Chukha-Trok

Chukha-Trok was a male Ewok woodcutter and a member of the tribe that inhabited Bright Tree Village. Known as an exceptionally strong and tall Ewok, he was counted on by the tribe to defend the village from enemies such as the Duloks and to tend to the forest surrounding their home. In this capacity, Chukha-Trok cleared the grove of infected trees and was able to avert the flood of the village by creating a makeshift dam. In his role as a warrior, Chukha-Trok was present for several pivotal battles deciding the fate of the Ewoks and was instrumental in discovering the lost Ewok Princess Asha. Among the tribe, Chukha was friends with several Ewoks including Deej Warrick, and his sons, Wicket and Weechee. He was also familiar with Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka and was a dependable supporter of her father, Chief Chirpa.

Around 3 ABY, Chukha-Trok was recruited by the Ewok Shaman Logray to join a rescue mission. The mission was an attempt to rescue the parents of the lost Human children, Mace Towani and Cindel Towani, who had been kidnapped by the fearsome Gorax. Although he initially had no interest in the dangerous mission, Chukha was convinced by Mace to join the team. Alongside the rest of the group, Chukha-Trok infiltrated the Forbidden Fortress of the Gorax and helped rescue the Towani's parents. However, the Gorax attempted to stop the group from escaping, and in the ensuing battle, Chukha-Trok singlehandedly fended off the Gorax, allowing the rest of the group to escape. This sacrifice resulted in the Ewok being mortally wounded by the Gorax, and he died in Mace's arms. As a parting gift, Chukha-Trok gave the young human his axe, which he used to ultimately defeat and kill the Gorax, avenging his friend.

HistoryEdit

Ewok woodsmanEdit

Around 3 ABY, Chukha-Trok was living in Bright Tree Village, working as a woodsman. He was depended on by the Ewoks of the village and was often approached personally by the chief of the village, Chirpa, when the village needed assistance. During his time in the village, Chukha-Trok was approached when the dam above the village was reportedly sabotaged by a group of Duloks, a rival species of the Ewoks. The woodsman was able to solve the imminent flooding of the village by downing a tree with two swings of his axe. The tree fell before the oncoming water, driving it off a cliff and away from the village. The actions of Chukha-Trok allowed the Ewoks time to repair the dam. However, the diversion of water inadvertently awoke a hibernating kradak, which began to rampage through the village. The Ewoks tried to fight the creature, but its massive size was too great. Additionally, the Ewok Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka accidentally spilled a large amount of sleeping potion over the Ewok warriors, rendering them unconscious. While the Ewoks of the village were asleep, the kradak was defeated by three Ewok children, Kneesaa, Teebo, and Wicket Wystri Warrick, who were able to cover the beast in shrinkroot potion, shrinking it to a manageable size.^[4]

Sometime later, Chukha-Trok was present at a meeting where Princess Kneesaa and her friend, Latara discussed the return of the Phlogs into Ewok territory. In an ensuing conflict, the Ewoks assembled several catapults to ward off the Phlogs. The battle was a disaster for the Ewoks and total destruction was only averted by the return of the Phlog family's missing child, Nahkee.^[3]

Chukha-Trok was also present during a gathering of the Ewoks organized by Wicket, who was attempting to warn his tribe about the theft of the Ewok battle wagon by the Duloks and the danger it presented. Chukha-Trok joined the rest of the elder Ewoks in laughing at the threat, not believing that the repaired wagon would pose a threat to the village. However, the threat proved credible, and the Duloks attacked the village with the battle wagon. Thanks to the intervention of Wicket and the young Ewok Malani, the wagon was sabotaged, falling apart before it could damage any of the sacred Soul Trees. Chukha-Trok cheered with the rest of the tribe as the defeated Duloks were forced to abandon their attack.^[5]

Recovery of the lost princessEdit

As a woodcutter for the village, Chukha-Trok was often out in the woods away from the village, even during storms and poor weather. It was during a heavy snow storm that Chukha-Trok spied Wicket and Kneesaa making their way through the woods on top of the Princess' bordok, Ropna. The two young Ewoks were seeking out Chukha-Trok to ask him about the missing Ewok princess, Asha, Kneesaa's lost sister. Recent encounters with a red-furred Ewok had led Kneesaa to believe that her sister might still be alive, living in the woods. On their trip to visit Chukha-Trok, Wicket, blinded by the heavy snowfall, nearly fell from a cliff to his demise but was saved by the Ewok woodcutter.^[6]

