The Kashyyykk clarion, or Wookiee Clarion, was a type of musical wind instrument created by the Wookiee species of the planet Kashyyyk from the horn of a bantha, bronzium, wroshyr wood, and cerulean gemstones. The clarions were used to summon Wookiees to gatherings in times of peace, act as an alarm in times of war, and were also considered a piece of cultural art.
During the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, a clarion was sounded to summon Wookiees to defend the city of Kachirho against the droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In 5 BBY, a Kashyyyk clarion thought to have been made by the Porr'trrr tribe was displayed in the human antique dealer Luthen Rael's gallery on the planet Coruscant.
Kashyyyk clarions were designed for Wookiees.
The Kashyyyk clarion, also known as the Wookiee Clarion, was a type of musical instrument created from a bantha horn with an orange lacquer finish. It was jacketed with patterns of hand-hammered bronzium plating that was merged with natural wroshyr wood and natural cerulean gemstones, the latter of which were set into the body.
Immense lung capacity was required to sound a call from the clarion, but with the lung strength of an adult Wookiee they could then be heard as far as twenty kilometers (twelve miles) away. The sound's pitch could be changed using a series of at least four raised keys on the instrument's body. The clarions ranged in size from small to large enough that they were crafted to wrap around a Wookiee player and were comfortable to wear on the move due to how they cradled the wearer's torso.
A Kashyyyk clarion was sounded at Kachirho during fighting on Kashyyyk in the Clone Wars.
Used as early as 300 BBY, Kashyyyk clarions were handmade in a laborious process by the Wookiee species of the planet Kashyyyk. The instrument was considered a piece of cultural art but also had an important function, as its bellow was most commonly used to summon Wookiees to war or other important meetings. This war time role was vital, as the clarion acted as an alarm that united scattered Wookiee tribes against a common foe.
The clarion was also used to summon Wookiee clans together for friendly gatherings or festivities such as Life Day in times of prosperity and peace. However, their cacophonous cry was not ideally suited to making any sort of enjoyable music. In the year 19 BBY, a clarion was sounded to summon Wookiees to defend the city of Kachirho on Kashyyyk from the Separatist Droid Army as part of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Wookiees young and old from all areas of the planet answered the call.
A Kashyyyk clarion was displayed on Coruscant.
As items of great cultural significance, Kashyyyk clarions were known to fetch quite high prices from high-end art collectors wishing to display them in galleries and in 5 BBY, a Kashyyyk clarion of unknown origin was displayed in Galactic Antiquities and Objects of Interest, a gallery run by the human antique dealer Luthen Rael on the planet Coruscant.
The various swirling decorations on the clarion that Rael displayed were believed to be the insignia of the Porr'trrr tribe, with the artisan who handcrafted the clarion having taken great pains to adorn the it with hammered decorations that acted as a clear indicator that the heirloom celebrating the tribe's identity had been used in sacred rituals over many years. A brass plate among the clarion's keys depicted a noble Wookiee looking in the direction of the player, with possible identities for the individual depicted including the instrument's owner and player or someone important to them, a tribal elder, or the clarion maker's own self-portrait used as a way to mark their work.
Chewbacca still remembered hearing the Kashyyyk clarion call at Kachirho during the Battle of Kashyyyk over fifty-four years later.
At some point, an artist who was compiling a journal of sketches and stories drew a sketch of a Kashyyyk clarion. The sketch and a caption were included when the journal was restored, expanded, and displayed by the Graf Archive at some point after 34 ABY. At some point after 35 ABY, the Wookiee Chewbacca still remembered hearing the Kashyyyk clarion that sounded at Kachirho during the Clone Wars, information which the protocol droid C-3PO included in an entry on the clarions in his book The Secrets of the Wookiees.
The Kashyyyk clarion was created as a prop for the 2005 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, although it is not visible in the film's final cut. The instrument was first shown in the current Star Wars canon in the 2016 reference book Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia. It then made an on-screen appearance in "Aldhani," the fourth episode of the television series Andors first season, which aired on September 28, 2022. Star Wars 100 Objects, Kristin Baver's 2023 reference book, provided the alternate name of Wookiee Clarion. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the instrument first appeared in the 2005 reference book Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary, which was written by James Luceno.
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- Star Wars: Alien Archive
- Star Wars 100 Objects
- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Wookiees