Twilek

Twileks or Twi'leks (ざわあいれっく Zawāi Rekku literally meaning of "Twin Tails" in their Native Tongue), sometimes referred to disparagingly as Tailheads, were an omnivorous humanoid species originating from the Planet Ryloth. They tended to eat cultivated molds, fungi, and rycrit meat. Their distinctive features included colorful skin, which varied in pigment from individual to individual, and a pair of shapely prehensile tentacles that grew from the base of their skulls. The tentacles, called "Lekku" were advanced organs used for communication and cognitive functions. Twileks possessed a fairly standard humanoid vocal structure and were capable of learning most alien languages; however, they usually preferred their native language of Rylese, which incorporated subtle movement of the lekku. Twilek females were often used as slaves or dancers because of their beauty.

Physiology
The Twileks were a sentient species of mostly hairless mammals. They were humanoid in form, with two legs and two arms. Males had humanoid ears, and among females there was equal biological evidence for humanoid ears and ear "cones". While some headdresses were cultural decoration to denote status, quite a few were originally introduced as "muzzles" to prevent the slaves from having access to a language that non-Twilek handlers could not understand. Both males and females have little to no body hair, with the only notable exception being eyelashes to aid in keeping out the sand and heat of Ryloth. Females typically had painted eyebrows or had their eyebrows tattooed on, in order to appear more palatable and less alien to more base-line humanoid offworlders.

Female Twileks have been considered especially attractive and slender, which made them favorite subjects for slavery and entertainment. The beauty of female Twileks was well known throughout the galaxy, and as a result many young Twileks were sold into slavery, becoming dancers or status symbols.

Twileks possessed multiple stomachs, an unusal trait that enabled them to eat almost any food. When traveling off their homeworld, Tw'leks rarely refused food, which frequently led to obesity among starfarers. Twilek society also associated obesity as a sign of affluence and success.

Lekku
Lekku (れっく Rekku literally meaning of "Tails" in their Native Tongue), also known as "brain-tails" protruded down the back of the skull and contained part of a Twi'lek's brain. A Twilek's brain-tails served many purposes in their daily lives and culture, storing fat and being used as erogenous zones. The Twi'lek's native language of Ryl was spoken using a combination of words and subtle movements of the lekku. Newborn Twileks had no lekku, as they presumably grew out during childhood. A Twilek's brain-tails were highly sensitive, and grabbing them forcefully was so painful that it could easily incapacitate almost any Twilek. Sometimes, damage to the brain-tails caused lasting damage to the Twilek's brain. They could be replaced by cybernetics, however. Long or shapely lekku were considered great status symbols, and often went hand-in-hand with respect, influence, and wealth. A Twilek's brain-tails could be likened to phallic symbols, and for both sexes, larger lekku brought with them some indistinct positive connotations.

Subspecies
The Twilek species developed and mutated in such a way as to provoke changes in their skin pigmentation, which resulted in many races and subraces. These races were all physically identical, except for their skin color. The wide and vivid variety of skin coloration included many variations of blue, red, yellow, orange, deep green, white, pale brown, pink, and lavender.

There was not an even distribution of skin colors across the Twilek population. The Lethan Twileks, red in coloration, were a rare subgroup, perhaps even the most rare. In contrast, the Rutian Twileks, which exhibited a blue phenotype, were more common among the population.

Society and Culture
The natural grace and exotic beauty of the female Twileks made them a popular target among slave traders. Slavery was the main currency of Ryloth, which was tolerated by the The Empire. Some saw it as a chance to make money by kidnapping or selling orphaned children, while others saw slavery as a way of saving children from growing up in Ryloth's harsh environment. A number of Twileks believed that slavery was an efficient way to proliferate their species and preserve their culture, as the Twileks lacked their own means of inter-planetary travel. Regardless of how it came about, many Twileks lived as slaves or entertainers and were considered status symbols, especially the females of rarer skin hues: the Rutian and Lethan Twileks. Twileks that managed to escape from captivity usually turned to a life of thievery or prostitution, with both genders making use of their powers of seduction.

Government
Twilek society was divided into clans, with each clan having its own city. Each city had its own government, which was led by a five-member head-clan. These five Twileks would lead the society in all matters until one member of the head-clan died. At that point, the remaining members of the head-clan would be cast out into the barren landscape on the day-side of the planet, presumably to die, thus allowing the next generation to take over. If the next generation was not yet ready to claim their inherited positions, then a set of regents would be selected to rule until the proper time.

Names
Rather than having separate personal and clan names, a Twilek would have a single name that combined these two elements. The personal portion of the name would be selected with the clan name in mind, often involving an intentional alteration of the words or a shift in the letters to change the meaning of the name as a whole. This change was meant to symbolize a way of unity. A Twilek's name would also be split into multiple parts if they were exiled as a criminal, as this was considered very dishonoring.


 * Example: Aayla Secura = Aaylas'ecura.

Powers and Abilities
Like many other species (Humans, most Near-Human, Kanassans), Twileks do not possess any enhanced abilities. However, like Humans they are one of most common Force-Sensitive races.

Trivia

 * Twilek of M.U. is based on "Twi'leks" of Star Wars.