Cienie's take on Mandalorian Culture: Mandalorian laws
Kad Ha’rangir and mandalorian traditional weapons part 1 — part 2 — part 3 – part 4 — part 5 ||| Arasuum - stagnation as symbol of death, not sloth, renamed as Arasuum - the God of Death, not Sloth part 1 — part 2 — part 3 — part 4 ||| Original Mandalorians and Gai bal manda ritual ||| Hod Ha'ran, the god of visions, prophecies and magic ||| God of Death as a mighty Beast
In Star Wars lore the general take on Mandalorians is that they have little use of laws, as they don’t have political-social structures similar to those of Republic’s nations.
Mandalorians: People and Culture:
Their society places no emphasis on birthplace, species, or citizenship, and so Mando’ade have no “state” as modern galactic politics understands it. They ignore rank and status and prefer to judge by actions and achievements, a true meritocracy: the Mandalore, or leader of the clans, is the nearest they have to a head of state. And yet nobody mistakes Mandalorians for any other people when they see them.
The Old Republic Encyclopedia
The Mandalorians have no use for senates, councils, or emperors. Only the mightiest of warriors is fit to lead a culture devoted entirely to battle.
CLAN SOCIETY
Mandalorian society operates with a minimal and largely informal power structure. Every Mandalorian is a member of a clan, either by birth or recruitment. Although different clans often disagree and even fight one another, they treat their own members like family, regardless of whatever they’re related by blood ties or oath. Other than the clan’s chieftain, members have no official ranks or positions unless organized into a fighting unit where chain of command has a valuable place. Each man or woman is expected to contribute however they can, with those who achieve great things gaining increased respect and new responsibilities. Although clans may have ties or rivalries with other clans, there is no formal hierarchy. All clan chieftains report directly to the Mandalore.
Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
Mandalorian society has no written laws and few norms, but the few that exist are sacred.
The special exception is Resol'nare[1], the Six Action that all members of society are required to follow to call themselves a Mandalorian.
Mandalorians: People and Culture:
Mando’ade regard the following six acts - known as the Six Actions, or Resol’Nare - as central to Mandalorian identity: wearing armor, speaking the Mandalorian language, defending themselves and their families, raising their children as Mandalorians, contributing to the clan’s welfare, and rallying to the Mand’alor when called to arms. Anyone who practices them is considered a Mando’ad. The emphasis is on carrying out these acts daily, not simply paying lip service to them.
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia:
Resol’nare: A term that described the basic tenets of Mandalorian culture, or “Six Actions”: the wearing of armor, the use of Mando’a language, loyalty and defense of one’s family and oneself, raising children in the Mandalorian way, contributing to the welfare of one’s clan, and answering the call to combat of the Mand’alor during times of strife.
Following the Resol’nare is what allows one to call themselves a Mandalorian yet does not determine anything else in regard to said culture or morality. As the lore proved, Six Action was not enough to settle any conflict between (non-Taung) Mandalorians over who was a true Mandalorian and who didn’t deserve such a title or how Mandalorians should conduct their matters.
In contrast the little we know about Taungs made it clear, they follow much more strict codes:
History of the Mandalorians:
[...] Made up of clans of simianlike humanoids, these nomads roamed space seeking conflict, following a code called the Canons of Honor. The Canons aimed at helping warriors attain personal glory via combat and loyalty to one’s clan. Despite this simplistic aim, the Crusaders were scarcely primitive, placing highest priority on plundering cutting-edge weaponry at every opportunity.
The label of Mandalorian Crusader is misleading. It’s thought that the Crusaders’ forefathers were a religious warrior society with sophisticated laws that devolved into the Canons. [...].
Death Watch Manifesto said that once Mandalore the Ultimate opened ranks to non-Taung people, original teaching became Resol’nare that was passed down to new recruits
We call the Shadow Warriors our Progenitors, though we do not share their blood, and their bodies were those of beasts, not humans. We do so because their leaders forged the Mando’ade into warrior bands and taught them to treasure family, clan and honor. Their teaching became the Resol’nare, the Six Actions, that make us Mandalorians: raising the young to seek honor and glory, wearing armor, defending one’s self and one’s family, supporting one’s clan, speaking a common language, and owing fealty to the leader of the clans.
but the author of Manifesto twice mentioned non-Taung warriors following the original, ancient codes (plural form):
The age of the Taung was ending, but their great work was unfinished. To survive, the Mando'ade must be transformed.
It was a terrible burden, but Mandalore the Ultimate bore it with honor. He opened the clans to all who proved themselves in battle and followed the warrior codes. Non-Taungs were no longer confined to vassalship, but could be full-fledged Mandalorian warriors. Our forefathers were among these new Mando'ade, and soon proved they were ready to lead the clans
and
This perfect society threatened the Republic. Seven centuries ago, their craven, hut’uune warships and Jedi bombarded our worlds. They incinerated Mandalore’s farmland and forests, leaving much of our homeworld a forsaken desert of fine white sand, and then occupied our world. They killed, exiled, or disarmed our warriors and suppressed our ancient codes [...].
