Wookiee

Wookiee ("Chewbacca")
In-universe information
Distinctions	Brown, grey, or black fur, retractable claws
Language	Shyriiwook

A Wookiee is a member of a race of hairy bipeds in the fictional Star Wars universe. The most famous Wookiee is Chewbacca, a companion to Han Solo. Other prominent Wookiees include Lowbacca (the nephew of Chewbacca), Tyvokka, Zaalbar, Chuundar, Attichitcuk, Tarfful, Petro, and Hanharr. A common, though incorrect, spelling is Wookie.

Home world

The Wookiees live in the lush forest world Kashyyyk, where they originated. They live in villages among giant trees.

Physical characteristics

Adult Wookiees are typically taller than most humans, averaging 2+ meters (6'5"). They are physically quite strong (as suits an arboreal species), have extremely thick hair and have high endurance (although slow moving). Wookiees have an excellent sense of smell; (Chewbacca trips a booby trap on Endor when he catches the scent of freshly killed bait, and refuses to go near a garbage compactor on the Death Star where a tentacled monster dwells.)

Chewbacca the Wookiee is shown to be an excellent shot with his bowcaster blaster, suggesting that Wookiees have keen eyesight and hand-eye coordination.

Wookiees lush mane of fully body hair makes them highly adaptable to a wide range of climates. Chewbacca is shown in such diverse environments as Hoth, Tatooine and Endor, never requiring any type of protective clothing.

Common behavior

Wookiees are often short-tempered. When Chewbacca complained about a move in a board game that R2-D2 had made during their initial trip to Alderaan, Han Solo told C-3PO it was not a good idea to upset a Wookiee, hinting that Wookiees are known to pull people's arms out of their sockets. As if to confirm Solo's remark, Chewbacca then glowered menacingly at the droids while striking a nonchalant pose, arms crossed behind his head (Chewbacca and Han were almost certainly having fun with the droid, but the anecdote still illustrates one of the Wookiees' most famous characteristics). C-3PO then says to R2-D2 "I suggest a new strategy R2. Let the Wookiee win."

Wookies are exceptionally loyal. Life debts, which are held to be sacred in Wookiee culture, suggest that friendship with a wookiee is a lifetime commitment.

Despite a fearsome appearance and temperamental disposition, Wookiees are shown to be very intelligent and technologically proficient. Chewbacca is shown performing maintenance on the starship Millennium Falcon as well as acting as the craft's co-pilot. Chewbacca shows at least a basic grasp of advanced technologies like robotics, more or less re-constructing C3P0 after he is blasted apart by stormtroopers. Chewbacca successfully operates a hijacked Imperial scout walker during the battle of Endor, suggesting that Wookiees are quick learners.

Language

The Wookiee language is Shyriiwook. Wookiees are capable of understanding Galactic Basic, but normally none are able to speak it (due to the structure of their vocal cords, although at one point, a wookiee was able to mimic Galactic Basic to a pregnant Princess Leia on a visit to Kashyyyk, yet his "R"'s received the most focus). Wookiees with speech impediments can speak Basic to an extent. Similarly, while it is possible for other races to learn to understand Shyriiwook, most are incapable of speaking it. (It is cited that Han Solo can speak it, but doesn't because he claims he sounds incredibly stupid doing so.)

Wookiees in computer and video games

Wookiees starred in Star Wars Battlefront as both a native species on Kashyyyk, and the Wookiee Warrior. The model was based on Chewbacca. Wookiees also appeared as native forces in Star Wars Battlefront II, and as the Wookiee Warrior, but the model was changed to that of Tarfful, the Wookiee leader seen in Revenge of the Sith. Tarfful is also seen in Star Wars: Republic Commando as the target of a rescue mission.

One of the tough but sensitive Wookiees is Zaalbar from Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. The opposite of Zaalbar is Hanharr, who is a Wookiee bounty hunter in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

Wookiees are one of the ten available races in the MMORPG Star Wars: Galaxies. Players have used the game to further expand on Wookiee culture through rigorous roleplay, such as the honoring of life-debts. The character Bebolda is a prime example of such devotion to the Wookiee way of life, noted for introducing the 'Wookiee Purr' to the Star Wars universe. The Wookiee race was initially one of the most handicapped in the game. For nearly the entire first year Wookiees were the only race unable to wear armor, giving them a huge disadvantage in PvP. Also, due to a typo in programming, Wookiees were the only race that wasn't certified in C12 grenades without training, which became a huge issue when Force Sensitive XP (FSXP) came around. C12 grenades could be used in conjunction with mob lairs to easily gather huge amounts of Combat XP (which had an exceptional conversion rate into FSXP), making the C12 grenade/lair route unarguably the swiftest & least painful route to becoming a Jedi. Additionally, Wookiees have a large racial penalty towards receiving Imperial faction points (FP). Kashyyyk was added to Star Wars: Galaxies with the release of Star Wars Galaxies: Episode III Rage of the Wookiees. Travel to and from Kashyyyk is limited to player owned & operated spacecraft, thereby restricting the planet to players owning the Jump to Lightspeed expansion. It should also be noted that players are unable to build housing on Kashyyyk.

