Etobi

"The long-necked, dark-striped etobi bears a passing resemblance to its similarly named cousin, the eopie. However, etobi have four eyes—exceeding the eopie's by two—and bear a more marked pattern of camouflage."

―From the journal of Ardis San Tekka^[1]

The etobi were a type of non-sentient quadrupedal creature native to the desert planet Pasaana, where they were used as mounts. The sentient Aki-Aki species there created toys and decorations in the creatures' likeness, which included four eyes, a pair of mandible pincers, and a long neck. The creatures were also used as mounts and pack animals on the desert planet Tatooine, where the Jedi Rey Skywalker encountered an elder with a saddled etobi near the Lars homestead in 35 ABY.

Biology and appearance[]

"Their darkened topcoats complement the desert sand, and their light underbellies help them blend with the sky, which is very advantageous if a subterranean predator is looking up. Etobi grasp food and defend themselves with mandible pincers."

―From the journal of Ardis San Tekka^[1]

EtobiHead-Beastiary — Etobi had mouth pincers.

The etobi was a type of non-sentient quadruped creature with hooved feet and a long neck, bearing resemblance to both its similarly-named cousin, the eopie,^[1] and the giraffe.^[2] Etobi were covered in fur, with a darker topcoat of orange with dark black stripes that complemented the sands of their desert habitat and provided a marked pattern of camouflage.^[1]

The fur on the creatures' underside was a lighter white color that helped to blend with the sky, giving them an advantage against subterranean predators looking up at them from underneath. An etobi's head consisted of four black eyes surronded by white circles, two furred ears, and a pair of black mandible pincers that the creatures used to grasp food and defend themselves.^[1]

History[]

"The creatures are used as mounts on Tatooine and their native Pasaana, where the Aki-Aki copy their likeness to create toys and decorations for younglings."

―From the journal of Ardis San Tekka^[1]

Elder with etobi — Rey Skywalker encountered an elder with an etobi in the deserts of Tatooine.

Etobi were native to the desert planet Pasaana where they were used as mounts. The sentient Aki-Aki native to Pasaana also created toys and decorations in the likeness of the etobi for their younglings,^[1] with the hand-painted wood carvings showing the species' belief that the children were their future. Both busts and full statues of etobi,^[3] including a sculpted etobi head and a wooden etobi rocker, were avaliable during the Aki-Aki Festival of the Ancestors,^[4] held in 35 ABY.^[5]

Later that year,^[5] a human elder on^[6] the desert planet Tatooine, where etobi were also used as mounts^[1] and pack beasts,^[7] passed by the ruined Lars homestead with a saddled etobi. The elder stopped with the creature upon seeing the Jedi Rey Skywalker at the homestead and asked her name.^[6] Skywalker, who assumed the woman and the gangly etobi were heading to a trading post, identified herself, after which the elder left with the etobi.^[8] Galactic Society of Creature Enthusiasts Director of Creature Cartography Ardis San Tekka later included an illustrated entry on etobi in her journal.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

"I was playing with the idea that local fauna might have some evolutionary relationship to the Aki-Aki. J.J. liked these animals enough that we made three for the shoot, although he didn't want them to have trunks and the design changed from this look."

―Jake Lunt Davies on "Elephantine Alien 17"^[9]

An etobi first appeared in the sequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker,^[6] which was released on December 20, 2019.^[10] Several pieces of concept art of the creature was created for the film by Jake Lunt Davies, including "Fen Stilts 1B," which showed the creatures with curled trunks and longer ears in a marsh enviroment that was to be the Aki-Aki's home early in development. Davies' idea was that the creatures' long legs, height, and trunks would allow them to wade deeper into the swampy enviroment.^[9]

This design also appeared alongside Aki-Aki with similar trunks in a desert enviroment in Davies' "Elephantine Alien 17" design, with Davies exploring the idea that the creatures shared an evolutionary relationship with the Aki-Aki. Director J.J. Abrams requested that the trunks be changed, and in Davies' head study of the creatures, titled "Giraffes 09," the trunks were replaced with mandible pincers, although the creatures still had the longer ears. These were later shortened due to concerns that the creatures might be confused with the long-eared fathiers that had appeared in the 2017 film Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi.^[9]

A sculpt of the creature with these shorter ears was created and then painted over by Davies for the concept art piece "Giraffes 12 Smaller Ears," although Davies considered the ear change unfortunate. Abrams liked the creatures enough that three were made for the film shoot,^[9] although only one appears in the final cut. The creature was not identified in the film itself,^[6] but the "etobi" identification first appeared on labels for the Aki-Aki carvings in the reference book Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary, which was written by Pablo Hidalgo^[4] and released on the same day as the film.^[11]