Which suggests that while Resol’nare was the basic set of laws, the behavior and social exceptions of Mandalorians (or at least warriors) were still regulated by much more complex set of legal principles (more details about that in sidenotes).
However as the Knights of the Old Republic comics series presented, Mandalore the Ultimate (representing original Taung-Mandalorians) was aware there is not enough time to teach the new recruits their culture.
So many new recruits. Different species, different armors, different languages -- and not enough time to learn our ways.
and chronology wise, the earliest use of Resol’nare was presented during Mandalorian Wars, when Republic citizens were forced into Mandalorian army (KotOR: Vector):
Once you were Dar’manda -- ignorant outsiders. Those lives are over! You will raise your young as Mandalorians -- and defend them. You will wear our armor and speak our language. And you will serve the clan, and rally when called. These are the Resol’nare -- the Six Actions - sacred to our movement. Do them -- and you may live to call yourselves Mandalorians!
All those above sources led me to think that Taung-original Mandalorians have much more complex laws, including religious ones, that defined their individual behavior and society as whole, while Resol’nare was specifically designed and implemented once Mandalore the Ultimate understood passing the Canons of Honor as it was to new recruits was impossible due to limited time and opportunity. So the law complexity of original culture was simplified to the bare minimum and/or essential rules, and the further from Mandalorian Wars, the more forgotten the Canons of Honor became.
SIDENOTES
[1] The other vital law that Mandalorian warriors seem to be bound to follow is a challenge to duel, as a way to settle serious matters. In Knight of the Old Republic, Canderous Ordo was challenged by Jagi and if he refused to fight the man or did not show up in designated place and time, Canderous would be forever cast out of Manalorian society.
Jagi: I challenge you Canderous. I challenge you to fight the fight you fled that day above Althir. In the dune seas of Tatooine, I will be waiting for you. I have spread the news of the challenge since I learned you had landed on this world. All the surviving Mandalorian clans know of what I do here, and that we shall meet on Tatooine to settle this debt of vengeance once and for all. If you fail to meet me there, you shall be stripped of all honor and forever cast out of our society! It will be you and me alone in the dune seas of Tatooine: a final battle that can only end in death. I shall be waiting for you there, Canderous.
and
Canderous (to Player): I've been given a challenge I can't ignore. We've got to go to the dune seas of Tatooine so I can find Jagi and kill him for his insult to me!
In The Old Republic game we learn that
Lane Vizla’s brother was challenged by Kur Ha’rangir (and the latter cheated during the duel but because of his clan’s social position, the cheating was ignored).
Lane Vizla: Years ago, Kur Ha'rangir challenged my brother to a duel. Over some perceived slight against his famous name. Kur used nothing but underhanded tricks - like he does with everything else. There was no honor in the way he fought... He killed my brother... and no one called out Kur's deception. Typical, for a Ha'rangir.
Shae Vizla was challenged to duel by her enemy, Heta Kol, the leader of Hidden Chain
In The Clone Wars TV animated series, Pre Vizsla was challenged by Maul. As we learn from Maul and Almec’s discussion, ancient laws regulated what should happen to followers of the defeated warrior
Almec: Clearly you are powerful, but how can two of you overthrow Vizsla and his supporters?
Maul: Vizsla is a soldier, and like every soldier, he is bound by honor. I will challenge him to single combat in front of his men. He will not deny me.
Almec: Hmm. If you defeat him, according to the ancient laws of Mandalore, his soldiers will be honor-bound to follow you.
Maul: Precisely.
After Pre's death, half of Death Watch accepted Maul as the new ruler, while Bo-Katan and her supporters rejected the Sith Lord.
Early Mandalorian culture, originating with the ancient Taung species, was believed to have begun as a religious warrior society, War was practiced as a form of ritual worship to their multiple gods and because of this, many of the Mandalorians' earliest conflicts were seen as holy wars and their warriors known as the Mandalorian Crusaders.
After the Great Sith war where most of the Taung had perished , the Mandalorians began accepting beings of other races and species into their culture and transforming what it meant to be a Mandalorian. Those who considered themselves Mandalorian were bound by a single, unifying culture rather than any one race, and they believed that an individual was defined by their actions rather than the circumstances of birth.
Resol'nare
Young Mandalorian children were taught a rhyme to help them learn the tenets of the Resol'nare (basic: six actions) These six tenets defined what it meant to be a Mandalorian, and any who wished to be considered as such was expected to follow them.
Ba'jur, beskar'gam, (Education and armor)
Ara'nov, aliit, (Self-defense, our tribe)
Mando'a bal Mand'alor — (Our language, our leader)
An vencuyan mhi. (All help us survive.)
