WARNING: The following contains spoilers from Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett "Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine,” streaming now on Disney+.
As Boba Fett's power struggles in Tatooine's criminal underworld continue, the second episode of The Book of Boba Fett also dives deeper into his experiences after escaping the Sarlacc. With much of the narrative taking place in flashbacks to Fett's time in the deserts of Tatooine, Episode 2 expands on his complex relationship with the Tusken Raiders. After being captured by them in the season premiere, Fett won the Tuskens' respect by saving a Tusken child from a creature encountered in the desert, and Episode 2 sees him accepted into their community.
Boba Fett was initiated into the ranks of the Tuskens via a series of ritual practices. This strange and spiritual initiation process offered a fresh look into the culture of the Tuskens and centered around the construction of a gaffi stick. In revealing how the signature weapons of the Tuskens are made, the episode also offered an unexpected answer to a question from Star Wars fans about these nomadic peoples of Tatooine: Where do they find the wood used to make their weapons, lodgings and fire kindling?
As fans on Reddit have pointed out, as a world of apparently endless desert, Tatooine does not boast any forests or other obvious sources of wood. Yet the Tusken Raiders, being less technologically advanced than most of Tatooine's other residents, are an isolated people who make heavy use of wood to create their weapons, tools and dwellings. In "Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine," one method used to locate wood in Tatooine's barren deserts is revealed and it involves inhaling a tiny psychedelic lizard. Yes, really.
After Fett leads a successful attack on a hovertrain manned by the Pyke criminal syndicate, which had been encroaching on the Tuskens' land, the Tusken Chief offers Fett a gift -- a small lizard, which he says will guide Fett. The lizard then jumps up and climbs into Fett's nose, sending him into a strange hallucinatory state. Fett experiences a vision of Tatooine's ancient oceans -- oceans which have long-since dried up by the time The Book of Boba Fett and the Skywalker Saga take place -- and two gnarled trees. One of these trees ensnares Fett as he experiences visions of his past and, in order to escape, he breaks off one branch. It becomes clear that the tree was not entirely a hallucination, as Fett returns to the Tusken camp with the branch.
The wood from the branch is carved by Fett and a Tusken into a gaffi stick for Fett, marking his acceptance into the tribe. The vision he had experienced, guiding him to the rarely seen trees of Tatooine, was clearly an important spiritual experience for the Tuskens, anchoring them to Tatooine's history and landscape. What is not clear is whether the use of the lizard to find trees is an experience reserved for tribal initiation ceremonies, in order for Tuskens to craft their gaffi sticks as they come of age or are accepted into the tribe, or whether the tribe makes regular use of the lizard's psychedelic properties to find wood for everyday uses.
Of course, it is possible that the Tuskens find wood for tools, kindling, their homesteads and other weapons via different means. They may be aware of the locations of desert plant life from which wood can be harvested for such purposes. It is also possible that the Tuskens conduct their own trade for such resources -- the idea they are uncivilized is generally an unfair assumption on the part of Tatooine's other residents and it is possible the Tuskens have formed trading relations with offworlders, or at least with certain merchants on Tatooine. In any case, The Book of Boba Fett's depiction of the use of the lizard to seek out trees has given Star Wars fans new insight into the rituals and culture of these Tatooine natives.
To see more of Boba's time amongst the Tusken Raiders, new episodes of The Book of Boba Fett are available on Disney+ every Wednesday.