Are Ewoks pygmy relatives of Wookiees, or are they a completely different species? I've wondered about this for many years, but they never address it in the films. They look just like them, but tiny. They also are ferocious warriors just like Wookiees. I didn't see them use the crossbow laser gun, but they definitely used some interesting and distinctive weapons in the battle against the storm troopers and walkers. Anybody know anything about this?
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2...Plus, "EWOK" sounds like "WOOKY" if you say it backward.– jhonnyCommented Apr 9, 2016 at 18:10
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Strangely relevant (specifically around 1:40, but the entire thing is worth watching).– Martin EnderCommented Apr 9, 2016 at 23:12
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Why would a 8 foot tall wookie want to live on Endor with a bunch of 2 foot tall Ewoks? It does not make sense. youtube.com/watch?v=xwdba9C2G14– razethestrayCommented Apr 10, 2016 at 0:31
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@jhonny No it doesn't. It sounds like wookiee if you switch the order of the syllables. If you say it backwards, you get something like ickew. Or more accurately, /iʰkˡʊw/, which I don't think English orthography has any way of representing.– Janus Bahs JacquetCommented Apr 10, 2016 at 0:42
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I felt that my answer to this one was pretty convincing, drawing directly from canon sources. Is there anything else you'd like me to add before considering an acceptance?– ValorumCommented Jul 2, 2016 at 11:52
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3 Answers
No (probably).
The old SW Databank article on Wookiees describes them as being "native" to Kashyyyyk. The clear implication is that this is their ancestral homeworld and the place that they evolved.
Kashyyyk: Kashyyyk is a lush jungle planet where treetops serve as homes for the native Wookiees
By the same token, the SW Databank article on the Ewoks indicates that the Ewoks are "native" to the Forest Moon of Endor, again, strongly implying that this is their ancestral homeworld and the place where they evolved
EWOK: The Ewoks are sentient furred bipeds native to the moon of Endor.
There are no indications (in-canon) that the Wookiees and Ewoks are related in any way, other than looking moderately similar.
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It's worth noting that they've removed the word "native" from the current SW databank article on the wookiees. I don't think there's any special significance to this change, but it's moderately interesting.– ValorumCommented Apr 9, 2016 at 18:27
Out of universe,
George Lucas created the Ewoks because he wanted Return of the Jedi to feature a tribe of some primitive creatures that bring down the technological Empire. He had originally intended the scenes to be set on the Wookiee home planet, but as the film series evolved, the Wookiees became technologically skilled. Lucas designed a new species instead, ... — Wikipedia
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4Maybe add more words to this answer. Simply having "OoU" and a quote with no summary seems a little... sparse :)– RedCaioCommented Apr 10, 2016 at 2:23
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Simply trivia, but that is why they are called ewoka. Lucas swapped around the two sounda that make up wook-ee to make e-wok.– GnemlockCommented Dec 25, 2019 at 6:43
Yes. According to a lesser-known and controversial canon, the Ewoks are the descendants of a Wookiee subpopulation who were banished from Kashyyyk for being slightly too short. Of course, once on Endor, the slightly short Wookiees interbred. As there was no genetic advantage to being Wookiee-sized on the moon of Endor, the population continued to shrink in size. By the time of Return of the Jedi, the Ewok had reached their contemporary height and devolved to a pre-technological state. Their language had similarly drifted far enough from Shyriiwook to be incomprehensible to all but a few Wookiee anthropologists.
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3"a lesser-known and controversial canon" - please don't assume we know what you're talking about. Cite your sources so users can learn more from your answer.– RedCaioCommented Apr 10, 2016 at 2:24