Ewokian Magic: Dare To Be Cute!

Ewoks - known by some as the cute little furry creations of George Lucas that captured the hearts of many fans, and by others as the irritating attempts to cash in on the commercial element that ruined one of the greatest science fiction blockbusters of our time - have not really been given a second thought by many viewers. In fact, not many people seem to even be aware of the two spin-off films of the early eighties in which we see the adventures of Wicket W. Warwick and his cute, cuddly companions save the parents of two children stranded on Endor and fight the armies of the evil Torack. And, it would be a safe bet to say that very few people would consider our furry friends as a prime example of a functioning Pagan community, let alone as creatures with a working knowledge of magic.

Well, let's examine the facts and it is easy to see why the little critters are loved by many Pagans world wide. Firstly, the name of the Ewok world, the forest moon of Endor, is taken from the Bible [1] where Saul - having cast out all mediums and necromancers - finds that in the approach of the Philistine armies, the Lord does not give him any advice. Saul's solution is of course to consult the medium known as "The Witch/Medium of Endor" asking her to channel the spirit of the late Samuel. (She is successful, just in case you are wondering). So from the name Endor we have connotations of mysticism and magic, darkness and hidden knowledge, wisdom and fear of the unknown. Quite a magical image of the home of the Ewoks already starts to emerge.

Ewoks dwell in tree villages to avoid being eaten by the giant Gorax (approx. 30' tall - average height of trees 1000') and in effect the trees have become integral to the Ewok culture (although there is one village set up on floating lily pads on a lake). The trees are tall, protective and nourishing, providing the ewoks with shelter and food. For each wok that is born, a "Life Tree" is planted and when that wok dies, its soul inhabits the tree for eternity. Whenever the Ewok elders need advice and counsel, they consult these life trees and therefore the knowledge of the Ewoks before them. Trees are an integral part of Ewok society and as you can see, the whole concept gives the term "tree-hugging" a whole new meaning!

Each village is of a different tribe and each tribe has its own elders. The tribe of our hero Wicket who features in the Return of the Jedi is led by Chief Chirpa and is advised by the "village mystic who is as old as the trees" [2] , Logray, a wok of the Shamanic path. Logray's list of magical tools is simple yet effective: he wears a bird skull on his head and has a pet owl - both symbols of wisdom and spirit - enabling Logray to move with the birds and fly on the astral plane as well as remain on the Earthy domain of Endor. He owns a ceremonial magic knife very similar to an athame. A method of divination that he uses includes the use of a spinning top that puts the viewer into a trance-like state enabling them to scry. His staff is a wooden cross, a very powerful symbol in itself, with parts of a skeleton for decoration. Both Logray and Chief Chirpa wear an assortment of bones either as a head dress or tied into their fur. The main purpose of these is to ward off enemies.

How the Ewoks deal with enemies is another interesting point. Despite their primitive culture they still manage to overcome the Imperial troops and the result of their enemies' fate is also hinted at in the film, Return of the Jedi. When the rebels land on Endor, they fall into an Ewok trap and are later taken to be made the sacrifices for the feast of C3PO (more about this later). This is an old custom followed by old tribes, still notably, in Borneo in the modern day. It is a custom to eat the flesh of your enemy so that you might know them better. Also in this film we see a sliver of Ewok worship: bowing and chanting to their idol, ritual feast followed by ritual itself.

Whilst some may think that only idiots would mistake C3PO for a god, when we examine the evidence, we can see that it is actually a very rational assumption to be made. Firstly from an alchemical point of view, the origins of alchemy lie in the practice of trying to turn metals into gold. So that shows that C3PO is already quite special. Gold also represents the sun and C3PO has a circle on his chest that could be interpreted as the sun. This makes him synonymous with the sun and since the sun is what gives life and energy, the Sun is, to many people, God. Another consideration to make at this point is that the Ewoks themselves are a primitive culture, and any metal they possess is still in the state in which they find it. Occasionally they work it into spears and knives through basic iron mongering but this is the most worked it becomes. C3PO is metal so processed, he looks pure and shiny, almost the complete opposite of what we see in the Ewoks culture. The final points to be made about C3PO is that he is fairly androgynous and therefore represents both sexes and also being a robot he has an immense knowledge that is beyond the understanding of our furry friends. As many people know the Sun is seen as a lucky symbol by many religions and from certain perspectives it is entirely plausible for a primitive culture to view such a character as a God.

