Little Bird
SENAAR'SEN - MANDALORIAN KITEWORK
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a new Mandalorian cultural practice to be used by my character, Varys Amun.
- Image Credit: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OmOdLb and https://www.artstation.com/artwork/48WAq
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Mando’a
- Organization Name: Senaar’sen (literally ‘bird ship’) - Mandalorian Kitework
- Classification: Cultural practice
- Affiliation: Mandalorians
- Organization Symbol: The kite
- Description: Senaar'sen is the Mandalorian art of gliding through the air with large, elaborate fabric kites to travel, perform acrobatics, and fight.
- Sail-kiting: The kite is attached to a board, and the pilot flies in a standing position, close to the ground in strong winds over flat terrain;
- Raptor-kiting: The pilot is attached so that the kite acts as wings, and is launched from a high elevation enabling diving and acrobatics, but short flight times; and
- Marathon-kiting: The pilot is seated on top of the kite, and glides between thermal currents that enable long, slow flights.
- Headquarters: Mandalore
- Domain: Invented on the plains of Mandalore, practiced in places with a large Mandalorian population, such as Kestri and Dantooine
- Notable Assets: N/A
- Hierarchy: None. While Senaar'sen has those who consider themselves masters of the art, it is largely freeform, without delineated levels nor rigid skills to learn.
- Membership: While once a flourishing practice, the number of practitioners of Senaar'sen has starkly dropped since the Mandalorian Purges under The Sith Empire. A few scattered teachers and kitemakers pass on their knowledge across the Galaxy.
- Climate: Senaar'sen is difficult, dangerous, and takes a long time to learn. However, if one has the grit and the skill, any Mandalorian can learn to control the kites.
- Reputation: The practice is largely unknown in the wider Galaxy. Amongst Mandalorians, Senaar'sen, if it is remembered at all, is considered a largely obsolete, ancient spiritual practice.
- Curios: The item that marks a practitioner of Senaar'sen is their kite. The kites are massive, handwoven of fine, light cloth, often spun with metals or stone for strength. Most kites boast complex designs and markings, often filled with symbols and mementos of importance to the kite-flyer. Many will use the same kite for years, retiring it with great ceremony only when it becomes too tattered to function.
- Rules: There are many guidelines and recommendations in Senaar'sen, but only two hard rules: treat your kite as if it is a living being, and only Mando’ade (Mandalorians) can learn to control the kites
- Goals: The goal of Senaar'sen is individual mastery of the art, and making the kite a viable tool for scouting, acrobatics, or combat.
Varys Amun
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The grass plains of Manda’yaim are flat, and a strong and steady wind blows almost constantly. It was on these plains that Senaar’sen was born. It was said that once, the plains of Manda’yaim were a rich tapestry of colourful kites. Senaar’sen was a popular pastime, a reflection of the ingenuity of the Mandalorian people, their culture, and their connection to their homeworld. However, war and crisis diminished the place of the kite for the Mandalorians of the plains. Over time, Senaar’sen became a small but staple art practiced by brave and spiritual Mandalorians. It survived in this form through the collapse and reformation of the Galaxy, and even persisted after the near-extinction of the Mandalorian way of life in the Sith purges. Now, it is rare and mostly forgotten, but where there are scattered Mando’ade who carry on the tradition, the Senaar’sen kites can be seen arcing over the plains.
Last edited:
