better off if we emulated the more virtuous side of Mandalorians.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 10:45:58
Love this! Makes me want to go play SW:TOR again because there I’m a bounty hunter and you have it nailed. Her word is her bond, no matter what she personally thinks about the mission. If she agreed to do it, she does it. Period. I kinda like that. Plus she can kick serious patooty!
If everyone had that quality, the world would be better for it. It’s the say one thing to your face, and do another behind your back stuff that drives me crazy.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:20:10
I haven’t actually played SW:TOR yet; I find it hard to justify buying the game and paying the subscription for something that I can’t even try out for free the way you can with World of Warcraft or EVE Online.
But I agree–the world would be a better place if people put away the politically correct, overly sensitive, say-one-thing-but-do-another way of dealing with each other and just sat down and hashed out their issues.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 13:24:00
I’m actually playing TOR right now! Leveling my powertech, no less. For the record, WoW and Eve were not free-to-play to begin with. Very few MMOs are. A lot of people like to compare TOR to WoW, but you can’t compare a game that’s been out 6 months with one that’s been out 7 years. If you do decide to try it, I’m on the Prophecy of the Five server, Republic side as Mariyta, Imp side as Farir!
Jun 18, 2012 @ 19:53:09
I’m referring to the free trial period you get with both WoW and EVE Online. It’s 14 days for EVE, and 10 (I think) for WoW.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 20:31:00
They have a 7-day “friend” trial. I’ll send you an invite if you’d like.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 16:39:29
It’s awesome if you are expecting an interactive fiction experience. Not so much if you’re expecting WoW or Evercrack. It has growing pains. But I love the story lines and the way you get to make choices which direct how the story will play out for your character. Hate grouping and the way the chat works. But eh, can’t have everything. It worries me that they are already combining servers. So far, SWTOR is fun the first time through for the story lines and cut scenes, but gets boring fast thereafter. At least, for me.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 11:26:40
I agree that all four are definite winners in my book.
And this post reminds me of how absolutely rich and intricate the whole Star Wars universe is… which explains why the series garnered the fans it did. If you read the novelizations of the movies, even the original three, there are side tales of each character, each character (even minor ones had names and a small back story)… Each could be the jumping off point of another story if need be.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:24:21
I agree. The nice thing about the Star Wars universe is that there’s so much that can be explored. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about many of the characters in the movies.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 11:30:37
Hmmm – my son is the big Star Wars fan in my house. I’ve never read the books, or researched the various life-forms, races and nations created by Lucas or other fans. I have to admit I get Boba Fett confused with Lando Calrisian (did I spell that correctly). At least Lando redeemed himself in the movies.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 12:25:55
Boba Fett was the bounty hunter (the one in full armour, decked out in weapons and a helmet). Lando Calrissian (the sharply dressed black man) was the Baron-Administrator of Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 11:34:34
You have a way of making every topic relatable, Marcy. I have very little knowledge of Star Wars, yet am (now) inspired by Mandalorians. I think we can all stand to discriminate less and spend more time nurturing relationships with loved ones.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 13:28:16
Very very cool post, though I don’t think there has ever been a time when people as a whole, or even a majority honestly lived by the idea of “my word is my bond”
Boba Fett is by far my all time favorite Starwars character. I’d be very interested in your sources for the Mandalorian culture.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 19:55:52
Most of what I’ve learned of Mandalorian culture came from the Clone Commando series. There are a couple more books that give a lot of information on Mandalorians that come from outside that trilogy; I can’t remember their names off the top of my head, but I’m pretty sure they were all written by Karen Traviss.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 18:34:29
Fantastic post. As far as I’m concerned, I wouldn’t pick any one trait over the others–we need more of each. That said, I suspect if we amped up the nondiscrimination aspect, we’d solve a lot of problems.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 19:57:56
I agree. It’s hard to pick one trait over the others, and it was actually hard for me to narrow the list down to just four qualities. I never thought I’d say it, but Mandalorians are my favourite “race” in the Star Wars universe.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 19:36:20
So if I’ve read this corectly, you’re saying that both my husband and I should teach our children how to fly and fight? And here I thought that was my responsibility alone. I’ll let him know.
Fun post and I couldn’t agree with you more.
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Jun 18, 2012 @ 19:42:27
You crack me up! 😀 Thanks for coming by.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 19:59:48
Well I was referring more to the fact that both parents in two-parent homes should take very active roles in raising their kids.
It’s too bad I didn’t have somebody to teach me how to fly as a kid…I’d have been willing to fight somebody for that privilege.
Jun 18, 2012 @ 22:55:11
I am a big Star Wars fan, but will admit to not reading the books. My son, on the other hand, read the kid books and, became a big fan of The Clone Wars and The Boba Fett series. We grew especially fond of Boba Fett at that time.
The Mandalorians live by a great code. More should adopt it. I really wish more would be non-discriminating and live by their word. I love it when a handshake means something more than just a shake.
Jun 23, 2012 @ 15:01:07
You had me at ‘Star Wars.’
Dec 16, 2013 @ 21:34:02
As an avid Star Wars fan, and Mandalorian costumer I love it when I hear talk like this.
Even within the Star Wars costume clubs, there are a lot of people who just wear the armor. It’s all well and good, but I always want people to hear more about the culture behind the armor.
Personally, this is how I treat everyone. Honorably and accepting.
However I should add one thing; Mandalorians have no words for the concept of ‘hero’ or ‘heroism’. While success is rewarded, it should not be noteworthy for a mandalorian to go above and beyond.
There ARE, however, a great many abrasive Mando’a words for cowards, traitors, the lazy, and those that otherwise don’t contribute their share to the rest. I do think more people should be like that, and I try to lead by example.
Dec 17, 2013 @ 08:46:05
“Family is more than a bloodline”
That is a famous Mando quote. The culture is very open to adoption of other races/species and they raise their adopted children exactly as they do their own biological ones.
The novels of Karen Traviss greatly expand upon what we know of Mandos showing a more complete side of the culture than was offered in movies.
Dec 17, 2013 @ 11:19:33
Great blog! Very well written, you obviously know a thing or two about Mandalorians. I am an up and coming Mandalorian costumer, working hard towards my first kit. I’ve been a fan of Boba Fett since the 80’s, and agree with the tenants of Mandalorian culture…
May 08, 2014 @ 10:23:47
Love mandalorians.
“pressure makes gems, ease makes decay”