Unconcerned with the two young Ewoks' quest, Chukha-Trok reprimanded them for coming out in the storm alone and prepared to lead them back to the village and safety. However, as he was attempting to ready Kneesaa's bardok for the return trip, the animal was spooked by a band of koyts. Despite Wicket's eagerness to help Chukha-Trok fend off the koyts, the larger Ewok pushed the two woklings away, telling them to hide as he took care of the problem. Using his axe, Chukha-Trok attacked the koyts, barreling into them and throwing them aside with ease. However, the attacking force was not discouraged, and only the timely intervention of Asha, the lost princess, was able to thwart further battle with the creatures. The koyts, scared of Asha's presence, retreated.^[6]

Asha, who remembered her sister, despite having been raised by korrinas in the intervening years since her disappearance, embraced her sister, and Chukha-Trok went with the group back to Asha's cave. Surrounded by Asha's adopted family, Chukha-Trok tried to make nice with one of the korrinas as Kneesaa attempted to help Asha recover her identity as an Ewok. Despite helping Asha to remember her former life, the lost princess refused to return to Bright Tree Village, as her adopted korrina family needed her help to defend them against marauding Duloks. The group spent the night in Asha's cave, but Chukha-Trok and Asha awoke early after hearing a disturbance in the surrounding area. Crawling through the new fallen snow, Asha and Chukha-Trok were able to sneak up on a band of Duloks led by King Gorneesh. The Duloks were restraining a maramu with plans to remove its horns as a trophy. After being joined by Kneesaa and Wicket, the Ewoks watched as Asha confidently approached the Dulok band and released the maramu and several other animals that had been trapped by the Duloks. King Gorneesh ordered his Dulok group, O, diamond, and X to restrain Asha. Seeing his fellow Ewok in trouble, Chukha-Trok charged with his axe, ready to free his compatriot. However, in his charge, he failed to spy a pit in the snow, and the large Ewok fell inside.^[6]

Gorneesh, amused by Chukha-Trok's misfortune, taunted him, throwing a snowball at his head as the woodcutter made threats against the Duloks. Just as it seemed that the Duloks had the upper hand, Asha broke free of her restraints and attacked the Duloks, making short work of them. Asha's adopted family of korrinas also came to her aid, and the group captured the Dulok King. As two korrinas pulled Chukha-Trok from the pit, Asha made the king agree that he would stop hunting in the woods around her adopted family. Despite Chukha-Trok's assertion that the word of a Dulok was not worth much, Asha allowed the Duloks to escape as several korrina's chased them away. Chukha-Trok was present when Asha said goodbye to her adopted family and returned with the Ewoks to Bright Tree Village. As Chief Chirpa was reunited with his long lost daughter, Chukha-Trok and Wicket looked on, tearing up at the sentimental meeting.^[6]

Further adventuresEdit

Later, Chukha-Trok was involved in the Belt of Honor ceremony for Wicket. Removing the belt from a case held by Wicket's brother, Weechee Warrick, the woodcutter presented the belt to Chief Chirpa, who bestowed it upon the young Ewok. The tribe cheered on Wicket, as he had taken his first step to becoming an Ewok warrior.^[7] As a warrior himself, Chukha-Trok was often present during bow and arrow practice alongside Weechee, Asha, Widdle, and Paploo, all warriors of the tribe. Chukha-Trok was also present for the Harvest Festival, where he met the being known as Larry. The three-eyed creature ate more than his fair share of food at the festival, and Chukha-Trok watched with fascination as the being ate several portions of food at a rapid pace.^[8]

