#mythosaur design

[mythosaursarecool]

Why tiger stripes?

Because they're already associated with a dangerously amazing Earth creature? Because they look cool? Because shut up, OP can do whatever they want?

Mythos is styled like that because her family lines evolved to inhabit around a craggily volcanic stretch of desert on Mandalor 😌 she’s meant for black sands and active lava flows

[pwpe-the-shabuir]

Chimvken

My take on the Mythosaur!

[tiefighters]

The Mythosaur

Art by Dan Shearn || IG

[itstimeforstarwars]

How about a doodle of Myles and Derry when they were kids?

Here we are!

Derry had a (first) date, but Throckmorton broke their arm while spaceboarding so now the sibling who was supposed to babysit Myles is taking Throckmorton to the doctor, and Derry has to stay home with Myles.

They'll end up playing Bounty Hunter together and then watching a movie and stealing all the good bangcorn that Throckmorton keeps in their room.

[thymewayster]

So I happened across this helmet:

and I realized that this would totally solve the whole issue of how Grogu’s going to wear a helmet. He doesn’t have to have his ears poking out unprotected—just give him hollow mythosaur horns!!

I can’t draw but my artist’s rendition:

He can use the extra space in the horns for snack storage or something lol.

[doodlebethel]

Dueling Mythosaurs

I have to admit I think the design is a little silly, and I was sad how they released it in a visual dictionary without any fanfare.

But I've been having fun imagining how that biology would work. Given how robust the head and neck are, I would hypothesize that they fight by head butting. Using their tusks and lower fangs to pierce the opponent. But I could also see them using their forelimbs for grappling and tail for hitting.

Given how large they are, if I was a Mando, I would stay far far away from any combat.

[lonelyredfox]

Thorn and Fox - Pride

It’s the same setting that I drew Thire in. Basically, the Guard is getting evacuated to the Jedi Temple after Palpatine is killed/the war ended, because the Guard barracks were in a disastrous state. As such they are on the top level of Coruscant. Thorn and Fox are staying behind a little so they can make sure all the other vod’e are safe. They take a moment to just look at all the survivors. They are exhausted and mourning but they’re also infinitely proud of all those brave soldiers who made it. Thorn is leaning against Fox just to feel that he’s alive. Fox soaks up all the warmth Thorn has to give.

Other details under the cut (I haven't quite figured out how Tumblr posts work yet so I apologize if this is a weird format)

The "naked" and the "plain" version because I spent way too much time on them:

And Fox's tattoo design because I went on a side quest halfway through drawing the actual picture:

Description : It's a mythosaur-skull above the symbol of the Coruscant Guard. The Guard Crest is a little less pristine than it usually should be. Smoke is connecting the two symbols with the implication of a skull between them (No idea if it's actually visible).

The lore to the picture:

[jastervhett]

Greetings everyone

And "Su'cuy'gar" to all Mandalorian fans….This is my first post here on this site.

I'm a VERY big fan of The Taung, The Mythosaur, Mandalorians, The Resol'nare, The SuperCommando Codex, Jaster Mereel, True Mandalorians, Jango/Boba Fett, The The Cuy'val Dar, Mandalorian Protectors, Mandalorian SuperCommandos, Clones, Alpha-Class ARC Troopers, Null-Class ARC Troopers, Kal Skirata, Clone Commandos, Phase-I Armored Clone Troopers, Phase-I Clone Trooper Armor, All associated Clone Trooper Weapons, Vehicles, Ships, Mandalorian Helmets, Mandalorian Armor, Mandalorian Armor Technology, Mandalorian Arm Gauntlets, All associated Mando Weapons, Vehicles, Ships, Planets, Characters & all Star Wars Armor.

(I also like ALIEN(s), Predator, RoboCop, Terminator, OG BattleStar Galactica & Sci-Fi, Blade (Daywalker), Batman, Video Games, Toons, Comix, Movies, & Animation.)

Also interested in: Armor, Armored Helmets, Helmet Cutaways, Helmet Interiors, Helmet Faceplates, Helmet Faceplate Interiors, Helmet Heads-Up Displays, Heads-Up Display (HUD), Heads-Up Displays (HUD's), HUD (Heads-Up Display), HUD's (Heads-Up Displays), Data Read-Out Displays, Data Read-Outs, Graphic User Interface (GUI), Graphic User Interfaces (GUI's), UI (User Interface) UI's (User Interfaces), Pictures, Blueprints, Charts, Diagrams, Schematics, Drawings, Technical Drawings, Mechanical Drawings, Industrial Designs, Cross Sections, Cutaways, Cutaway Views & Exploded Views.

[lux-ishii]

Storytelling Analysis (I guess?) I shared this thought with Dinbo Server but thought why not elaborate further? Personally, I think this frame is the moment Bo-Katan realized Din is her ride-or-die (or even a crush). They were specifically arguing about going to the mines, where her stance was that it was just a waste of time and they should get back. However, Din insists on going there without her. What Bo does? A total 180 turn saying she will take him there.