As Endor is a magical and dangerous place, the Ewoks require certain magical objects in order to travel across her surface properly: The Sacred Totems of Legendary Ewok Warriors [3] . These items are so magical that they are kept by Lowgri and only returned to their owners at the times of need. The totems consist of the following; White Wings of Hope, Red Wings of Courage, Magic Walking Stick, Blue Wings of Strength, Candle of Pure Light, a rock, an Ivory Tooth and a Crystal.

All the "winged" totems are feathers of the appropriate colour worn as a head dress. The symbolism of the colours is also fairly obvious: the white being the colour of doves shows peace, purity and hope; the red being a fiery colour shows inner strength and courage, and possibly links with the phoenix, the blue wings are taking the association of blue showing the male and therefore strength (ignoring any feminist ideals). The blue can also be considered as representation of the crown charka and therefore mental strength.

The Magical Walking Stick can cross planes. It is used when Mace is trapped in a magical lake which magically takes in all that touches it and traps them beneath its surface. The Stick is the only thing that can exist on both sides without being trapped and is used to free Mace. The Candle of Pure Light can only be possessed by one of pure heart, in this case Cindle, a five year old girl. It can burn indefinitely and becomes a home tofirefly-esque creatures. The Rock when needed, splits itself in half producing an arrowhead that is used for dowsing and in the example shown, it points to the hidden entrance for which the Caravan is seeking.

The crystal, which in appearance looks like a clear quartz or a not quite so sparkly diamond belongs to the Priestess Ewok and only two of its functions are demonstrated. The first is to show the true character of the holder. When Mace holds it, it turns into a Lizard but when Cindle holds it, it turns into a little fluffy mouse. When held by an Ewok, it turns back into a crystal. The second function we see the crystal demonstrate is when it is placed on the end of a staff it is used to mesmerize a killer giant spider. The Ivory Tooth is a symbol given to the great warrior Ewok to ward of many enemies.

A final aspect of the Endor magic is shown when the evil Lord Torack and his witch are unable to harness the energy from what is basically a giant battery for the Starcruiser spaceship [4]. Because of their evil intent, they are unable to use the energy from that power source but because the Ewoks have a more wholesome intent, they are able to use the battery.

As we can see from the above, Ewoks are not just cute cuddly critters, but a Pagan culture leaning towards the Shamanic path and able to do their own magical practices and see nature as holy in every aspect of their lives. They have rituals and ceremonies. The village mystic is honoured and celebrated and magical tools are part of their everyday life. They are able to scry using trance like states and take the term tree hugger to a whole new level. Whether or not this was the intent of Lucasfilm [5] is unknown, but it certainly does seem like somebody did do their research, and in a way the Ewoks show the innocent and magical side of our lives that is cute and vulnerable as well as tough and enduring. All of us, especially those of us who are Pagan, can see many similarities between our lives and the Ewoks - except they seem to be contented with what they have got. So maybe we should all learn to get in touch with our inner Ewok and rediscover the Earth's mysteries. Perhaps then we would look after our resources and be happier. Either way, it certainly is fun to embrace their culture and Ewoks seem to work their way into everybody's hearts at some point. Dare to be cute: Yap-Yap!

Sources

The Return of the Jedi, The Ewok Adventure: The Caravan of Courage and The Battle for Endor. All of which are made by Lucasfilm.

Footnotes

[1] 1 Samuel 28

[2] The Ewok Adventure: Caravan of Courage

[3] Ibid.

[4] The Battle for Endor

[5] The creators of the Star Wars films and the Ewok “spin-off” films