Later, Chukha-Trok completed his Belt of Honor and was to be recognized in a ceremony in front of the village. Overseen by Chief Chirpa, Chukha-Trok, Weechee, and Asha were honored for their accomplishments, becoming full-fledged warriors. The ending of the ceremony was interrupted by Wicket and Teebo, who wanted to tell Chirpa about a comet they had seen plummeting to the forest moon. After dismissing the comet as a simple lantern bird, the chief returned to complete the ceremony for the three warriors. However, the comet was actually the ship of the Stranger, a Wizard of the Night Spirit intent on attacking Bright Tree Village and capturing the sunstar. The Stranger gathered the Duloks from their swamp and organized an invasion of the village. Chukha-Trok joined his fellow warriors in warding off the attack but were unable to prevent the wizard from stealing the Sunstar. Chirpa gathered his forces to pursue the Duloks back to their swamp and recover the Sunstar, unaware that the Stranger had made his way towards the thorn forest instead, planning to carry out a ritual with the Stone Circle there.^[9]

However, Chirpa eventually realized that the Sunstar was not with the Duloks, and he diverted his forces to the thorn forest. The Stranger, using the power of the Stone Circle in conjunction with the Sunstar, opened a portal to his world. A great number of his fellow wizards flooded into the world, and Chukha-Trok joined the Ewok forces in a desperate battle against the forces of the night spirit. As the fighting intensified, Kneesaa was able to use her lasso to affect the Sunstar's power, reversing the ritual that was pulling the wizards to the world. Chief Chirpa, predicting that the reverse of the ritual would throw the wizards back through the portal, told his Ewok forces to hold tight to anything they could get their hands on. Chukha-Trok and his fellow warriors looked on as the wizards were forced back to their world by the powers of the Sunstar. The Ewoks returned to their village, victorious over the Stranger and having rescued the Sunstar.^[9]

Eight months before the Battle of Endor, Chukha-Trok was in charge of clearing a forest grove that had become infected with fungus. Chukha-Trok was joined by Wicket, who was being punished for picking a fight with Duloks. As the two Ewoks worked to remove all the infected trees, they were startled by a far off explosion. Although Wicket was eager to explore the source of the explosion, Chukha-Trok was worried that the source might be magic from the Dulok swamp. The elder Ewok decided that they should return to the village, leaving the clearing of the infected trees for another day. Unknown to Chukha-Trok, the Galactic Empire, who had recently arrived on the moon, had destroyed the Dulok swamp, in preparation for the building of a shield generator. The Ewoks themselves came into contact with the Imperials a short time later, and a fight broke out, accelerated by the presence of the griagh, a great beast that had been awoken by the Imperial presence. Chukha-Trok, riding a pony alongside Chief Chirpa, arrived at the conclusion of the battle and witnessed several Imperial stormtroopers fleeing into the woods. The Ewoks' victory in the skirmish was celebrated back at the village, and Chukha-Trok was witness to a ceremony where Teebo was presented with the Sacred Horn of the Soul Trees.^[10]

Joining the CaravanEdit

A short time later, a starcruiser owned by the Towani family crash landed on the forest moon. Jeremitt Towani and his wife, Catarine were kidnapped by the Gorax of Endor, and their two children, Cindel and Mace were left alone. The Ewoks rescued the children and agreed to aid them in a quest to rescue their captive parents. The Shaman Logray organized the resulting caravan that would attempt the rescue, and he bestowed gifts to each of the members of the rescue team to help them on their quest. The caravan, consisting of the males of the Warrick family, the Towani children, and several ponies were also given a magical crystal and an ivory tooth from an unidentified creature in order to persuade two other Ewoks to join their rescue band.^[1]

The Caravan first happened upon Chukha-Trok who was busy felling trees. One of his trees nearly crushed the Towani children, and Mace confronted the large Ewok, yelling at him for nearly killing his sister. Chukha-Trok was unconcerned and was ready to return to his woodcutting before he was greeted by Deej Warrick, Wicket's father. The elder Ewok presented Chukha-Trok with the ivory tooth, which had been missing from a decorative jawbone the Ewok wore around his neck. Informed of the quest and Logray's hope that he would join the caravan, Chukha-Trok appeared uninterested until Mace questioned his honor and his abilities as a warrior. The young human attempted to show off to the Ewok woodscutter by throwing an axe into a nearby tree. However, Chukha-Trok one-upped him by throwing his own axe straight into the hilt of the axe thrown by Mace. Sufficiently impressed, Mace begged the Ewok to join their quest, which he readily agreed to.^[1]