So Bo gives him a trip not only to the mines but also to her own past as a Mandalorian Princess. Specifically mentioning her father, for the first time ever, something she hasn't done in The Clone Wars or even Rebels, where she has been treated with all the honors her Clan once had, as they referred to her "Lady Bo-Katan Kryze" when brief history facts were dropped at unaware Ezra.

DO YOU SEE WHO LOOKS AT HER WHEN SHE MENTIONS HER FATHER LOOKING AT HER PROUDLY? All I'm gonna say is that Cinematic Design regarding storytelling this season is INSANE. Each frame, move, pose, and EVERYTHING has its purpose in the further symbolism of how things develop.

Later in this scene, Bo is really sarcastic about the whole ceremony referring to it as "Such a heart-warming spectacle", which Din mistakenly takes as her mocking her father.

We all know what happens next, but something always felt odd about it to me.

The thing is... Bo barely said anything, just that he made her take The Creed she later broke. So where does the "interesting" part comes from? Of course, Din might be curious to meet someone who ruled Mandalore in its glory, but I think the root of it goes back to the Mandalorian culture, and what Din himself experiences:

You see, the best measure to judge Bo's father is to look at her. And it's safe to say Din IS impressed by her, not only in skills but also with her personality. If he hated her and didn't care about her he would never take her to his covert. In a recent episode, they highlighted how secretive they are about their place, it was almost sacred not to reveal the location. Yet he took her there, despite her different beliefs.

So I think Din is saying that, because he admires Bo as a warrior, and she is the result of how her father raised her. It means her father was a great person Din himself could learn from. It's quite important knowing, that Din is the father to Grogu now, so how he will raise him, depends on who Grogu will become. Bo later revealed even more admiration for her father, calling him great. (Or even comparing Din to him when Grogu had his first fight.) THIS IS NOT A COINCIDENCE, BELIEVE ME.

Din goes as far as showing the biggest form of respect he knows to this man who not only raised someone like Bo, but also died like a warrior.

However, the whole thing leaves Bo-Katan... puzzled?

She really doesn't know what to say, how to respond, until Din leaves her behind with Grogu.

OK HEAR ME OUT

I know she kinda was harsh to Grogu here, BUT it's the same kind of response someone would say if they were caught blushing. You see, I think Bo's (and maybe Din's too) emotions were SO strong Grogu could feel them in the force. He knows what's going on, and Bo was caught red-handed. Now look at this:

"They loved watching the princess recite the Mandalorian tenets as her father looked on proudly." Bo definitely was touched by his devotion to the creed. It sparked something in her, and she did exchange a proud look towards Din with Grogu. The devil is in the details, Bo was now in the position her father once was, which we know of because of her previous confession. It all was in a way foreshadowed to us.

Leter, without thinking Bo jumps to save Din's life again, which led her to discover a mythosaur. This is only my opinion, but I do think the storytelling between them is written really well this season, and it may be the best relationship build-up in Star Wars live-action media in years depending on how they will go with it later.

Going as far as doing psychological parallels between Din and Bo's father, something we as humans do and look for unsubcounciouslly in our romantic interests (the reason why Daddy Issues are such a big problem if the father figure was absent/bad) means that now everything matters like I said in the beginning. Frames, moves, words... it's all part of the bigger picture. The Mandalorian Writers really do build up whatever is happening between them. It's not out of the bat, I've rewatched Season 2 to see how Bo and Din interacted there, and the natural progression of turning distrust to trust was there. They have both been thru a lot, and it really feels like together, they will be stronger.

[mythosaursarecool]

Hi, I love Mythos, she’s awesome. Could we get a closer look at her harness, beskar’ta and bes’mabur? I really love the whole design but her straps & pauldron remind me of Kratos (God of War franchise) and that’s just all sorts of extra awesome

My what a lovely excuse to actually sit down and draw a good and proper saddle reference! Thanks for the ask!

Mythos saddle and armor is modeled with flexibility in mind. She has full range of motion with her shoulders for running,climbing, and swimming. The only actual beskar in her armor is her singular shoulder pauldron, given to her by the Armorer of Dins tribe when he was instructed to teach them her history and her kar"ta beskar (iron heart) that little diamond shaped part on her chest, which she has had since birth.

For my lore mythosaurs don’t actually need all the strappy bits to keep the armor on it will just stay in place because ✨mythosaur magic✨ and it being the metal of their people. But the additional add ons of leather and metal makes the pieces much harder to remove from their wearer wile also giving hand holds for a rider to scramble up and hold onto to.

The saddle itself has some inspiration drawn from western and Australian trail riding saddles as I’ve ridden in both and wanted to factor in both the comfort and functionality of those saddles. It sports both a horn and a set of bar like handles and a high back so that a rider can hold on for steep climbs or particularly speedy or bumpy miniver.