Also, they are a normal choice within the Star Wars RPG Revised Core Rulebook.

Lastly, there is a Battlefield 2 sniping group that goes by the name of "WOoKie"

Wookiees and popular culture

• The name originated in George Lucas' film THX 1138. In a line ad-libbed by an actor, a character says, "I think I just ran over a wookiee on the expressway." Wookiee is said to be based on George Lucas’ dog named “Indiana.” [1]
• Wookie is the local name of a bigfoot in Louisiana's Honey Island Swamp. One theory states that the word originally comes from Shaawanoki, the Seminole word for the Skunk or Swamp Ape (bigfoot). However, 850 miles separates the tribe that lives in the Honey Island Swamp and the Seminoles who use the word Shaawanoki.[2]
• Not to be confused with Wookey Hole or Wookey Hole Caves in England.
• Wookiees are referred to in popular culture through a variety of formats ranging from Ralph Wiggum's "I bent my Wookiee" as popularized in The Simpsons to the Chewbacca parody Barfolomew, played by John Candy in the film Spaceballs.
• In an episode of the animated television series South Park, real-life attorney Johnnie Cochran successfully wins two trials by confusing the jury with ramblings about Chewbacca that distract them from the actual issues of the case. This strategy was dubbed the "Chewbacca Defense".
  • Also on South Park was a running gag in the show's Halloween episodes in which students consistently won the school's competitions for best Halloween costume with nothing more than a store bought Chewbacca mask.
  • Another episode involves a Star Wars remake in which every instance of the word Wookiee has been changed to "hair-challenged animal".
• Instrumental rock band Liquid Tension Experiment recorded a track entitled "Chewbacca" in their second studio album, Liquid Tension Experiment 2.
• Fans of jam bands are sometimes classified as "Wooks" or "Wookiees" due to their stereotype of having unshaven faces, long hair, and lack of personal hygiene.
• The band Supernova performed a song called "Chewbacca" where they proclaim "Whoooa, what a Wookiee!". The song is heard in the movie Clerks.
• Sometimes people with hypertrichosis are said to have Wookism or Wookieeism.
• Star Wars Wiki was later renamed Wookieepedia.
• One of Timmy Turner's aliases is Chewbacca on the Fairly Odd Parents. It is due to his buck teeth (Chewbacca).
• In the song "Fire Water Burn" by Bloodhound Gang, references are made to Wookiees as phallic symbols in the lines "I'm kind of like Han Solo, always stroking my own Wookiee, I'm the root of all that's evil, yeah, but you can call me Cookie."
• In the webcomic Scary Go Round, Shelley creates a short story about "The Saddest Wookiee"
• In the Star Wars episode of That '70s Show, Kelso portrayed the role of Chewbacca in one scene.
• American Idol winner Jordin Sparks is sometimes jokingly referred to as Wookiee or Jorbacca, a combination of her name and Chewbacca's. [3][4]
• In the movie Sorority Boys, Harland Williams' character removes a long clump of hair from a sink drain and states "It's like a Wookiee man!" and vocalizes the sound Wookiees make. Williams also performs the sound in standup, most commonly in a joke about the sound made when one accidentally dials a fax number on the phone.
• Seattle band Stabbingback's bassist Jay Barrett is often referred to as The Wookiee due to his stage presence.

[5] [6]

• Rock band Clutch has a song called "What Would A Wookie Do?" on their album Pitchfork & Lost Needles.
• In Alaska a "Tundra Wookiee" is a slang term for a hairy person.

In American slang "wookiee" can also be a derogatory word for Asian persons. The orgin of the usage is unknown, but would seem to come from at least two sources. Firstly, it is a common belief amongst westerners that it is very difficult to tell one Asian from another, just as it is difficult to individualize one Wookie from the next (both groups have the same hair color and style respectively , which is the main reason why westerners find that 'all Asians look alike'. Secondly, the relation may be the result of a phonetical similarity between the sound of the name "Wookie" and some Asian names. In psychology, this is known as the outgroup homogeneity effect.

• In a Saturday Night Live sketch (Season 31, Episode 7, original airdate 3 Dec. 2005), Keith (guest host Dane Cook) shows up to a Christmas party wearing an $800.00 wool turtleneck with a ridiculously oversized neck. Eventually the sweater becomes so unbearably uncomfortable that Keith yells “It’s like I’m being raped in the ass by a horny wookiee!”

External links

• The Wookiee Species from official Star Wars web site.
• Wookiee on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki