Few Star Wars civilizations are as well known as
the Mandalorians. Their badass armored warriors have been a subject of fascination ever
since the first appearance of Boba Fett, and over the decades, Star Wars stories have
delved heavily into their culture and history. If you’re even vaguely familiar with Mandalorian
culture, you’re almost definitely aware that their society was based around clans - great families
of warriors with legacies often stretching back thousands of years. But not many fans are as
familiar with what the Mandalorian Clans were actually like. What were the major clans? What
made them unique from other bands of Mandalorians? Which of them was the greatest? In this video,
we’ll be answering all of these questions. Quick disclaimer - we’d like to emphasize
that, as usual, we’re talking about Legends in this video. There are other clans
in Canon, but the Canon Mandalorian society is significantly different from the Legends
one, so that’s material for another video. The very first Mandalorian Clans actually
predated the Mandalorians themselves. The practice dates back to a time when a
species of nomadic raiders called the Taungs roamed the Outer Rim, astray after losing their
homeworld to humans tens of thousands of years prior. Taung society was based around these clans,
which roamed around on their own, merging or diverging from the group at will. For millennia,
the clans were disparate and disorganized, but this changed in 7000 BBY, when the Taung
clans united under a leader named Mandalore. Mandalore led the Taungs to a jungle world
teeming with life, dominated by town-sized, non-sentient mythosaurs. The Taungs wiped out the
mythosaurs and claimed the planet for their own, naming it Mandalore after their leader.
They became the first of the Mandalorians. Under Mandalore the First, Taung society
was reshaped into what we know today as Mandalorian society, a culture built around war
and conquest. Over the next few thousand years, Mandalorian culture slowly drifted away from
its Taung origins. The war gods that originally inspired Mandalorian ideology were forgotten, the
nomadic ways of the past were largely abandoned, and the Taungs themselves went extinct. Before
the Taungs faded away, they opened the ranks of the Mandalorians up to all species shortly
before the Mandalorian Wars, and within a few generations, the ranks of the Mandalorians
were, ironically enough, overwhelmingly human. Through all this, however, the tradition of
the Mandalorian Clans persisted. Most of the old Taung clans were lost to time with the Taung
species, but new clans rose to take their place. Many of those that were around during the movie
era had their roots in the Mandalorian Wars, and were descended from some of the first human
Mandalorians. Most of the clans we know about fall into this category, including many of the
nine major ones we’re going to discuss today. Let’s get right to the heart of the matter and, in no particular order, discuss
the most important clans. Let’s start with a clan most of you are familiar
with - Clan Vizsla. This particularly violent clan was one of the modern Mandalorians’ most
ancient, dating back to the Mandalorian Wars. Its most well-known members were Tor Vizsla
and Pre Vizsla, the leaders of the Death Watch, but it was also the home clan of Shae Vizla, a
bounty hunter who became Mandalore the Avenger during the Galactic Wars. Clan Vizsla was brutal,
even for Mandalorians, and in particular had a vendetta against the Jedi. During the wars
of the Old Republic, it was Clan Vizsla that stole the Darksaber from the Jedi Temple, and
their hatred of the Jedi never wavered since. During the Mandalorian Civil War,
this clan founded the Death Watch, which adopted Clan Vizsla’s house symbol as
its own. Clan Vizsla dominated the Death Watch, though, to its shame, it had members in
the pacifist New Mandalorian camp as well. Another of the more brutal clans was Clan Priest,
the home clan of aggressive clone commando trainer Dred Priest. After the end of the Clone Wars,
this clan was allied with Clan Gedyc, among the members of which was Lorka Gedyc, the leader of a
Death Watch splinter group. Both Clan Priest and Clan Gedyc had strong Death Watch sympathies, and
seem to have been a bit younger than the likes of Clan Vizsla. Another of the younger clans, Clan
Kryze, was instead dominated by members of the New Mandalorian sect, such as Duchess Satine
Kryze, though many members of the clan were instead fierce members of the True Mandalorians
or the Death Watch, including Bo-Katan Kryze. Clan Awaud was another ancient clan, dating
back to over a thousand years before the Clone Wars. Once one of the largest Mandalorian
Clans, Clan Awaud was nearly wiped out by the Candorian Plague in 1058 BBY, during
the Dark Age of the Republic. Nonetheless, one of its few survivors ended up becoming
Mandalore, taking the name Mandalore the Uniter. He and the few remaining members of
Clan Awaud started a movement called the Return, which united many of the scattered Mandalorian
Clans and brought them home to Mandalore. Hundreds of years later, Clan Awaud was again thriving
when the Mandalorian Civil War broke out. Its members’ loyalties were divided, but the bulk of
the clan chose to break from Mandalorian society instead of fight. They served as mercenaries
for the CIS and the Hutts during the Clone Wars. Some of the ancient Mandalorian Clans were
long-dead by the time of the Clone Wars, but had legacies that influenced modern
Mandalorian society. Clan Keldau was one of the original Mandalorian Clans, dating back to the
Taungs’ Great Shadow Crusade, and likely died out during the Mandalorian Wars. Its legacy persisted
even to the Galactic Civil War, however - Clan Keldau’s symbol, the mythosaur skull, was later
adopted as the symbol of all Mandalorians. One of the most enduring Mandalorian Clans
was Clan Bralor. Clan Bralor was one of the leading clans during the Mandalorian
Wars, and its members took prominent places in Mandalorian society for thousands
of years afterwards. During the Dark Wars, a member of this clan was one of Mandalore
the Preserver’s chief lieutenants, and clan member Jogo Bralor was a leading Mandalorian
centuries later, during the Galactic Wars. Rev Bralor, a leading member of this clan,
was one of the Mandalorians selected to train the clone commandos. Decades later,
during the Second Galactic Civil War, Clan Bralor was still a powerhouse, with
many key Mandalorian leaders belonging to it. Perhaps the most important clan in Mandalorian
history, Clan Ordo ruled over the desert planet Ordo in Mandalorian space, and had a longer
history than even Clan Bralor. Like Clan Bralor, it was one of the most powerful human clans
during the Mandalorian Wars, but it truly came to prominence after the wars’ end. A member of Clan
Ordo, Canderous Ordo, was a close ally with Revan, and became the first Mandalore since Malachor V,
with Revan’s blessing. Taking the title Mandalore the Preserver, he rallied the Mandalorian Clans
on Dxun, rebuilding the might of the Mandalorians. Clan Ordo led this effort, and would be the core
faction in Mandalorian society for millennia to come. Even after Mandalore the Preserver’s death,
Clan Ordo remained fiercely opposed to the Sith, and was more friendly to the Republic
and the Jedi than most Mandalorian Clans. It, like many other clans, was fiercely
divided during the Mandalorian Civil War, but it survived the conflict and
remained relatively powerful. Over a hundred years later, during the Legacy
Era, a member of Clan Ordo served as Mandalore, showing that the clan was still powerful
after millennia in the spotlight. Lastly, we have the clan you’ve all been
waiting for - Clan Fett. One of the most infamous Mandalorian Clans, Clan Fett, alongside
Clan Bralor and Clan Ordo, was one of the earliest human Mandalorian Clans. During the Mandalorian
Clans, its leader, Cassus Fett, was the right hand of Mandalore himself, the highest-ranked
human in Mandalorian society. Cassus was an unforgiving general responsible for some of the
Republic’s worst defeats, and his infamy all but ensured that Clan Fett would be powerful for
years to come. For centuries after his death, the Fetts were renowned for their ruthlessness
and effectiveness, but the strength of the clan slowly faded. By the time of the Mandalorian
Civil War, Clan Fett had actually become rather insignificant - until the rise of Jango Fett, that
is. Jango and his son Boba revived Clan Fett and Mandalorian society as a whole, granting the clan
a powerful place in the Mandalorian hierarchy. Now to answer our final question - which
of these clans was the most feared? There are many good candidates, chief among them
being Clan Vizsla, Clan Ordo, and Clan Fett. The brutality and war-frenzy of Clan Vizsla
was unrivalled, while Clan Fett was known for its ruthlessness and effectiveness. But we’re
gonna have to give the top spot to Clan Ordo. Clan Ordo wasn’t as violent or bloodthirsty as
some of the other clans, but they were undeniably a force to be reckoned with, perhaps because they
weren’t as brutal. Clan Ordo burned down planets, resurrected the Mandalorians, and wasn't afraid
to face down some of the most terrifying Sith Lords in galactic history. During the Dark Wars,
these guys had the beskar balls to not only stand against Darth Nihilus but to actually board the
Sith Lord’s ship and blow the whole thing up. At various times, they were the pawns of the Sith,
the saviors of the Republic, and the leaders of the Mandalorians. But no matter what state the
clan was in, they were feared, and rightfully so. So, that’s our look at the most important of
the Mandalorian Clans. But what do you think? Would you like to hear more about any
of the Mandalorians we mentioned today? Feel free to post your
thoughts in the comments below.