The gear can’t be removed without first taking the saddle off, a very multi step presses that requires Mythos to cooperate with you. It can however be removed by Mythos herself when she’s not walking around all big like that (no I will not elaborate I got something in the future to explain that)

Din will tell you the blanket Mythos uses ass a saddle blanket is ugly but she picked it out herself and likes it a lot. It’s a muted orange to nod at the orange paint Mandalorian use to represent "list for life" wile still being my preferred use of more muted tones

[the-starry-seas]

Since seeing a post about the new mythosaur design, I've been rotating some ideas about how I would design them instead. Full permission to use these ideas, in part or whole, however you like.

Mythosaurs have a long, heavyset frame with six short legs. Their front shoulders are the widest and tallest point of their body. Their back slopes down slightly, just as their frame narrows slightly. Its back shoulders are about two-thirds of the width of the front ones.

At the end of the body is a tapered tail that doubles the animal's length. It is very heavy and agile. When swung, even the narrow end will crush an armoured man's chest on impact. It has very little up-and-down movement, but a lateral range of about 180 degrees.

Beginning at the shoulders is a dramatic twin crest that runs parallel to the spine, above the shoulders. This bony crest is several feet tall at its beginning, and tapers to only a tenth of that at the end of the tail. The top of this crest is serrated.

Along the lower half of the tail, these two crests slowly merge into one, and the height of the serration gradually fades to a smooth top. The very end of the crest forms a long, sharp spike of bone that sticks out past the muscle and flesh of the tail itself. This spike is used to impale whatever draws the mythosaur's ire. It is not used in hunting, only self-defence.

The scaly hide is nearly impenetrable, and dark brown or grey. Melanistic, leucistic, and vitiligo animals exist, but usually only the melanistic ones survive to adulthood. They're patterned with stripes and splotches of a secondary and much brighter colour, which can be any shade of purple or blue, bright yellow or red, or light or pastel green. In the deep waters where they almost always hunt, these colours blend into their coat, and are no warning to prey.

One of the most striking features of mythosaurs is not their size and strength, but their bioluminescence. These coloured patterns are host to special cells that allow mythosaurs to control whether or not they glow. Mythosaurs have been observed to flash specific patterns to lure prey, communicate with others of their species, warn away predators, and attract mates. They have also been observed slipping up on prey in the dark and then abruptly flashing their lights as they leap forward, in order to disorient their prey.

Running between the crests, under the neck, is a thin flap of skin. If a mythosaur is scared or angry, it can flare out this bottom layer as a threat display. As this layer is brightly coloured and bioluminescent, like the rest of its patterned skin, this can be quite a shock. When not flared, the flap is tucked smoothly against the skin and indiescernible from the rest of their scales.

Its front teeth are long, narrow, and sharp. The teeth farther along its jaw are more triangular, with curved tops that help it easily tear flesh. Both sets pale in comparison to the long, curving tusks that protrude from the sides of the head, just below its ears. These tusks not only prevent any predators from being able to bite its face, but help trap prey animals near its jaws. Though these tusks are strong enough to be used in a clubbing fashion, similar to its tail, they are reluctant to fling their heads around and will only do so as a last resort.

Mythosaur eyesight is fine-tuned to a life in the depths of the water. Their pupils are vertically beaded, with its width automatically adjusting to available light levels. Their low-light vision is impeccable, and they're able to focus on small objects at long distances and see a wide range of colour. Each eye has a nictating membrane, and blood-red eyeshine. The iris can be any colour and typically matches the skin patterns. Heterochromia happens but isn't common.

Their most sensitive sense is their hearing. Mythosaurs communicate almost exclusively at extremely low frequencies. While most other species are not equipped to hear these frequencies, the rumble of a mythosaur voice is felt as a vibration in the ground and nearby objects. Noises at higher frequencies are almost exclusively threat displays, pitched so that the offending creature is sure to hear them. The louder a call, the more forceful the vibration, with an angry roar strong enough to knock over a full-grown man.

Their feet have thick, fatty pads on the bottom. These help them pick up on the vibrations from others of their species, which plays a part in communication. Combined with their naturally cautious steps, mythosaurs are almost noiseless on land. Footsteps are rarely heard unless they're running at top speed, moving too quickly to be careful of where they place their feet. They have webbing between their toes that they can 'fold' closed for easier maneuvering on dry ground.

They have four toes on each foot. Each is tipped with long, hooked talons. They grow throughout the mythosaur's life and must be worn down through hunting, running, and climbing. Though few trees can bear the weight of anything larger than a hatchling, they're adept at climbing any surface short of vertical - cliff faces, walls, tree trunks, even up the sides or legs large vehicles such as AT-ATs.

Mythosaurs are ambush predators. Their lung capacity allows them to lurk among rocks at the bottom of deep bodies of water for hours before striking. Small prey is swallowed whole. Larger prey is ripped at with the teeth and front legs, torn into large pieces which are then swallowed. When hunting on land, they leap out and grab their prey with their front and middle legs, while kicking to disembowel with their back legs. They are omnivorous, and will scavenge from carcasses (especially when young), but much prefer to hunt their own fish and game.

[separatistnightmare]

The Mythosaur if it slayed or whatever (and was actually semi aquatic-ish)

I’ll finish this design later maybe

[mandalorianhistorian]

what the great Mythosaur looks like

expanded universe:the bounty hunter code

I have a few art pieces I enjoy more but those designs are better then whatever Disney has done

There obviously is more art in the eu I have to re find

[cienie-isengardu]

Cienie’s take on Mandalorian Culture: Kad Ha’rangir and mandalorian traditional weapons, p.2

part 1

There are in theory contradicting sources about Taungs - namely Death Watch Manifesto [Bounty Hunter Code], Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author’s Cut, Part 2 – Ancient Coruscant and Republic Collapse, all written within the TCW era (2008-2020) and Mandalorian song Vode An best known from the Republic Commando game soundtrack (2005).

The first source claims that Taung Crusaders “relied primarily on handheld weapons such as beskade and Mythosaur axes” and that those weapon forms inspire modern Mandalorian designs. 

Bounty Hunter Code also included an artistic version of Taungs proving themselves against Mythosaur, while using swords / sabers against the beast.

The problem with the Death Watch Manifesto lies in its political nature and so can’t be treated as an objective source. The point of Manifesto was to gain new loyal members of Death Watch (the loyalists of Old Faith) to fight against Duchess Satine Kryze’s pacifist rule. Text provided simplified version of the conflict between warriors and so called Faithless supported by Republic and Jedi from supposedly perspective of Tor Vizsla[3], including emphasis on repression that happened upon the traditionalists, such like exile to Concordia and intentional destruction of their culture:

“Seven centuries ago, their craven, hut’uune warships and Jedi bombarded our worlds. They incinerated Mandalore’s farmland and forests, leaving much of our homeworld a forsaken desert of fine white sand, and then occupied our worlds. They killed, exiled, or disarmed our warriors and suppressed our ancient codes. 

or

“Our secret operations on Mandalore and Concordia are producing more and more beskar, but Mandalorian armor remains hard to find - and the New Mandalorians treacherously destroyed many heirloom suits of beskar’gam.”

and

“Some of our warriors were exiled to the moon Concordia. Others - myself included - slipped away to resume the ba’slan shev’la”.

This raises a question: how close to the truth is the knowledge provided by the author? If warrior culture were systematically erased for ages within Mandalorian society, then there is a high possibility that author’s knowledge is either 

incomplete - the ancient tradition was passed in secret for ~700 years and from the start was designed to uphold customs that warriors should consider sacred, thus the only one correct and right version to believe. After such a long time Tor Vizsla (and Death Watch members in general) may simply repeat already whitewashed “history lessons” that for ages fitted Faithfuls’ needs. In that case we could assume the author himself does not lie on purpose and simply presents the knowledge passed through generations between traditional Mandalorians.  

deliberately present information in a way that fits the Death Watch’s rhetoric to manipulate/encourage readers to the author's case. This doesn’t mean Tor is lying about events per se, as Sith War, Mandalorian Wars and Republic attack on Mandalore did happen and have confirmation in different sources, however the manner of presenting is clearly non-objective. This is especially noticeable in a way Mandalorians are separated into Faithful working hard to keep their culture alive and thus in symbolic way face and overcome the trials of Kad Ha’rangir (the warrior / positive god) while Pacifist choose the easier way and follow the Arasuum (negative god) or how the text focus so much on connecting modern Mandalorians to their mythical-historical progenitors as Mandalore the Ultimate (who opened Mandalorian warrior ranks to anyone worth of the title) and Taungs in general. 

Of course, those two options don’t exclude each other and may easily co-exist, as the author operates on knowledge passed down to him while presenting it in a favorable way to potential members of Death Watch. Which leads me back to Taungs using swords and what traditional weapons means. 

Taungs at some point needed to pass down their metallurgist knowledge to humans and other assimilated Aliens so it is very possible that their blacksmiths in fact had made those types of weapon, especially in a period of time close to Mandalorian Wars. The new warriors (Neo-Crusaders) needed to be properly equipped  - and many “recruits”came from Republic territories thus could be more familiar with sword fighting than using axes, so the author may not be wrong about ancient Mandalorian design on which the modern beskar swords are based to some degree. With Mandalorian culture existing for over 7000 years, both (Taung) axes and (Mandalorian human) swords at some point became seen as traditional Mandalorian weapons however there is no way to say for sure did Tor Vizsla had a proper knowledge about Taung battle methods or did he stretched the facts for propaganda, as another cultural tradition that humans shared with the ancient Mandalorians?

Considering the nature of the Death Watch Manifesto and mentioned destruction of warrior culture by New Mandalorians (Republic), I tend to favor the latter possibility. Especially when the three most important ancient Mandalorian (Taung) deities presented in the same Manifesto carry no sword-like weapon. Which again raises a question, what is the point of a god called Kad (sword) if the available picture (interpretation) shows him with a Taung-like traditional ax?

Hod Ha’ran too carries an axe while only Arasuum either is using ceremonial(?) cane or his weapon is deliberately held blade down, as a sort of symbol of giving up warrior nature (that author of Manifesto clearly ties to “traitorous” pacifism).   