Chukha-Trok followed the Ewoks to meet with Kaink, an Ewok priestess, and after presenting her with the magical crystal from Logray, she too agreed to join the caravan. The group, now complete, made their way across Endor towards the Forbidden Fortress of the Gorax. As the group departed from the Endor woods into the open plains of the moon, they encountered a body of water. As the group rested, Mace went down to the water and upon touching it, he was miraculously transported below the water, unable to surface. Chukha-Trok rushed to Mace's aid alongside his fellow Ewoks, but his attempt to throw rope to Mace only caused his rope to be transported below the water as well. Luckily for Mace, Wicket, who had been given a magic walking stick by Logray, was able to use the stick to pull the human boy from the enchanted water.^[1]

As Mace and the other Ewoks recovered, Deej consulted a map with Kaink to determine the best possible route. During their discussion, Cindel was suddenly carried off by a spooked horse. Chukha-Trok mounted his pony and chased down the runaway animal as it disappeared into the forest. Before the horse could get too far away, Chukha was able to restrain the beast. The rescue of Cindel greatly influenced Mace, and Chukha earned the young boy's thanks. At their next stop, the group encountered a large group of Wisties, which had been drawn by the Candle of Pure Light, another Logray gift that had been given to Cindel. Chukha-Trok watched^[1] as the Wisties used the candle to find their way home.^[11] However, one of the Wisties, Izrina, was left behind and Mace decided to take her with him.^[1]

Fighting the GoraxEdit

As the journey continued, the group began to run low on food just as they reached the Desert of Salma, on the other side of which lay the Forbidden Fortress of the Gorax. The group pressed ahead and beyond the Salma desert, they located the fortress but could see no way to enter. However, through the use of Mace's gift from Logray, a rock which held a magical arrowhead, the caravan was pointed in the direction of an underground tunnel into the Gorax's lair. The tunnel was blocked by a large stone, but Mace was able to blow it apart with his blaster rifle. The group headed inside, but Deej refused to let the youngest members of the group go any further, believing that it was too dangerous. Chukha-Trok, Kaink, Deej, Weechee, and Mace descended into the tunnel, leaving Cindel, Wicket, and Wicket's older brother, Willy behind. As the group made their way deeper into the tunnel, they came across a large spider web and used it to cross a deep chasm. During their crossing, Deej was attacked by one of the spiders and was only saved by the magic crystal of Kaink, who was able to hypnotize the spider with it. As Deej escaped, Chukha-Trok used his axe to destroy the web, causing the spider and its web to plummet into the chasm below, but also stranding the Ewoks on the other side.^[1]

The group next came upon a large staircase, which the group was forced to climb. At the top, the Ewoks discovered the Gorax who was eating at a large stone table. As the group tried to stay out of sight, they witnessed the Gorax stare down his prisoners, the Towani parents, Jeremitt and Catarine. Prisoners of the Gorax, the Towanis were trapped in a wooden cage suspended above the ground. Unfortunately for the Ewok group, the Gorax was alerted to their presence after Weechee knocked the Gorax's axe to the ground. However, Weechee was able to lead the Gorax away from the rest of the group, allowing them time to rescue the Towanis. Using the Gorax's axe and a rock as a makeshift catapult, Chukha-Trok and Deej jumped on one end of the axe and propelled Mace up to his parents. The Humans dropped a rope down to the Ewoks and Chukha-Trok joined Mace to help the elder Towanis climb out of their cage.^[1]

Just as Chukha-Trok was climbing out of the cage, Weechee returned to the group, unable to distract the Gorax any further. Seeing his prisoners escaping, the Gorax attempted to stop the escape. The rope the Ewok had used to help the Towanis out of the cage snapped upon the Gorax's arrival, but he was caught by Jeremitt and the group fled back to the staircase. As they made their escape, Chukha-Trok stayed behind to face the Gorax, using his axe to attack the much larger creature's foot. Overmatched, but undeterred, the Ewok warrior was able to dodge the Gorax's attacks. As Chukha-Trok stared down the much larger beast, he was joined by the Wistie Izrina, who attacked the Gorax's face. Enraged, the Gorax pounded at the walls of his lair, dislodging large boulders. As an avalanche of rock fell to the ground, Chukha-Trok was unable to jump out of the way in time. Hit by the heavy torrent of rocks, the Ewok warrior was mortally wounded. As he lay dying, Mace rushed to his side, encouraging him to get up. Unable to arise, Chukha-Trok gave his prized axe to the Human boy,^[1] as a gesture of honor and respect.^[12] As he died in Mace's arm, the boy thanked him for his sacrifice.^[1]

