r/StarWars • u/Time-Comment-141 • 2d ago
General Discussion Would the Clones be considered ethnically Mandalorian, Kaminoan or something else entirely?
288
u/Artrery 2d ago
Ethnically they would be considered clones or human. My understanding is that Jango was not a native of Mandalore and was instead a foundling. He was mandalorian by creed, not by blood. They have no connection to Mandalore beyond their originator's association. Kaminoans would consider them clones as they are a product that they created, not an actual native to the planet. I don't think much thought is put into it because they were never intended to outlast the war.
101
u/HellbirdVT 2d ago
In Legends, Jango was born on Concord Dawn, which is a moon of Mandalore, so he was a part of the Mandalorian people, the kind we see on Mandalore in TCW, but not part of the whole warrior-clan system until he was adopted into it.
It's not super clear where the distiction lies, obviously not every Mandalorian is a warrior, that's not a functional society, but neither Legends nor Canon has been super interested in showing the distinction in any detail.
42
7
u/PM-ME-YOUR-BUTTSHOLE 2d ago
Every Mandalorian could be a warrior if you have slaves
10
u/KGBFriedChicken02 2d ago
Yeah but that's not a functioning society, look at Sparta. You need so many slaves and you spend every moment of every day watching your back, wondering when they'll try it
24
u/JakeVonFurth Imperial 2d ago
Jango is a native Mandalorian being from Concord Dawn.
The only people we ever see claim that he isn't one are either part of the new pacifist government, or people that disown him for selling out.
15
u/Wolfdawgartcorner 2d ago
The empire also considers them as clones, not humans, as does the republic (even the Jedi called them “clones” not “men” which we hear Rex get angry at krell for calling them clones and not men
50
u/daminininic 2d ago
I get the impression that “clone” is its own ethnic and cultural identity in itself. Genetically they can tie themselves back to Mandalore through Jango Fett but they’re hardly Mandalorian in any other way.
19
u/Billsinc3 2d ago
In legends Kal’s clones considered themselves Mandalorians but we haven’t really seen that in the clone wars, rebels or comics/novels so it’s not clear if there are still clones who feel the same way but since I loved the Republic Commando novels I totally see it as something important to some clones
7
u/Cpdio 2d ago
Sadly, all the Mando lore around the Clones was thrown away in the series. They're were no longer trained by Mandalorians Mercs (just regular rando mercs) and therefore no Mandalorian identity either. So, even though the Clone Army had the same genes as Jango Fett, they got no Mandalorian indoctrination, and as we know, Mandalorian is a culture you inherit or are inducted to. Same with Boba Fett, he doesn't consider himself to be a Mandalorian.
As a Mando lore fan, I would say we lost our fair share of lore, but we got the series, so it's fine, i guess?
3
u/CommanderHavond 2d ago
Rebels did reintroduce an element of the mandalorian training. We know that some of the Clone Pilots were trained by Mandalorians. With the added element of hired Mercenaries training Clones, it wouldn't take much effort to add mandalorian mercenaries to the canon with the slate seen in the show
1
67
14
10
u/Bottlecollecter 2d ago
I always got the impression that they just considered themselves as both men and clones. Rex refers to them as a whole as clones a couple times, and fives declares that they’re men in the Umbara arc. They never say anything about being Mandalorian that I know of, and the only hint at that is the Jaig eyes on Rex’s helmet, but that could just be influence from a trainer on Kamino more than considering himself as a Mandalorian.
7
7
u/Axial_theOG 2d ago
In legends the clones took on various ethnicities. Jango was actually a concordian who was kidnapped alongside his family by the Death Watch.
Most of your rank and file clones from the battalions, legions and corps considered themselves either kaminoan or as just people of the republic.
The special operations clones like the ARCs and Commandos were trained by the Cuy-Vul-Dar. A special team of bounty hunters recruited by Jango Fett for this purpose.
The Cuy-Vul-Dar were mostly mandalorian, some corellian, some kuati. However most of the mandalorians themselves were willingly brought into the culture because mandalorians strictly emphasized that bloodlines didn't matter to them.
