INFO: The Hutts provide the knowledge and insight that fuels trade throughout many sectors of the galaxy. Despite the low opinion with which Hutts are regarded by many in the galactic community, it is a fact that, without their efforts, many planets and systems that are now quite wealthy would still be poor, empty worlds, barely able to survive.
While Hutts themselves may not be common, their influence can be felt throughout innumerable systems in the Outer Rim, and it is obvious that the scope of their power is continually widening, making inevitable that space travelers will often encounter beings who have been affected, knowingly or unknowingly, by the policies of a Huttese trader.
Hutts have concentrated their efforts in many vital industries, not the least of which is the "business" of crime. It is commonly believed that Hutts control the criminal empires of the galaxy and while that rumor is not entirely true, it does have a strong basis in fact.
RACE: Hutt
HEIGHT: 3 to 3.9 Meters Tall
SKIN: Orange, green, blue, brown, purple, turquoise
DISTINCTION: Gastropods
LANGUAGE: Huttese
HOMEWORLD (Varl (relocated to Nal Hutta), Sleheyron) :See below post for full info on these 3 planets.
BIOLOGY AND APPEARANCE:Full-grown adult Hutts were very large creatures, boasting a total body-weight of as much as a metric ton. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they were often semi-sedentary, spending their days lounging lazily, and traveling on repulsorlift sleds or palanquins borne by teams of slaves. Most of their bulk rested in their bulging belly and thick, slug-like tail, adding to their impression of bloated corruption. In Hutt society, weight was equated with power and status, so thin Hutts were derided as weak and unworthy.
In fact, a Hutt's thick, fatty hide hid a powerful musculature, allowing them to move with surprising speed on the single muscular "foot" formed by the base of their tail and belly. Their thick, sweaty skin and the heavy layer of fat beneath it served an evolutionary role, maintaining their body temperature. In fact, a Hutt's hide was sufficiently thick to take several blaster shots before vital organs were reached, permitting the Hutt ample time to pulverize would-be assassins who came unprepared to deal with such a fleshy obstacle. The slimy coating of sweat and mucus protected them from burns. Hutts were also indigestible, a feature that saved Zorba the Hutt from being eaten by the Sarlacc on Tatooine. They were also immune to many otherwise lethal chemicals, and could strike lethal blows with their tails.
The Hutts were also largely immune to the Force mind tricks owing to a natural resistance possessed by the species. They had the ability to see ultraviolet light and other frequencies not used by the Human eye. Often, wealthy Hutts lit their palaces in these spectra of light, giving intruders, or at least those without similar abilities or compensating equipment, a false sense of stealth.
Hutts lacked a conventional bony skeleton, but had an inner armature known as a mantle, which helped to support their arms and head. They could seal their nostrils and hold their breath for significant lengths of time, and they were omnivorous, capable of distending their jaws to accommodate vast mouthfuls, swallowing food down with a powerful tongue and a specialized shredding organ deep inside their throat, compared by some sources to a mollusk’s radula. Along with terms such as "gastropod", "mantle" and "foot", this choice of terminology seems to suggest a slug-like biology, but it should be noted that much of the current information on Hutts originates in Obo Rin's Catalog of Intelligent Life in the Galaxy, an inaccuracy-laden and perhaps mendaciously speciesist work of Imperial propaganda.
Hutts were resistant to many poisons and diseases and seldom fell ill. Perhaps most remarkably of all, Hutts could even regenerate body-parts when injured. Some time prior to 32 BBY, a Hutt known as Gargonn lost half his head, including an eye and apparently a sizable part of his brain, when he was ravaged by a wandrella, yet it was anticipated that he would regenerate the injured tissue completely after a century or so. It is not known if the regeneration of his brain had any effect on his mind or personality. Some Hutts, such as Quaffug, were believed to possess multiple brains, though whether this was a species-wide trait was unknown.
Hutts were hermaphroditic, and as a result, gender was more of a case of a Hutt's deliberate decision or a viewer's deduction. Often, Hutts carrying children were referred to as female, though it was entirely up to the Hutt in question as to if the distinction was accepted or not. For instance, Jiliac was referred to as a female after becoming pregnant, but Popara and Zorba still considered themselves males after birthing their respective children. In addition, some Hutts were known to take mates with each other, such as Gorga and Anachro.