The ancient Mandalorian deities were led by the all-seeing Kad Ha’rangir (left), shown here beside the trickster god Hod Ha’ran (center) and the slothful Arasuum (right).

This is even more palpable, as:

🔶Mandalore the Indomitable was presented with a typical mythosaur axe and spear - weapons both used by the Taung leader in original comics.

Comparing his image to other important figures from Mandalorian history, this Taung is the only one that holds a traditional weaponry while the Ultimate (and some unnamed characters) has a blaster and the rest don’t hold any armament at all. Interestingly, Tor is pictured twice - first, with a sort of technologically advanced spear/lance(?) and secondly with a darksaber.

The lack of blaster connects him the strongest with Indomitable yet not with the gods who use solely axes. 

🔶the sabers used by Taungs, as far as can be seen on the Mythosaur picture, don’t resemble the presented above sword design (it does however fit the author’s description “a single-edged, curved sword”). One may argue that those two types represent different eras, which is a fair argument - with a culture reaching 7 thousands years there is no reason to think the armament didn’t evolve according to the needs of warriors who took part in endless war campaigns. However, from a propaganda purpose solely, I find it interesting how the author didn’t try to connect each bit of lore of original Mandalorians to swords and in result, highlight the importance of the Darksaber. Instead we are told that Taungs used both swords and axes and the book even presented a bunch of unnamed warriors with sabers, yet the Indomitable and Mandalorian gods are tightly tied to axes first and foremost. It could be really easy to present both of those figures with mentioned single-edged, curved swords that Darksaber resembles to some degree and keep it as a continuation of a great, old tradition. Yet the best known Taung mythological-historical characters do not use swords at all.

Another source, Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author’s Cut, Part 2 – Ancient Coruscant was published on starwar.com in 2013 (and still can be read there). This in-universe text gives us some insight about historical education and archaeological works in regard to Taungs and prehistoric Battle of Coruscant:

Nor, says Hu, can we say anything about the Battalions of Zhell, or the Taung legions that confronted them. “When enthusiasts stage recreations of the battle they tend to use replica great axes and swords known from the excavation of Taung burial sites on Roon,” he says. “But by the time the Taungs reached Roon these were ritual objects -- species capable of traveling through hyperspace don’t still rely on edged weapons. Nor do you find such weapons still used by societies as sophisticated as the Zhell nations. It’s as if you staged a recreation of the Siege of Ramsir with the Imperial Army limited to parade sabers.” Hu says he knows it may be unromantic to imagine the confrontation at Zhell occurring between armies that possessed aircraft and atomic weapons. But he urges us to look deeper and examine the qualities of Dha Werda Verda that have kept the poem alive for eons.

(For those unfamiliar with the history of prehistoric Coruscant - Zhell nations were the ancient enemy against whom the forefathers of original Mandalorians fought for control over the planet. Ultimately, Taungs were driven away from the Coruscant and it is generally assumed that Zhells were humans.)

It is understandable that in-universe researchers won’t have the same knowledge as star wars fans familiar with Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War or Knights of the Old Republic various media - and in result in-universe assumptions may differ from “truth” (lore). Here are some vital details to take into account: 

🟢For one, Taungs (ancient Mandalorians) were capable of traveling through hyperspace yet still used edged weapons during fight, as was proved in The Sith Wars. So the assumption axes or swords were solely ritual objects before Taungs even got to Roon doesn’t hold true. The traditional axes and swords may have some ritual importance (and thousands years later Din Djarin, a modern Mandalorian will claim, “weapons are part of my religion”) but their primary function is still fulfilled on the battlefield.

🟢The second detail worth examining is that axes and swords are mentioned solely in the context of graves. Source does not provide any additional information about the nature of those old burial sites and so there is no way to tell whether Taung cremated their dead (a continuation of prehistoric Taung funeral rites known from Dha Werda Verda poem?) or preferred skeleton burials. We don’t have any clue where the weapons were placed in the graves, if swords and axes were next to each other and if not, which kind of weapon were more often found in the closest immediate vicinity of the remains. There is also no information on what kind of advanced research was conducted on the blades to test if those were indeed battle weapons or items forged solely to fulfill the cultural/religious purpose. Due to lack of additional data, we can’t exclude a possibility that in one grave several weapons could be deposited and only one or two truly belonged and were used by the dead while the rest was simply grave goods - like the trophies taken from defeated enemies, a parting gift from the Taung community or, in case Roon was inhabited by other species (conquered and dominated or living peaceful alongside warriors?), a grave good related to a different social group and/or culture. Additionally, a specific funeral rites like cremation may not leave enough organic remains for a proper science research. If Taungs co-existed with other species, the graves with swords could belong to non-Taungs, either as a sign of honor /good relationship between separated cultures or as sacrificial burials on the occasion of Taung's funeral (as sacrifice of a slave/conquered people). Of course, those are just possibilities worth taking into account though sadly, we do not know the extent of in-universe archaeological research in that regard.