This code is self-perpetuating and was directly responsible for ensuring the survival of the Mandalorian culture and society.
Wearing the armor (beskar'gam or ''iron skin'')
Once Mandalorians reach adulthood, they assemble a suit of armor that suits their needs and skills. It is both a tool and a symbol of their cultural identity. Aside from its defensive capabilities, armor served another function: in a group formed from so many different species, often times it was only the armor that displayed an outward sign of the culture that bound these individuals together. The paint scheme of a Mandalorian's armor occasionally represented a soldier's state of mind, or their personal mission.
As many soldiers preferred the inconspicuousness afforded by camouflage, Mandalorians believed in the saying:
"It's one thing to see us coming, it's another to do something about it."
Speaking the language (Mando'a)
While most Mandalorians know and speak Basic and other languages, all are raised speaking Mando'a, the language of the Taungs. When among themselves, they speak Mando'a almost exclusively. The language itself is very fluid and simple, reflecting the culture of which it is a part, and like the culture, it has changed very little over the centuries.
Mando'a was often thought of as easy to learn, a trait highly desirable in a culture that regularly adopted adults from numerous races and species. But there were difference speaker of Basic had to adjust, including Mando'a's expression of tense, and its gender-neutrality.
It was not unheard for Mandalorians to speak other languages such as Huttese and Basic alongside Mandalorian as it was necessary to communicate with others when working as a mercenary or bounty hunter.
Defending oneself and the family
While the Mandalorians are best known as a warrior culture, they are also strongly family oriented. Each member of a family is expected to protect the others, garaunteeing their survival and through this, ensuring the survival of the clan and culture.
Adoption was extremely common in Mandalorian culture, to the point where even adults could be adopted. Because of the Mandalorians' constant connection to war, widows and orphans became an inescapable fact of life.
Contribute to clans welfare
Each individual and family is expected to contribute to the welfare and prosperity of their clan, which in turn helps provide for the family and individual as needed. This act is far from the socialist prop it first seems, as it is a neccessity for a society that spends a great deal of its time at war to provide for such neccessities as food, shelter and manufactured goods when a large number of a clan's adults are on other worlds fighting.
Raise children as Mandalorians
It is a Mandalorian's responsibility to raise children in the traditions of their culture. However this is not simply an imperative to breed, as it might seem on the surface. Mandalorians often adopt their children, caring very little for blood lineage and bowing to the neccessities created by their lifestyles as nomadic warriors. This act is a mandate to perpetuate the culture, as are the majority of the Six Acts, by passing it down to both offspring and adopted war orphans.
Rally to the cause of the Mand’alor
While the social structure of the Mandalorians is very simple, revolving around family and clan, each clan and family answering to itself, in times of war all families and clans are expected to answer a call to war by the Mand'alor, the leader of the Mandalorian people.
The old and the new way.
In order to retain their heritage in the face of outside influence, Mandalorians placed a high value on rigorously carrying out the Resol'nare's tenets in a daily manner. However, interpretation of the Resol'nare differed, and at least one group of Mandalorians, the New Mandalorians, potentially followed an alternate interpretation of the Resol'nare by doing away with personally-owned sets of armor and refusing to aid the Mand'alor.
The New Mandalorians was the pacifist movement who placed great importance on the virtues of pacifism, neutrality, and nonviolence rather than martial prowess and military strength as the Old Mandalorians did. They were led by a Duchess of Mandalore up until its dissolution following the coup in 19 BBY.
Similar to Death Watch, the Old Mandalorians were exiled from Mandalore, but unlike their Death Watch counterparts, did not seek vengeance on the New Mandalorians. Instead, the Old Mandalorians resettled in other parts of the galaxy and worked for the highest bidder, maintaining their Mandalorian warrior heritage as bounty hunters, mercenaries and other professions.
"Here's why you can't exterminate us, aruetii. We're not huddled in one place—we span the galaxy. We need no lords or leaders—so you can't destroy our command. We can live without technology—so we can fight with our bare hands. We have no species or bloodline—so we can rebuild our ranks with others who want to join us. We're more than just a people or an army, aruetii. We're a culture. We're an idea. And you can't kill ideas—but we can certainly kill you."
I'm sorry that nothing productive has come from me lately and I've been rather busy living out my clone obsession. But basically, clones are also a part of Mandalorian culture, aren't they?
Because someone asked me about Mandalorian wedding culture, I wanted to get to work on that and decided to first start with the Resol'nare (six actions).
So look forward to a ''short'' summary and introduction to this part of the Mandalorian (eu) culture.
This is the way.
*Su cuy'gar (Mando'a) = Hello (lit. you are still alive)
“I adhere to the Resol’nare. The core of what it means to be Mandalorian. A sacred law giving us direction and purpose. Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language, our leader—all help us survive. We must educate our children as Mandalorians, obey the commands of Mandalore, speak Mando’a and defend our clans.”
