Who Are The Witches Of Dathomir? A Book Of Boba Fett Deep Cut Explained
One of the coolest things about "Star Wars" is just how much lore is out there. While much of it is no longer canon and has been related to the "Legends" corner, it's still a fascinating and diverse universe with something for everyone. As a young nerd, I devoured everything "Star Wars" I could find, including the mass market paperback novels and short story collections. One of my favorites, "The Courtship of Princess Leia," introduced me to the witches of Dathomir, a culture run by women and centered around magic in a way that was antithetical to everything I knew about the Force. Unfortunately, outside of the Legends books, there just wasn't much about the witches. The "Clone Wars" animated series included the most evil of all the clans, the Nightsisters, of whom Asajj Ventress was a member, but never focused on the other clans. The closest we've gotten to any of the sisters being part of the official canon is their inclusion in the "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" video game, which features yet more Nightsisters.
In Chapter 3 of "The Book of Boba Fett," Danny Trejo's rancor handler character mentions briefly that rancors were tamed by the witches of Dathomir, who could ride them around as giant mounts. Hearing the words "witches of Dathomir" in canon was the most excited I've been the entire series, because it opens up my favorite weird corner of the "Star Wars" universe.
Rancor-Riding Force Witches
So who are the witches of Dathomir? In the Legends canon, they believed they were founded by a Jedi knight named Allya who had been banished to remote planet Dathomir. They sometimes called themselves the Daughters of Allya for this reason. The witches of Dathomir are Force-sensitive and female-led, and their culture is broken down into many clans, each with its own rules for using the Force. Unlike the Jedi or the Sith, the witches do not believe in absolutes, or in formal Force training. Some texts even refer to their use of the Force as "magick." There is one rule the clans all held highest, written by Allya herself: "Never concede to evil." Unfortunately, one of the clans, the Nightsisters, often did just that.
The Nightsisters are cool, and their hand in the creation of killers like fellow Dathomirian Darth Maul make them especially terrifying villains, but the rest of the clans have always been infinitely more fascinating to me. Much of the "Star Wars" universe is patriarchal and based in Campbellian theory. Eastern and western philosophies are mixed, but there really isn't much in the way of naturalism or pagan faiths. The witches of Dathomir are totally unique within the "Star Wars" universe, and their culture is fantastically complex. Besides, if "Star Wars" is escapism at its core, who wouldn't want to be a badass Force witch who rides a rancor?
Imagine a "Star Wars" series about the split of the Singing Mountain Clan, following the founder of the Nightsisters after she is exiled for attempting to kill her mother in a grab for power. The series details the origin of the Nightsisters, and would give us our first ever horror "Star Wars" series. Just imagine hordes of witches riding rancors through the swamps, their skull helmets peeking out through the mists. Confirmation that the witches of Dathomir are canon just brings me one step closer to seeing my greatest "Star Wars" dream come to life.