With such a large period of time Taungs spent on Roon, there is a great potential to create a proper correlation between type of weapon (its shape) and the chronology of burials and to theorize which weapon and when were the most popular. Similarly, there should be research done about correlation between type of weapon and alleged age, status and battle injuries of dead. As in, a certain type of weapon may be more often found in graves of esteemed adults (warriors) while the juvenile ones equipped appropriate to their age or lack of fighting experience. 

Of course, Roon burial sites are older than 7.000 years and so archaeological excavations won’t solve all Taung cultural riddles and will depend a lot on the type of burial and its state of preservation but the point is, fiding swords in Taung graves does not automatically means it was their traditional weapon.  

Thinking more about the issue, I’m intrigued by no mention of spears - and sure, organic parts such as wooden spar wouldn’t survive to modern times without proper conditions yet the stone or metal spearhead could. Especially since there are more examples of Taung using spear and spear-like weapons than swords.

The Essential Guide to Warfare gives an illustration of Taungs on prehistoric Coruscant (Notron) and if we take it at face value, spears are presented as a common weapon. 

In the same sourcebook, The Indomitable was presented as holding glaive(?), while The Sith War also featured spear-like weapons used by Taung!Mandalorians alongside mythosaur axes, including Mandalore himself.

In The Essential Guide to Warfare even the Ultimate was presented with a spear - and doesn’t this picture resemble the prehistoric Taung leader?

Of course, over time Taung & early Mandalorians’ weapon preferences could change, yet the spears and axes are present in both a prehistoric and ancient period of their culture, while swords themselves either fell out of favor or have never been that common to begin with. 

🟢 The third matter is that Taungs in times of living on Roon weren’t Mandalorians yet. Galaxy at War sourcebook states that they “battled the native Human nations for control of Coruscant before being driven off and forced to flee to the Outer Rim world of Roon, where they remain for millennia until the legendary Mandalore the First leads them to conquer another world.” 

Of course, Taung primary culture is what Mandalorians were based on, yet millennia is a long span of time and so naturally cultural changes happened within their society. There is no clue if Kad Ha’rangir even predates the Mandalorian era or if his cult evolved once Mandalorians for good started their holy crusaders and destruction brought to many species. On one hand, if Kad Ha’rangir was a part of mythology existing during the Roon era, then we could argue that using swords could become a sort of religious taboo once Mandalorian culture came to life. Thus Taungs relied on mythosaur axes (probably based on the great axes mentioned in Author’s cut), spears and similar weapons while swords were sacred and maybe played a special religious function. However, if that was true, then why would Taung!Mandalorians accept human warriors / vassals to carry a sacred weapon? 

Ancient Mandalorian society is implied to have more rigid structures than modern one, with a clear division into warriors and non-warriors social classes. If non-Taung part of society and newcomers could join Crusaders ranks before the Sith War then they should follow the same religious and/or cultural practices. Which could explain the general lack of traditional swords between Mandalore the Indomitable’s soldiers seen in the comics regardless of their biological species. At the same time Star Wars Miniatures included in Bounty Hunters set presented Mandalorian Blademaster - the set is not limited to one era but considering that 

A) Mandalorian miniatures don’t have Neo-Crusader typical armors - if anything the shape and gray-black colors resemble Ordo Canderous’ armor[4] who according to KotOR Campaign Guide was already a warrior before Neo-Crusaders dominated Mandalorian culture

B) includes Mandalore the Indomitable and basilisk war droid rode by a warrior with again, no Neo-Crusader armor 

C) various additional quotes and description on cards 

may as well imply the Sith War and/or pre-Neo Crusaders culture.

Of course, there is no way to tell for sure if said Mandalorian Blademaster was meant to represent Taung or human/non-Taung species yet the existence of warriors specialized in swordfighting may suggest using swords was not a matter of religious taboo in the original warrior culture. At least not during the twilight period of their religion, as in the Indomitable’s times Taungs were said to worship the war itself, not gods in their primal version. 

If we go further into the Great Adoption era, swords become more and more visible between warriors, as was presented:

on already mentioned illustration from The Essential Guide to Warfare

and here it is important to note that swords are held by Neo-Crusader(s) and Mandallian Giants. The latter were one of the first alien species included into Taung!Mandalorian ranks, before humans and Great Adoption.

Star Wars Miniatures also introduces Neo-Crusaders using swords such as 

Mandalorian Marauder - KotOR set - with description “For years the Mandalorians were content to raid worlds on the Outer Rim, but during the Mandalorian Wars they began launching assaults across the Old Republic” suggesting the era of Great Adoption (opening ranks to non-Taungs) 

Mandalorian Jedi Hunter - Dark Times set - with description “Some of the scattered survivors of the Mandalorian Wars seek out Jedi to punish for their humiliation”. This model (quote) is clearly representing the post-Mandalorian Wars era in which Taungs are believed to be extinct. 

yet still didn’t dominate the ratio of melee weapons. So we have previously mentioned KotOR Campaign Guide with majority of characters described as humans and whose stats of traditional weapons varied from unarmed, dragger, knife, mace, vibroblade, vibrodagger or bayonet while mythosaur axes are solely mentioned in regard to two Taungs, Mandalore the Indomitable and Ultimate. 