The commandos imprinted on their sergeants and vice-versa. As a result they adopted their sergeants' cultures along the way.
A good example would be the clone commandos of Delta, Omega and Yayax squads trained by Walon Vau, Kal Skirata and Rav Bralor. They were all mandalorians however Delta didn't embrace the culture fully due to the nature of training they learnt from Vau.
Commandos Ennen and Bry of squad 40 (ICSU) had a corellian sergeant and they stuck to corellian customs as seen in the way of Bry and Ennen's funerals where they were cremated in the corellian way.
Overall it depended on a case-by-case basis.
11
20
u/Kpengie Ahsoka Tano 2d ago
Jango wasn’t “ethnically Mandalorian” so neither are they. He was adopted and raised as a foundling before (seemingly) abandoning the creed later on in life.
0
5
u/IronJawulis 2d ago
IIRC in the Fives arc from Season 6, the Kaminoans argued that he was property of the government of Kamino. So you could call the clones all toasters for all that matters.
In a more serious light, human clones made from a Mandalorian's DNA from Kamino is a doozy. I think in Star Wars, they refer to your species, not necessarily what planet your from. But if there's a dominant species, they can get lumped into the planet's name.
So the clones would likely be ethnically referred to as human clones.
5
u/ProfessorEscanor 2d ago
They wouldn't be Kaminoan, that's like saying all cows are humans since they're raised by human farmers. They're whatever Jango is.
30
u/AzulaThorne 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ethnically Mandalorian. They’re made from the exact DNA of a Mandalorian. They have his face, his voice, his logic and understanding, albeit different.
Outright they are Mandalorian.
Edit: The Clones and no one else would consider them Mandalorian as they simply are never going to show anything relating to them.
But logically, they come from Jango, who by all accounts you can say, is a Mandalorian as he followed the life, he lived it for years and so forth. Even though he left, he came from Concord Dawn, which is in the Mandalore system and followed the Mandalorian style of life.
So either they are Mandalorian, ethnically as you don’t need to be a separate race to have a new ethnicity.
Or they are Concordian, as per following Jango’s direct birthplace. Still makes sense as it could be an ethnicity in the Mandalore system.
It is in their DNA. In real life I am ethnically Polish even if I have spent 99% of my life in Ireland and refer to myself as more Irish than Polish. It doesn’t change that I am still ethnically Polish.
Edit edit; I’m probably wrong. Go through the thread to check it. Cba to go through explaining it.
34
u/DaSuspicsiciousFish Porg 2d ago
Thing is, “mandalorian” isint a race, it’s a lifestyle. Anyone can become a mandalorian if they follow the creed and are accepted by them
19
2
2
u/AzulaThorne 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not really correct. They are a clan based culture. They grew up on Mandalore and they aren’t outright humans from X Y or Z planet that came to Mandalore, no they physically were born on Mandalore. While they could be argued to belong to the Human race of Star Wars, they are still a different ethnicity of Humans.
Anyone can be a Mandalorian which is true, which does allow anyone to join their culture, almost like how it can happen irl as well.
But if anything, you could maybe say they’re more Concordian (as Jango came from Concordia) ethnicity wise. But they’re still Mandalorian ethnicity as that is quite literally their DNA.
8
u/Randver_Silvertongue 2d ago
No, they're not. The original Mandalorians weren't even humans. When the Taung went extinct, the Mando'ade ceased to be a race but stayed a culture. You aren't born Mandalorian, you are either raised as one or assimilated as one. Just like nobody is born religious. Mandalorians don't believe in genetics or bloodlines, they only care about relationships. That's also why they prefer adoption over procreation. It's also why Satine was met with such opposition; not just because she was a pacifist, but because her regime was monarchist, centralized and identified the Mando'ade as the citizens of Mandalore. Mandalorians were traditionally identified with their armors first and clans second, but never through blood or DNA.
Also, Jango is from Concord Dawn, not Concordia.
-1
u/AzulaThorne 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes, the originals were indeed extinct and what the original Mandalorians were, is gone. But that lifestyle still lives on and the ethnicity of the inhabitants of the Mandalore system would have to be Mandalorian, or fractured further to stuff like Concordian and so on and so forth. Mandalorians do indeed believe in almost a proper way of living, however even if they don’t look at you based on your genetics or DNA, it wouldn’t change that the Clones would share their ethnicity with Jango and what Ethnicity he was born with.
And yes, I got confused as it has been a long day and I’ve been back and forth changing what planet it is because I also hate they have a fucking Concord Dawn then Concordia and blah.
But back to it, the Clones themselves would share their ethnicity to that of Jango. Either it’s Mandalorian if by some wizardry they decided to make Ethnicity a bit of a bigger thing in that area of the universe, or they would be considered of Concord-Dawn ethnicity since humans born there aren’t the same as humans from Alderaan or Coruscant.
Edit; I should point out that yes, ethnicity is based more on cultural and perceived points of common interest. I still argue that they are born as Mandalorian/Concord-Dawnian but that after time and living life, they’d essentially come to share their own culture that would one day go extinct.
5
u/Randver_Silvertongue 2d ago
it wouldn’t change that the Clones would share their ethnicity with Jango and what Ethnicity he was born with.
Yes but Jango was a foundling raised and mentored by Jaster Mereel. He wasn't born into a Mandalorian clan. So even if a Mandalorian ethnicity somehow did exist, the clones wouldn't be a part of that ethnic group. In fact, it was a pretty big deal in the Republic Commando books when a squad of clone commandos became Mandalorians.
1
u/AzulaThorne 2d ago
You’re more than likely right, going through ethnics stuff and I’m getting more confused.
As I said in my edit; I’d still argue due to some features they technically share from clone birth, that they briefly share the ethnicity of Jango (very loosely). But then likely take on their own ethnicity that eventually becomes extinct as yknow, they’ll die.
-4
u/Aggressive-Bat8199 2d ago
Nah, mandolorian of mandalore are all blonde. Jango Is not
5
u/Random222222222222 2d ago
Nope. Bo-Katan & Korkie Kryze are both redheads and Rook Kast has naturally brown hair
5
u/BleydXVI 2d ago
But have you considered that Korkie's father is Obi-Wan? /s
2
u/Random222222222222 2d ago
Get that /s outta here. In this house, Obi-Wan Kenobi is Korkie’s father.
0
1
1
1
u/HndWrmdSausage 2d ago
Is concord dawn that place that the more militaristic mando's got banished to? Thus settling it firsty.
3
u/AzulaThorne 2d ago
Somewhere along those lines? I love Mandalorians but man fuck their dumb ass system and their dumbassness in general.
3
u/BlameTheButler 2d ago
I imagine they’d fall into their own ethnic group as other Clones from other diners would. I could see a government body simply labeling them as “Clone (Jango Fett Model).”
3
u/MArcherCD 2d ago
Imperially, they'd just be considered property, I doubt anyone in the upper circles would ever really care much at all
3
7
u/_WillCAD_ 2d ago
They're their own unique culture, incorporating elements of Mandalorian culture and probably Kaminoan as well. But they're their own thing, unique in the galaxy, no matter what their genetic makeup.
They are a people unto themselves.
1
u/Plain_Tortillas 2d ago
I think this is the correct answer. In my personal, totally subjective opinion, the concept of "ethnicity" does incorporate some facet of "culture" into it. The clones have their own culture. So while they are biologically human/mandalorian, their ethnicity is still "clone". If that makes sense.
4
u/LendersQuiz 2d ago
One of the issues is how one defines Mandalorian.
If you take real life as an example, I'll pick Canada.
I am both a Canadian & a Terran as I was born in Canada on the planet Terra (aka Earth, never liked "Earthling").
My family's heritage comes from mostly Europe.
If I were to move to Mexico, I would still be Canadian/Terran.
If I were to change citizenship to Mexico, I would then be a Canadian (birth) / Mexican (citizen) / Terran (birth).
Anyone born on Mandalore or became a citizen of Mandalore would also be Mandalorian.
Mandalorian is also a type of religion with multiple sects. In theory, one could be a "religious" Mandalorian from Corellia, Coruscant or even the forest moon of Endor. Yub Nub!