Fetal Hutts spent much of their first 50 years of existence in the pouch of their parents, and have no sentient minds at that stage. Upon emerging, the intellectual level of a young Hutt was around that of a ten-year-old Human. Newborn Hutts, also known as Huttlets, would stay close to their parents for decades, returning to their pouches when they were tired, lonely or scared. Other Hutts were sometimes known to kill them in fear of future competition. Young Hutts were not considered important or accountable for their actions until they were 130 years into their average life-span of well over a millennium—making Jabba's rise to power at the incredibly young age of 80 all the more impressive.
The Hutt Empire was powerful in its own right, comprising a large area of space on the Outer Rim Territories, and Huttese, the native language of the Hutts, was widely spoken by subjugated races. But many ambitious Hutts moved to worlds outside Hutt Space to become overlords in organized crime within the Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire and New Republic. All Hutts had a given name, which was supported by their clan name and surname (such as Jabba Desilijic Tiure and Borga Besadii Diori). However, few outside Hutt society were aware of various Hutts' proper names and commonly replaced the clan and surname with "the Hutt", as in "Jabba the Hutt" or "Gardulla the Hutt," although it is doubtful the Hutts minded. Hutts were furthermore divided into castes, including H'uuns.
Hutt skin color varied; while Jabba the Hutt had green, oily skin, Durga the Hutt had orange, and Borvo the Hutt had blue. Throughout the years, Hutts have been known for having quite different skin colors from one another.
VehiclesHutts often were planted on their thrones or seats in their later years. More agile Hutts slithered, or walked using muscles on their belly to push forward. Other Hutts would often, if going anywhere, ride a hoversled. They also had power chairs, which were for the more immovable Hutts, such as Aarrba. Some of the most successful Hutts had Sail barges. They were often used for the Hutt's personal luxury if going somewhere or supervising executions.
CULTURE AND HISTORY:The Hutts originated on the planet Varl in the Ardos system. Varl was also home to the t'landa Til, a distantly related sentient species. Early in their interstellar history, the Hutts founded an empire that was mainly based in the Outer Rim Territories though it also covered a portion of the Mid Rim. This empire was near the Tion Cluster due to their relative proximity, rivalry ensued, with occasional territorial skirmishes along their borders.
During the reign of the Tionese dictator Xim the Despot from 25,130 BBY to 25,100 BBY, the Tionese attempted to vanquish the Hutts and rule the Si'Klaata Cluster during the Hutt-Xim conflict. This campaign included the devastation of the once-lush Hutt world of Ko Vari in 25,105 BBY. However, the Hutt Empire made a pact with the Nikto, Klatooinian and Vodran. This new slave army was crucial in the Hutt victory at the Third Battle of Vontor circa 25,100 BBY which saw the defeat of Xim's War-Robots.
Following the battle, the Treaty of Vontor was signed by the Hutts, Klatooinians, Vodrans, and Nikto. This treaty set the Hutts up as eternal overlords of the three other species and of the Si'Klaata Cluster. Xim was killed at Vontor according to Tionese history, but actually died a slave in the dungeons of Kossak on Varl in 25,100 BBY.
During the Tionese War in 24,000 BBY, the Galactic Republic used its agents to stir up trouble in the Hutt Empire, thus winning its war against the Honorable Union of Desevro & Tion (one of the feuding states that rose from the ashes of Xim's empire a century after his death). However, this only worsened the divide between the Hutts and Tionese.
According to Hutt legend, the planet Varl orbited around two suns, Evona and Ardos. Evona and Ardos were venerated as gods by the Hutts. Evona was consumed by a black hole, and in fury, Ardos expelled its gaseous external layers and destroyed the other planets of the star system.
Somehow, Varl survived, though its atmosphere was torn away and its biosphere devastated, and left as wasteland with acid rain. The Hutts, too, survived the cataclysm, and soon left the pockmarked world. They believed that by surviving the cataclysm they had been elevated to the status of 'near-gods', leading to an innate feeling of superiority over most other species, whom they considered inferior. The planet they left behind was inhabited by the descendants of abandoned servants of the Hutts, with only a few squalid manufacturing centers.
The tale has generally been dismissed as more Huttese hyperbole, and the most commonly accepted alternate theory is that the Hutts destroyed their world themselves, in some ancient war. Interestingly, there are signs indicating that the cratered wasteland of planet Varl was once a pleasant green world, and besides many asteroids, no other world orbits the white dwarf, Ardos. Presumably, the asteroids are the remains of Varl's moons, as researchers at the Baobab Archives have claimed to find Hutt artifacts "on the moons of Varl".
