The hubba gourd was a type of melon that grew in rock recesses on the planet of Tatooine. Although its juice was sour and difficult to digest for Humans, the hubba gourd was the main staple foodstuff of the Jawas and the Tusken Raiders, the two sentient species native to Tatooine. The name was a translation from a Jawaese phrase: "the staff of life."

Description[]

Hubba gourds were tough-skinned melons^[2] that grew in the shadows of the cliffs on Tatooine. They could be round^[3] or elongated.^[1] The fruits were normally covered with tiny, reflective crystals that protected them from excessive solar exposure.^[2] The gourd's interior was filled with tough, stringy fibers that contained a sour fluid.^[3] During their growing season, hubba gourds were colored green,^[8] and they would eventually take a yellowish hue.^[3] When ripe, the fruits also exhaled a distinctive smell.^[9] The seeds of the hubba gourd were pale and transparent.^[10]

The hubba gourd was prime food for Tusken Raiders and Jawas; the latter species found it particularly delicious when roasted.^[11] The word hubba itself was Jawaese for "the staff of life," indicating how important it was to that species' survival,^[12] and their efficient digestive systems drew all the nutrients they needed from it.^[13] Despite often finding the gourd hard to digest and bitter, other species could also consume it, including Humans,^[1] Geranites, and Askajians.^[3] Hubba juice,^[7] hubba bread,^[5] and hubba chips could be made from hubba gourds.^[6]

History[]

Momaw Nadon, an Ithorian resident of Tatooine, was at one time working on a hybrid hubba gourd.^[10]

Wimateeka, a Jawa leader of the Nkik clan, once contracted a number of hunters to eliminate wild animals that were attacking his clan's supply of hubba gourds.^[14]

Appearances[]

• Episode I Adventures 5: The Ghostling Children (and Game Book)
• Episode I Adventures 6: The Hunt for Anakin Skywalker (and Game Book)
• Episode I Adventures 8: Trouble on Tatooine (and Game Book)
• Star Wars (1998) 11 (Mentioned only)
• Kenobi (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
• "War on the Jundland Wastes" — Star Wars Comic 1
• "The Sand Tender: The Hammerhead's Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
• "Swap Meet: The Jawa's Tale" — Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
• Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (Mentioned only)
• "Skin Deep: The Fat Dancer's Tale" — Tales from Jabba's Palace
• Tatooine Ghost
• Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
• Dark Nest III: The Swarm War (Mentioned only)
• Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)

Sources[]

• The Illustrated Star Wars Universe
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "The University of Sanbra Guide to Intelligent Life: The Jawas" — Star Wars Gamer 3
• The Official Star Wars Fact File 63 (JAW 5-8: Jawas)
• The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

Notes and references[]