You question was would a clone be ethnically Mandalorian, Kaminoan or something else.
Google "ethnically" and you get "with reference to birth, origins, or cultural background."
So which "ethnically" do you mean?
A clone (of Jango) would be a genetic Star Wars human and also a Kaminoan as they were "born" on Kamino.
Clones could be more, depending how one defines "ethnically".
I won't mention the original Star Wars Expanded Universe, the Republic Commando novels by Karen Traviss.
2
u/WasteReserve8886 Jedi 2d ago
There are so many and they have similar life experiences that they could be considered their own culture.
2
2
u/That0neFan Sabine Wren 2d ago
Ethnicity is a group of people who share a common cultural background, including language, traditions, customs, and history, and is often based on shared ancestry or geographic origins. So their ethnicity is that they’re Clones.
If you meant Nationality then they are either Clones or they don’t have a designated one (since they weren’t really seen as much more than soldiers)
If you meant Race then they are Human
2
u/Cael_NaMaor 2d ago
Just finished that series & that episode was great. Last 4 were awesome. Some good story in that series.
I'd honestly like to watch Rex & Ahsoka years...
2
u/CrabJam_102 2d ago
AFAIK, having recently finished S3 of Bad Batch (finally), the clones were seen as Republic and/or Imperial property. Not even Kaminoan property, as this is reinforced further with the destruction of Topica City. They had no rights, and that's what Senator Chuchi was advocating for.
The Clones may have never been granted rights as we see the homeless clone begging for credits in the Kenobi series well after the Empire established glactic control.
However, there is a single clone that does cause a bump in the road with my theory; Boba Fett. He is technically a clone, but I'm pretty sure he was a personal order by Jango Fett. It's possible Jango legally claimed Boba as his offspring, so Boba could have been granted rights that way
1
u/Rosebunse Resistance 1d ago
I imagine Boba gained rights because he was a bounty hunter who threw his lot in with the Empire with high profile jobs and personal favor with Vader. Without those, he risks being labeled as just a renegade Jango Clone.
One can argue that him shaving his head in prison was the start of him trying to differentiate himself from the clones. And he got very, very lucky Mace Windu put in a good word for him to be sent to prison and not Kamino
2
2
2
4
u/HellbirdVT 2d ago edited 2d ago
There are no ethnic Mandalorians anymore. The original Mandalorians were a species called the Taung, who formed a coalition with other species. Their culture was the basis for the Mandalorian culture, named for their adopted homeworld, that being of course Mandalore. The Taung later went extinct, in large part due to the Mandalorians getting it in their heads to pick a fight with the Republic.
By the Clone Wars era, the last Taung have been gone for maybe 3000 years, their culture surviving through their cultural descendants on Mandalore, who are mostly humans of no specific ethnicity. Hence the assertion in The Mandalorian that being Mandalorian is a creed, not a race or species.
As for the 'cultural identity' of the Clones, they honestly have their own. They are Humans, most born and raised on Kamino, but there's very little overwhelmingly Kaminoan about their 'culture'. They're Clone Troopers. That's their culture.
2
3
u/Gilgamesh661 2d ago
Jango wasn’t even ethnically mandalorian. He was adopted and raised into it.
So the clones are human.
2
1
u/ivanpikel 2d ago
They're genetically Mandalorian, but they were sort of raised by the Kaminoans. Sort of, because the Kaminoans basically just programmed them. They did not give them any sense of cultural identity. If they had any, it was such that they developed themselves or perhaps borrowed from the mercenaries/bounty hunters that were brought in to train them.
1
u/GameMaster818 Jedi 2d ago
Culturally, they are Mandalorians by heritage. But Kaminoans are a race of which the clones are not a part
1
u/Arkham700 2d ago
Mandalorian is a culture you can be raised or adopted into not blood your born into. This is a little blurred by how clones (mainly commando) are directly trained by Mandalorians and taught the culture. But no clones are officially acknowledged or accepted into a mandalorian clan unless one tried to get accepted into one.
The Kaminoans simply view the clones as a high quality product but not anything ethnically or culturally related to them.
I do think it would be fair to consider the clones to be their own human subculture
1
u/DrunkKatakan 2d ago
"Mandalorian" isn't really an ethnicity, it's a culture/lifestyle that anyone can be adopted into although yeah you can be born into it but it's not connected directly to your species or race.
Clones are property of the Republic, later Empire. They're not seen as people, more like flesh droids who don't even get names but a serial number and have no human rights so I doubt anyone would bother to assign them any ethnicity. Their ethnicity is "Clone number CT-6969 assigned to Legion whatever".
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/anima311 2d ago
Mandalorian isn't a race they go further into detail in the Republic commando books but Mandalorian is more of a culture if you follow the creed you are Mandalorian thats it (and there where a lot of clones that did that because of theire instructor) but on a galaxy passport they would probably just be Human(clone) with weird habits.
1
1
u/No_Surround_5791 1d ago
After the Taung died, Mandalorian become a culture, not a specie. Case in point: Baby Yoda is a mandalorian.
1
1
1
u/Broad-Drag-333 1d ago
Depends on who you ask and which continuity.
I go with the opinion of Kal Skirata. They are Mando by right and by blood.
1
u/Hennesey10 1d ago
Mandalorian is a culture/ethnicity. You get adopted into or born into from Mandalorian parents and raised in their customs. They are human Kaminoans. Humans are all around the universe in Star Wars. Same way how in Naboo there’s the human and the gungans.
1
u/Rosebunse Resistance 1d ago
I think they're sort of their own thing. They aren't really Mandos, they sort of build their own little culture on Kamino.
1
u/yitzaklr 1d ago
If the mother is Mandalorian, they're Mandalorian
-1
u/hanotsrii 1d ago edited 1d ago
I've always viewed the Mandalorian as akin to Jews in the Star Wars universe.
- They are a combination of ethnicity and religion
- Outsiders are able to join the tribe
- They have a Messianic figure / ideology
- They were dispersed among the Galaxy...
- ...and returned to their homeland
2
u/Cpdio 1d ago
Just no man. Nope.
1
u/hanotsrii 1d ago
What do you mean...nope. I was pointing out similarities between Judaism and Jewish history and Mandalorian history after a poster with the name Yitzak made a comment about if a mother is a Mandalorian then the child is Mandalorian, which is the same in traditional religious Judaism.
I am not sure I understand your comment or the down votes.
2
1
1
u/SleepyxDormouse Loth-Cat 1d ago
Clones would probably have their own category given how many of them were created.
1
u/Thorvindr 1d ago
They have their own culture and traditions. They're biologically Human, and geographically (for lack of a better term) Kaminoan, but their ethnicity is something new.
1
u/DavidFTyler 1d ago
Oh crap there's so much going into this, let's try and over complicate our way to an answer.
To start, the clones were born on Kamino. Strictly speaking based on birthplace, they're all Kaminoan. However, they're cloned from the non-Kaminoan Jango Fett, who was racially a human but was also a Mandalorian by foundling creed. Mandalorian, as we know, is as much a wide ethnic group as it is a proper race. You can be born a racial Mandalorian, or you can be adopted as an ethnic Mandalorian. So technically, the clones could be considered Mandalorian by creed.
However, the clones never once (in canon) displayed any affinity for the Mandalorian culture. This was a change from the Legends portrayal, wherein multiple proper Mandalorians were put in charge of training the clones. While you could certainly claim to be Mandalorian as a clone, they never once did anything with that knowledge. We never saw a clone defect and adopt a set of beskar, or really do anything relating to Mandalorian culture. So to put them in the Mandalorian category seems a bit...offensive? maybe? Not really offensive, I just can't think of a better word.
