Yam'rii

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"The Yam'rii seem to have a fundamentally violent and brutal nature."

―"Species From A to Z"^[7]

The Yam'rii, also known as the Huk, were an insectoid sentient species from the Wild Space planet Huk, that were characterized by a triangular-shaped head poised on a long neck, large forward-facing eyes, and prominent upper limbs that were bent and held together at an angle.

Biology and appearance

The Yam'rii,^[8] also known as the Huk,^[2] were green^[1] or brown^[5] insectoid^[2] sentient species^[1] from the planet^[9] Huk^[6] in Wild Space,^[10] taller than 1.79 meters,^[4] that resembled praying mantises.^[3] They had huge forward-facing eyes, a triangular-shaped head perched on a long neck, and noticeable upper limbs bent and held together at an angle.^[1]

Society and culture

Yam'rii were a greedy, technological, and destructive insectoid species,^[11] with the New Republic's "Species From A to Z" profile theorizing the aliens were naturally violent and brutal.^[7] One member of the species wore minimal clothing, such as a cloth skirt.^[1]

History

The Yam'rii brutally overran numerous worlds in their sector, plundering their resources, enslaving their populations,^[11] and searching for strong opponents.^[7] When the planet Kalee drew their interest, it resulted in a horrifying conquest of the native Kaleesh people.^[11] What ensued was a brutal struggle between the Yam'rii and the Kaleesh^[6] in the form of an ongoing war. In time,^[11] the Kaleesh forces were led by Kaleesh warlord^[2] Qymaen jai Sheelal,^[12] later known as Grievous.^[13] The Yam'rii were pushed back from Kalee to their own homeworld. When the Kaleesh invaded their world, they unexpectedly sought the Galactic Republic for assistance.^[11] The Republic^[6] and the Jedi Order intervened in the disastrous conflict^[2] and supported the Yam'rii against the Kaleesh.^[6] They condemned, embargoed, and issued fines, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Kaleesh starving to death.^[11] At that moment, Grievous promised vengeance.^[6]

Sylar Saris was an insectoid bounty hunter active^[14] around 18 BBY^[15] who resembled the Yam'rii species. He was known as "The Slayer of Ordo Eris" and had become highly wanted after performing several bounties on behalf of the Haxion Brood crime syndicate. The bounty on Saris was eventually claimed by fellow bounty hunter Fennec Shand, who was aided by former clone commandos Hunter and Wrecker.^[14] Saris supposedly belonged to a subspecies of Yam'rii.^[3] This subspecies was capable of spitting green^[14] acid^[16] out of their mouths.^[14]

In 0 BBY, one Yam'rii was present in Chalmun's cantina in Mos Eisley, Tatooine, on the day Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi met Han Solo and Chewbacca.^[1]

An entry on Yam'rii was included in "Species From A to Z," a survival compendium sent out by Carson Teva during the New Republic Era.^[7]

Behind the scenes

Known only as "Praying Mantis" during the shooting of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, this alien puppet was operated by actor Jack Purvis, who also played other roles in the original trilogy, including the Jawa chief, the Ugnaught chief, and Teebo the Ewok.^[17] During one day of shooting, his son Andy Purvis operated the puppet.^[18]

The Yam'rii first appeared in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.^[1] The species was first canonically identified in the 2019 Star Wars By the Numbers video "Every Alien Species in the Original Trilogy".^[8] In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the Yam'rii were a insectoid sentient species with a praying mantis characteristics first identified in the Premiere Limited base set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, which was released in December 1995. The cards also identified the individual seen in A New Hope as Kitik Keed'kak.^[19]