From the above set, Canderous Ordo (future Mandalore the Preserver) has a dragger gauntlet, while the KotOR II Prima Guide advises to equip Ordo with swords.

However in modern times, human Mandalorians are more commonly tied to swords (and knives or vibroblades in general) than axes, as can be seen in various sources:

A Practical Man

"And my name's Briika," said her hard-eyed mother. Her name came from the word for "smile," and Beviin enjoyed that kind of irony. She could shrivel anyone with that stare. "Those crushgaunts are illegal. But you know that." "I just like antiques," Beviin said. He patted the scabbard on his belt, rattling an ancient saber in its sheath. "I've got a proper beskad, too. On the road for a reason?"

and

It could have ripped Beviin open like a canister. But his armor was forged from beskar, real Mandalorian iron that even Yuuzhan Vong weapons might not penetrate. He reached into his belt and drew his ancient beskad, a short razor-edged saber forged from the same.

Republic Commando: Triple Zero

"I opted to take on Vau. He had a real Mando iron saber, and I was unarmed.”

Collapse of the Republic sourcebook

Jango Fett: Open Seasons 

Star Wars Miniatures

Mandalorian Quartermaster whose design clearly was inspired by Death Watchman from Jango Fett: Open Seasons.

Star Wars – Clan Wren Unit Expansion 

Card: Beskad Duelist (x)

The Clone Wars

introduced Darksaber

and the characteristic art seen in Pre Vizsla (and later in Duchess Satine)’s residence

and the mural decorating the city:

All presented there ancient(?) Mandalorian warriors carry a simple, two-edge(?) swords. 

Sidenote: Darksaber originally was introduced as heirloom passed down in clan Vizsla, not the item representing the right to title of Mandalore. However since the later lore presented Tarre Vizsla, the first and for now the only New Canon Mandalorian Jedi, there is a question - should TCW!art be seen as a cultural shift from Taung weapons to human swords inspired by the figure of Tarre and his legendary darksaber?

Star Wars Rebels

presents Darksaber as ancient and culturally important weapon:

"I didn't know Mandalorians developed a type of lightsaber." "We didn't. This was one of a kind. Legend tells that it was created over a thousand years ago by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. After his passing, the Jedi kept the saber in their temple. That was until members of House Vizsla snuck in and liberated it. They used the saber to unify the people and strike down those who would oppose them. One time, they ruled all of Mandalore wielding this blade."

Forces of Destiny: Art History

(the short animation can be seen here)

The statue of Tarre Vizsla though wasn’t presented in full details, clearly was built to represent the legendary Mandalorian holding sword blade down that brings to mind the medieval-like knights.

The Mandalorian

follows the The Clone Wars and Rebels take on Mandalorian culture with an even greater importance put on Darksaber and its meaning for warriors. The show treats Darksaber not only as an ancient relic and as a valid claim to the “throne”, but also as mystical item that may not accept its wielder like it did with Paz Vizsla (though this put under question all previously Mandalorians using the sword who were far away from heroic side of characters) and may even be cursed, as said Armorer:

If, however, it is not won in combat and falls into the hands of the undeserving, it will be a curse unto the nation. Mandalore will be laid to waste and its people scattered to the four winds”

Looking at the sources, it can’t be argued that some major cultural changes happened to Mandalorians and the further from Taung hegemony era, the swords became more prominent and in some cases, like Darksaber, are vital to secure “line of succession”. This shift is as much about weapons as about warriors themselves, as modern Mandalorian society is dominated by humans - although how much of an important role religion (Kad Ha’rangir) played in this change is up to debate.

Even if Taung society living on Roon used swords - whatever as weapons or ritual objects - during Mandalorian era this kind of weaponary is hardly seen used by confirmed Taung warriors (BHC so far is an exception) while modern human Mandalorians moved away from the axes in favor of swords, especially Darksaber.

[Next part] further sources to dispute

SIDENOTES:

[3] I say supposedly, as I support Jango Fett’s doubt it was written by Tor Vizsla. C’mon, can anyone imagine Legends!Tor writing anything like that?

[4] For better comparison, the typical Crusader and Neo-Crusader armors look like this

Ordo’s own armor resembles the Neo-Crusader type however it seems to still keep some elements from the previous kind. Ordo himself took part in the Mandalorian Wars yet as a veteran he was bitter about how his people from proud warriors degraded into mercenaries and criminals. When he became a Mandalore, he tried to bring Mandalorians back to the honorable ways which is why I personally count him more as example of pre-Neo Crusader Mandalorian culture.

[burnwater13]

Three Mandalorians in flight in a cloudy sky. Concept art by Brian Matyas from The Mandalorian, Season 2, The Heiress.

Grogu sat at the do everything table in the front room of their cabin on Nevarro and drew sketches of his dad. For those of you asking, no, not of his face. He was doing renderings or sketches or whatever you wanted to call them of Din Djarin standing in his full armor. Front, sides, back, feet, hands, knees. That sort of thing. Not that his dad was cooperating at all. He wasn’t. 

