A Del Rey® Book Published by The Ballantine Publishing Broup Star Wars ® and copyright © 1997 by Lucasfilm Ltd. Title and character and place names protected by all applicable trademark laws. All Rights Reserved. All pictures copyright LucasFilm Ltd. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright conventions. Published in the United States by the Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Del Rey Publishing for more Star Wars books. |
Gaderffi, also known as gaffi sticks, are the dangerous bladed weapons wielded by Tatooine's fearsome Sand People, also known as Tusken Raiders. Fashioned with metal scavenged from wrecked starships, these handcrafted weapons are crude, dangerous, and sturdy enough to last for years.
The simple design consists of a hollow durasteel tube with a cutting blade affixed on one end and a weighted club or a second blade attached to the other end. The double-edged ax blades are sharpened to a razor's edge, able to cleave blasters, or living beings, in two with a single blow. The primary blade often has a spike used for spearing attacks. Gaffi sticks equipped with a second blade allow a Raider to deliver multiple cutting swings or strikes in quick succession, while sticks armed with a weighted club head can be used to knock victims unconcious or batter and break apart objects such as droids, speeders, and vaporators. Conflict and inimidation play significant roles in Tusken Raider culture, with individuals often brandishing their gaffi sticks during loud quarrels that determine social standing within the caln. The weapons double as eminently practical tools that can be used as walking sticks during arduous trips through the mountains, and the ax blades can be used to carve marks that indicate clan territories or leave warnigns on rock faces. A gaffi stick is in many ways far more practical than a blaster, which may run out of power or break if not handled carefully, although the Raiders do maintain a small number of hunting blasters that have been stolen during raids on moisture farms.
Luke Skywalker learned about the perils of encountering the Sand People when he was attacked while trying to retrive his runaway driod, R2-D2. Luke's hunting rifle was destroyed by a single swing from a Raider's gaffi stick, and the inexperienced young man promptly fainted...an act that probably saved his life, as it led the attacker to immediately join his fellows in the more important duty of looting Luke's landspeeder. |
Ex tremely territorial and violent, the Sand People have perfected the art of hiding in Tatooine's desert wastes and attacking with surprise acting heavily in their favor. They often attack at night, and ride on their banthas single-file to hide their numbers. Superstitious by nature, these tall powerful humanoids largely avoid high technology. Indeed, many Sand People seem afraid of mundane objects such as landspeeders, which they approach with great caution, as if expecting them to rear up and attack like some kind of metal beast.