Tusken Raiders abducted Shmi Lars (Skywalker) as they skirted the Lars' family homestead, located almost due west of Anchorhead, on their nomadic wanderings; nomadic wonderings that had lately included numerous conflicts with the settlers and moisture farmers of Tatooine. In search of his mother, Anakin sets off in the direction of the Tusken's last known sighting - the massacre of Cliegg Lars' posse of moisture farmers.
About 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the Lars' family homestead, on the edge of the Western Dune Sea, just beyond the giant rock canyons of the Jundland Wastes, Anakin encounters a fleet of sandcrawlers that belong to Jawas, who are busily working with their portable smelter beneath a tent. He questions the native tiny, cloaked scrap-dealers about the nomadic Tuskens. For only a few small items from Owen Lars' swoop bike pannier - a multi-tool and a portable scanner - they point Anakin towards the east, advising him to stick to the high ground in order to gain a vantage point from which to descend on the Tusken Raiders, who travel and setup camps in the valleys.
The Jundland Wastes are dotted with unusual rock forms, many of which have significance to the Tusken tribes who have inhabited the area for thousands of years. Anakin passes under the 90-meter (300 feet) high B'Thazoshe Bridge (which translates into Basic as "bantha horn turned to stone"). Formed by ancient drainage channels, it is the largest natural bridge on Tatooine, and is considered a sacred site by the Tusken Raiders. The bridge also marks the boundary of the Tusken's ancient hunting territory; Tusken's have a tradition of letting off rounds of blaster fire before passing through - failure to do so is said to bring bad luck on the tribe. Anakin finds the particular Tusken camp he has been searching for, located on the outskirts of the Jundland Wastes, a few kilometers due south of Fort Tusken.
Tusken settlements are scattered across Tatooine's deserts. Because Tuskens are a nomadic species, they keep few possessions beyond weapons and food stores, although they set great store on the spoils of raids on Jawas and human settlers. These raids are not entirely mercenary, but are intrinsic to Tusken culture, which demands that males prove their prowess or skill to maintain their standing in the tribe. Prisoners taken in a raid are subjected to harsh rituals; sometimes, they are used to improve breeding of the tribe.
Sensing her pain and suffering, Anakin quickly locates his mother, Shmi, as he enters the Tusken camp, deep within the barren wastes of Tatooine. Bruised and bloodied, Shmi is briefly reunited with her son - her son who she has not seen nor heard from in 10 years - her son who, once a slave, has become a promising and powerful Jedi Padawan. Within moments of her rescue, Shmi dies in the loving arms of her son. Anakin, losing his mother only moments after rediscovering her, is thrust into terrible pain and agony, followed by a mindless rage; confused by his emotional overload, Anakin is briefly overpowered by the Dark side of the Force, and slaughters the entire Tusken camp.
Returning to the Lars' family homestead, Anakin buries his mother alongside the graves of Cleigg's family: his parents, Gredda and Lef, and his brother Edern, who died at the age of 14, when he lost control of the family's V-35 speeder. For most Tatooine farmers, the untimely deaths of family members and friends is a common experience that is borne stoically. Burial is a private matter for these isolated communities, and utility droids dig plots which are marked by plain headstones. During these simple ceremonies, surviving family members usually speak a few poignant last words, while the body is placed beneath the hot sand.
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S. Beecroft. Inside the Worlds of Attack of the Clones.