‘Kid, just take a vid. It will last longer’, was a phrase Grogu was already tired of hearing. Yes, his dad had a point. He could take a vid. He could use it to help him in what he was doing. But he was an artist and he wanted to practice those skills more than he wanted to practice operating a datapad. He would have thought that a guy who had searched every planet within a parsec for his favorite armor polish would understand. Fat chance. 

So Grogu had to catch the Mandalorian at odd moments when he was still. Those moments weren’t just odd because they didn’t happen much except when Din Djarin was sleeping, they were odd because it almost always meant that his dad was thinking of work that needed to be done, sometimes right now, but mostly when Grogu was showing signs of boredom. So they were a blessing and a curse. Uff. 

But the rare moments that he caught his dad being still and he had his stylus handy (the markers were too wide and he couldn’t get the level of detail that he wanted), Grogu quickly sketched what he saw. Slowly but surely he’d been building up a nice thick file of drawings that could be used to create the master images that he needed. He knew if he didn’t get things quite right… well his dad was going to notice that the vambrace wasn’t perfect or the ammo belt was too far to the left or right, instead of answering Grogu’s perfectly reasonable question, what kind of paint job did the bounty hunter want on his armor?

Yup, all of this was in aid of helping Din Djarin become more of a Creed following Mandalorian than he currently was. And Grogu knew that seemed impossible. After all, this was the man who had voluntarily gone to Mandalore to find the waters there to renew his commitment to a Creed that could somehow allow new members to use any old water, but old members had to do the impossible and for what good reason? Harumph. Grogu didn’t understand that at all, but he supposed all organized cultures with as many rules as the Mandalorians had, ended up with rules that really didn’t make a lot of sense, but given who his dad was, they were going to be followed no matter what. 

That was why Grogu wanted Din Djarin to select a paint design for his armor. All the other Mandalorians had one and Din Djarin should have one as well. At least that was Grogu’s opinion. His dad’s opinion was that being the only Mando with super shiny pure beskar armor was enough of a design. Grogu had snorted so hard when he heard his dad say that, he was still wiping his nose. 

He’d told his dad that would be like saying that the absence of a plan was a plan in and of itself. Instead of arguing with him, his dad had mentioned that they were having stew for dinner and that Grogu’s bowl would have frog bites in it, so they couldn’t mix them up. Yup. He totally distracted Grogu. The mud scuffer.

But Grogu hadn’t gotten to where they were by being the kind of person who gave up at the first sign of adversity. Nope. He was old friends with tricks, traps, entanglements, and delays. He knew how to be patient and how to strike when the lightsaber was lit. 

He also knew that his dad wasn’t going to accept any old design. Yes, there would have to be a head nod to the mythosaur because that imaginary (but real) critter defined them. Then there would need to be symbols or colors that represented Clan Mudhorn. The sigil was great, but mudhorns weren’t shiny. They were shaggy. And muddy. Not like Din Djarin was ever going to let him just layer mud onto his armor as part of the symbolism. Nope. Whatever the design was it had be executed in manner that allowed everything to be polished and clean looking. 

With all that in mind Grogu had also sketched the designs used by other Mandos. Not the whole armor, but the bits and pieces that provided for their uniqueness. Bo-Katan had that sort of bird look on her helmet. Paz Vizsla had blue accents and mythosaur (of course) on his left pauldron. The Armorer of course had those weird little horns on her helmet and the reddish paint that made her armor stand out compared to anyone else’s. 

Grogu knew that his dad didn’t want to stand out, although, given how shiny his armor was and how sunny a lot of the places they visited routinely were, the Mandalorian wasn’t really accomplishing that goal as things stood right now. Grogu also knew, as noted previously, that Jedi drabness wasn’t going to work for the design either. He needed to do something that spoke to his dad’s accomplishments. Something that made it clear that, first and foremost, Din Djarin was the father to Din Grogu. But would his dad really let his armor be painted Grogu green? Grogu wasn’t sure. 

He did think that his dad would accept a four panel symbol on his left chest plate section that recognized the critters that Din Djarin had survived. They could skip the mudhorn because it was already on the pauldron. He definitely needed something to represent the Krayt dragon. That was pretty special and anyone who saw that symbol would think twice about annoying the person who wore it. Maybe the blurgg too? That hadn’t been easy for his dad to master, according to Kuiil and Greef Karga. And then what about the mythosaur? His dad didn’t talk about it much, but he’d dealt with that critter and lived to tell the tale. 

Now there was just one question…what should go in the last section? And before anyone mentions it, not the Ice spider critter. First that would not make his dad happy. Second, it was really Captain Teva and Commander Wolfe who had helped them out of that mess. Grogu was pretty sure that his dad didn’t want to be reminded of that either. 

What should it be? Let Grogu know. He’s counting on you. 

Three Mandalorians in flight in a cloudy sky. Concept art by Brian Matyas from The Mandalorian, Season 2, The Heiress. Calendar by DataWorks.