Banchiian

Last Updated: 09/08/2025 (OUTDATED)

Name: Banchiian

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Avian/Miniature

Homeworld: Banchii

Coloration: Black, White, Gray, or Brown

Biology: The Banchiians are a race of relatively mysterious, small bird people introduced to us during the High Republic era. They stood approximately .3 meters tall and had a plump, small, avian build. Their bodies are covered in small down feathers that come in a number of more “natural” colors including black, white, gray, and potentially a light brown. The Banchiians have large, expressive eyes as well as small beaks. They also have three small crests on top of their head that extend up from their foreheads, as well as potentially facial markings in the form of three small lines on their cheeks or forehead, although these markings may actually be painted on and not natural, this has yet to be revealed.

Banchiians did not possess wings, and instead had two thin arms that resembled their four equally as thin, featherless legs, giving them an almost centaur-like appearance. Each of their six limbs sported 3 fingers/toes, sharp but short talons, and at least on their wrists, two additional small barbs each. The Banchiians were very agile and relatively strong for their size, although their intelligence was seemingly somewhat lacking when compared to other sentient species. They also don’t appear to have the capacity to speak Galactic Basic, potentially being semi-non-verbal and either communicating via chirps and whistles, or maybe even a form of sign language (although they may still be able to at least comprehend Galactic Basic from what we’ve seen so far).

Lore: As of the middle of the High Republic era, the Banchiians were still classified as a primitive sentient species. In fact, they were not even officially discovered until 231 BBY. Banchii was home to a long standing Jedi Temple, however, it wasn’t until the aforementioned year when offworlders began to seriously colonize the world. When small objects began disappearing from the first Banchii settlement, a group of young Jedi were dispatched to search for answers. They tracked their missing items to the interiors of some of Banchii’s massive trees, where they first encountered the Banchiians.

Initially, there were aggressions between the Banchiians and the Jedi, however, Jedi Knight Lily Tora-Asi stepped in and quelled the hostilities. While communication was initially difficult, compromises were eventually made between the two groups and the Banchiians were eventually considered allies of the Jedi. They also made peace with the settlers and formed an almost symbiotic relationship, the settlers providing the Banchiians with offworld trinkets and objects, while the Banchiians protected the colonists from potential threats. Threats that included the terrifying “Drengir,” although the Jedi were more adept at dealing with this specific enemy.

It seems Banchiians did not believe in, nor really comprehend the idea of personal property. They shared all of their belongings among each other, and believed that whatever the settlers brought with them also belonged to the natives of Banchii. They were fearful of the much larger offworlders, however, which is why they often acted in secret and stayed hidden within the trees. The Banchiians were still quite primitive, living as hunter-gatherers. From what we’ve seen, they have made small bows, arrows, swords, cloaks, torches, and a few other similar objects, but that’s about the extent of their “technological” progress.

Continuity: The Banchiians are rather unique as they have currently only appeared in the Canon High Republic manga series “Edge of Balance,” meaning they are both currently exclusive to Star Wars Canon as well as the Japanese manga medium.

Unexplored: There’s a good chance that we haven’t seen the last of the Banchiians, and with a lot of the media in the upcoming High Republic waves yet to be revealed, more than likely there is another volume of Edge of Balance on the horizon. So this section could really change at any point, and I will come back and update the article as it does. But at the moment, the most important thing to explore would be the future of the species and their continued relationship with the Jedi. Since we don’t know the status of the Banchii Jedi Temple during the Clone Wars/Great Jedi Purge, we also don’t know what happened to the Banchiians during this time?

Did they continue to rapidly progress, maybe learn to speak Basic, and become official members of the Galactic Republic? Or did they retain their current culture into the following eras? Due to their connection with the Jedi Order, did any Banchiians qualify and subsequently become Jedi themselves? Did Banchii continue to grow as a Republic colony, or did it remain with only a few offworlder settlements? Were the Banchiians ever affected by any of the wars, as Banchii was the prime target for a Separatist or Imperial occupation, did they see hardships during these times? Hopefully the answers to all of these questions and more will be answered in the near future, giving us a better understanding of this species, their history, and overall lore.

Additional Notes: I actually really like the Banchiians. I that wasn’t impressed by their design at first because I didn’t notice their second set of legs. However, once I realized they were like little bird centaurs, they quickly grew on me and now they’re one of my favorite species introduced in media from The High Republic! I’m very excited to see/learn more about them, and as much as I love the manga/anime style, hopefully we’ll get some other iterations or illustrations so we can see what they would look like in different, potentially more realistic styles.

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