In 15,000 BBY, the Hutts and the t'landa Til migrated across space to Evocar in the Y'Toub system, which the Hutts renamed Nal Hutta, or "Glorious Jewel" in Huttese. Having decided that Evocar was a suitable home, they traded their technology with the Evocii in exchange for pieces of land on Evocar. The Hutts continued doing this until the Evocii realized that their homeworld had almost been bought out from under them. Hutt palaces, amusement parks and other constructions were built all over Evocar, and the Evocii could do nothing about it.
They appealed to the Galactic Republic, though the Republic ruled in favor of the Hutts. The Evocii were eventually evicted from Evocar by the Hutts, and relocated to the planet's fifth moon, which would later be known as Nar Shaddaa, "The Smuggler's Moon."
On Nar Shaddaa, the Evocii began mutating due to the various technologies practiced on the moon. The Evocii were believed, incorrectly, to have died off from prolonged exposure to Nar Shaddaa's polluted atmosphere. Their descendants remained hidden in the lower levels of the Smuggler's Moon. For a time, Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa prospered since they were located on popular trade routes. The trade routes shifted. As a result, Nal Hutta and its moon became a haven for smugglers, pirates, and other criminals.
At some point in history, the Hutt Empire collapsed as a result of internal fighting between the various clans and all that was left became known as the Hutt Space. Eventually, the fighting was resolved and the Hutts became governed by the Clans of the Ancients—currently known as the Hutt Grand Council. The Council oversaw the operations of all Hutt Clans, favoring none of them, but governing all of them fairly.
Although the species was stereotyped by many as greedy, ambitious, lazy and cowardly, there were several exceptions including Blotus (whom became Supreme Chancellor and ruled the Republic for 275 years during the Rianitus Period) and Aarrba (a humble and honest businessman at Koros Major in 5,000 BBY). The Hutts never joined the Galactic Republic, the Alliance to Restore the Republic or the New Republic (save individual Hutts such as Tuwas), and they managed to keep the Galactic Empire at bay.
During the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Hutts thought they could save themselves by cooperating with the Yuuzhan Vong. They made a deal with Nom Anor that they would provide the extragalactic invaders with several Hutt worlds in exchange that they be left alone. However, the Yuuzhan Vong thought that they would betray their Hutt allies once the New Republic was destroyed. Meanwhile, the Hutts were secretly informing the New Republic with locations where the Yuuzhan Vong would strike. It would not be long before the Yuuzhan Vong discovered the Hutt's treachery.
The Y'Toub system was surrounded by several of the Yuuzhan Vong's most deadly warships. Several organic creations were sent to Nal Hutta and its moon Nar Shaddaa for multiple purposes. Different types of bacteria killed most of the inhabitants, before processing their remains into the soil of Nal Hutta. Then all the technology on the planet was broken down and also absorbed into the soil. Then the Yuuzhan Vong Vongformed Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa.
The Hutt clans suffered a terrible defeat as a result of this. Most of the Hutts fled to Tatooine, but those still left alive on Nal Hutta, such as Borga Besadii Diori, tried to persuade the Yuuzhan Vong into letting them go. By 26 ABY there was a Hutt underground operating against the Yuuzhan Vong, with Booster Terrik supplying them with weapons.
By about 130 ABY, the Hutts may have recovered to their former level of power. One such notable Hutt was Queen Jool who owned Rik's Cantina on Coruscant.
Hutt crime lordsThe Hutts were famous for their ruthlessness, and success in the underworld. Many Hutts would ransack ships for their load. As masters of the criminal underworld, they would steal, cheat, and murder without regret. They often hired smugglers such as Han Solo to transport illegal spice. They would typically have a fortress of some kind, often on remote planets, such as Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. Hutt fortresses would usually be guarded by selected mercenaries or bounty hunters. Gamorreans and Weequay were common species to fulfill this duty. Leading an organization of crooks and scum meant competition. The Hutts that got involved with criminal activity were often killed, or enslaved. Only the more cunning and clever Hutts, like Jabba, stayed at the top of the food chain. Some Hutts, including Jabba, had such an influence that they actually controlled entire planets.