LegacyEdit

The axe that Chukha-Trok gave to Mace right before his death would be instrumental in defeating the Gorax. The remaining members of the group were able to push the Gorax into the chasm at the bottom of the stairs, but the Gorax was able to climb its way out. Before the Gorax could get ahold of Wicket and Cindel, Mace used Chukha-Trok's axe and threw it into the back of the creature. Screaming in pain, the Gorax plummeted into the chasm to its death. Upon learning of his demise, Deej was heartbroken over the loss, but Mace let the group know that the Ewok woodsman had sacrificed his life so that they might escape.^[1]

Personality and traitsEdit

Chukha-Trok was large for an Ewok, over a meter in size.^[2] He had brown fur and black eyes and was known to be exceptionally strong. He had no immediate interest in joining the quest to save the Towani parents, but upon a challenge to his skill as a warrior, he changed his mind, determined to show his worth to those that doubted him.^[1]

Chukha-Trok was a formidable warrior, fighting in many battles to defend Bright Tree Village.^[9][3] He was also protective of Ewok children and was concerned for their safety when they got into dangerous situations.^[6] Incredibly strong and tall for an Ewok, Chukha-Trok was able to fell a tree with two chops of his axe.^[4] Chukha-Trok was a skilled warrior and was able to throw an axe with pinpoint accuracy.^[1] He was also able to ride a horse,^[1] and occasionally wielded a long dagger.^[10] As a woodsman, Chukha-Trok was generally knowledgeable about the health of the trees in the forest, and he was intelligent enough to clear healthy trees near a grove of trees that had been infected with fungus in order to stop the fungus from spreading.^[10] During the quest to recover the Towani's parents, Chukha-Trok fought bravely against the Gorax despite the size disadvantage and the inability to cause lasting damage with his attacks. During the fighting, he sacrificed his life to help defeat the Gorax.^[1]

Behind the scenesEdit

Chukha-Trok was created by Bob Carrau who wrote the screenplay to the Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure based on a story by George Lucas. The Ewok woodsman was played by Kevin Thompson in the film and the character died at the film's conclusion. However, Chukha-Trok was included in the cartoon series, Star Wars: Ewoks, which served as a prequel to the live-action films. In the cartoon series, Chukha-Trok was heavily featured in the episode Asha, where he was voiced by Don McManus.^[source?] Chukha-Trok appears in several other episodes of the TV series, but he is generally in the background and has no spoken lines.^[9][7][8]

In written works, Chukha-Trok appeared in The Ewoks and the Lost Children, an adaptation of the aforementioned film, and Return of the Great One!, a short story appearing in the Ewoks Annual. In 2013, Chukha-Trok was present in Star Wars: Ewoks—Shadows of Endor, a comic which served to bridge the gap between the Ewoks cartoon show and the live-action films.

Bantha Tracks #26, which contained the first printing of his name, spelled it "Chukha Trok." His name was hyphenated in the end credits of Caravan of Courage, but was then spelled without the hyphen in that film's storybook adaptation. However, all subsequent works have used the hyphenated spelling.

AppearancesEdit

• Return of the Great One!
• Star Wars: Ewoks—"Rampage of the Phlogs" (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Ewoks—"Wicket's Wagon" (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Ewoks—"Asha"
• Star Wars: Ewoks—"The Crystal Cloak" (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Ewoks—"Home is Where the Shrieks Are" (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Ewoks—"Night of the Stranger"
• Star Wars: Ewoks - Shadows of Endor
• Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (First appearance)
• The Ewoks and the Lost Children

SourcesEdit

Wookieepedia has 10 images related to Chukha-Trok.

• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Second Edition
• Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Essential Guide to Characters
• Ultimate Alien Anthology
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "Warriors of Endor"—Star Wars Insider 110
•  Chukha-Trok in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)
•  "Drawing from the Imagination: Mythological Creatures in Star Wars, Part 1," The Official Star Wars Blog (link)

Notes and referencesEdit