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A nursery rhyme song that began with the line "shrii ka rai ka rai" was known during the time of the High Republic Era. The nursery rhyme was sung to Jedi younglings by the nursemaid Ruusstha Vidyarvrikt in order to scare the Jedi into behaving and going to sleep, with both Emerick Caphtor and Stellan Gios having heard it as younglings. After witnessing the death of Loden Greatstorm during the Battle of Grizal, Gios, then a Jedi Master, began to sing the nursery rhyme without realizing. Gios later tasked Caphtor with investigating the cause of Greatstorm's death, and the Jedi investigator soon began to sing the song himself.

Caphtor's investigation took him to a Nihil base on Vrant Tarnum, where his droid, Q-2, translated the first line of the song in writing on a wall. The song was also sung by a prisoner aboard the Galactic Republic prison ship Restitution. In truth, the song was connected to and about the Nameless, who were also known as the "Shrii Ka Rai" which meant "Eaters of the Force". The Nameless preyed upon Force-sensitives, causing them to hallucinate and even killing them by turning them to dust. They were the same beings which had killed Greatstorm and were being used by Eye Marchion Ro during the Nihil conflict.

Description[]

"Shrii ka rai ka rai"
(info) · (help)
As sung by Leela and interrupted by Lourna Dee

The song was a frightening one, warning listeners that the speaker was coming to take them away, and that although an unspecified "they" would do what they could, the listener would only be dust when they were found. It contained the nonsense phrase "shrii ka rai ka rai" as a refrain, which did not translate into any language known to the droid Q-2. Emerick Caphtor believed the refrain had been made up in order to rhyme with the word "away".^[3] The term "shrii-ka-rai," however, was actually a way to refer to beings known to others as the Nameless and meant "Eaters of the Force."^[4] The Nameless had the ability to turn Force-sensitives to dust, just like what is described in the song.^[1]

History[]

The Jedi Azlin Rell began hearing the song after an encounter with the Nameless during the Night of Sorrow and hurriedly began writing writing down what he could in a personal journal. Several pages of the book would be ripped out by the bounty hunter Vol Garat.^[5] The song continued to be known to the Jedi Order during the High Republic Era.^[3] Around thirty-five years before 231 BBY,^[6] the elderly nursemaid Ruusstha Vidyarvrikt sang the song to younglings under the Ongree's care, including Emerick Caphtor and Stellan Gios, both of whom found the song frightening.^[3]

Decades later, when Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm was killed by being turned to stone through mysterious means at the Battle of Grizal, Gios, by then a Master himself, was reminded of the song and began unconsciously singing it when inspecting Greatstorm's corpse, which crumbled into dust after being disturbed. Caphtor noticed Gios' behavior and later asked him why he was yet again singing the song when the two discussed the results of an analysis of the dust at the Jedi Temple. Gios did not know why, but Caphtor realized he was getting desperate. Caphtor was charged with uncovering the cause of Greatstorm's death, and figured that the song was somehow connected to it, although he did not know how.^[3]

Q-2, Caphtor's personal droid, complained that the "shrii ka rai ka rai" refrain did not translate into any language it was familiar with. When Caphtor investigated a Nihil base on Vrant Tarnum looking for answers, Q-2 discovered that the song's opening refrain was carved into the stone around the entrance to a cave in the ruins which Caphtor judged to be important.^[3]

A prisoner named Leela onboard the Galactic Republic prison ship Restitution also sang the song, to the great annoyance of another prisoner, the undercover Tempest Runner Lourna Dee.^[7]

In Vaba Blanks Midnight Den, private investigator Sian Holt performed a swanky rendition of the tune on stage to an audience that included Emerick Caphtor and Stellan Gios, as she had been participating in the investigation of Greatstorm's death with Caphtor.^[8] Later, during the destruction of Starlight Beacon, the Holt and Caphtor learned of the origin of the term from Doctor Kisma Uttersond, who revealed the Nihil intended to use the creatures to bring down the Republic by sending them against the Jedi. Uttersond gave over a piece of paper that was from^[4] Rell's journal.^[5]

Behind the scenes[]

The nursery rhyme beginning with "shrii ka rai ka rai" was created by Daniel José Older for the comic series Star Wars: The High Republic: Trail of Shadows.^[3] Prior to the release of the series, the song featured in the audio drama The High Republic: Tempest Runner, written by Cavan Scott.^[7] Older used a keyboard to compose^[9] a song to go along with the lyrics,^[10] which he stated was a waltz in E Phrygian.^[11] Older later shared an instrumental of the lullaby.^[12]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

• The Darker Side: An Exploration of the Occult in Star Wars on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi
• Star Wars: Timelines
• Our Favorite Scary Star Wars Stories to Thrill You This Halloween Season on StarWars.com (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
• NYCC 2023: 13 Highlights from the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel on StarWars.com (backup link) (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy

Notes and references[]