I think where this lies is that the clones are Kaminoans. While they aren't a member of that species, it is their birthplace and their home for the first 9 or 10 years of their life. It's the first decade of the galaxy that they know, and for the most part they don't get another home after they leave. They're aboard Star Destroyers, campaigning across star systems, or perhaps they return to Kamino when they're out of active duty or when their inhibitor chip fails
2
u/VerbalChains 15h ago
"Mandolorian" isn't really an ethnicity, it's a culture. There are things about the GAR that are inspired by Mandolorian culture, namely the armor, and Jango Fett personally trained the Arc Troopers so you could argue that they, at least, are "Pseudo Mandolorians," but the Clone Troopers as a whole are not.
1
u/Chieroscuro 2d ago
Property. The best they can hope for is a little 'Made in Kamino' label stamped on them somewhere.
0
u/dexterjsdiner 2d ago
Mandalorians don’t have an ethnicity since the clans adopt from all cultures, races, and species. One could argue that they are mandalorian since their template was. They probably wouldn’t be considered Kaminoan since that would refer to the species.
0
u/Jedipilot24 2d ago
Ethnically they are Mandalorian.
Culturally they would be considered dar'manda, save for those who were specifically raised in the Mandalorian culture (i.e. the Commandos, ARCs, and Nulls).
0
u/SmokeMaleficent9498 2d ago edited 2d ago
Mandalorian are a way of life. Anyone who swears to the creed can be a Mandalorian
0
0
0
u/AlbertEinstein64 2d ago
Ethnicity is a social construct based on heritage, culture and environment, so they are ethnically clones of the clone wars
0
u/Aggressive-Bat8199 2d ago
I Born in Italy so im italian but i can choose to embrace japanese lifestyle. For clones Is the same. Sorry for my bad english
0
u/WanderingAscendant 2d ago
Neither? They’re clones. Their own sub group. Shared nothing with the kaminoans and even less with the mandos. We see in the kids cartoons that they are not all militant minded or clanned up like mandos.
0
u/SomethingVeX 2d ago
The concept of "Ethnicity" doesn't really exist in Star Wars, at least not by the definition of the word.
Race isn't really acknowledged in Star Wars.
Species is a thing, but Ethnicity is defined as the social group a person belongs to, and either identifies with or is identified with by others, as a result of a mix of cultural and other factors including language, diet, religion, ancestry and physical features traditionally associated with race.
If you EXCLUDE the "race" part, the "social group" the clones identify with ar other clones. The Clone Army of the Republic had its own social group, used Basic language, had their own diet, virtually had no religion, they all shared the exact same ancestry and physical features ... so their "Ethnicity" could simply just be "clone".
0
u/erncolin 2d ago
I think the clones would consider themselves Kaminoan since they have no relationship with jango and Kamino was their home. So maybe Human Kaminoan
0
u/IDoubtYouGetIt 2d ago
Ethnically, they're clones; while under the charge of the Kaminoans, you could say that was their nationality. That nationality changed to the Republic once they became the Grand Army of the Republic. That nationality changed again when the Empire took control. Their culture seemed to change throughout each iteration of who controlled them. Under the Kaminoans, they had a culture of training and learning; under the Republic they had a culture of brotherhood (like the soldiers of the old war movies); under the Empire they had a culture of cold hard brutality and strict adherence to orders. At least, that's the way it seems to me.
0
u/sickboy76 2d ago
Mandalorians would be equivalent of a nationality, just like corellians or chandrillans. They were all "born" on amino so I'd say kaminoan.
0
u/Kugelblitz1504 2d ago
Species : Human
Ethnicity : Concordian Mandalorian
Planet : Kaminoan
Work Association : Coroscunt
0
-4
u/Anotherdrummer2 2d ago
Hey kid, it ain't that kind of movie...
2
u/TheWalrusMann 2d ago
this is the dumbest fucking quote misused in every fucking discussion ever, I hate it so much
-1
u/Anotherdrummer2 2d ago
Doesn't matter, it's accurate. Fandom overanalyzing stupid stuff like this is why the franchise has gone to shit
1
u/TheWalrusMann 2d ago
this is not "overanalyzing stupid stuff", it's an interesting topic that TCW and many books give attention to
"it's not that kind of movie" YES IT IS
-1
1.7k
u/jerem200 2d ago
Jango Fett was a human from Concord Dawn. So, they're human. Jango was a Mandalorian, but that's not a race/species.