Chapter Text
True Mandalorians:
Mand’alor Jaster Mereel, guided by strong ethical principles, sought to reform Mandalorian society. In the centuries since they had last been a united power, the once-united clans had descended into petty inter-clan squabbles and blood feuds and many Mandalorians had devolved to dishonorable savages, raiding and pirating as a false semblance of their old power.
He modernized the Canons of Honor into the Supercommando Codex, a set of guidelines for proper moral Mandalorian behavior, but this was unpopular in many corners of Mandalorian society who saw these warrior codes as weakening the Mandalorian people and turning them soft.
Mandalorian society fragmented between the True Mandalorians loyal to Jaster Mereel and the Death Watch, supporting Tor Vizsla as Mand’alor, with both factions claiming to be the traditional faction seeking to restore the old ways.
Generally, the True Mandalorians hold to the more spiritual customs and traditions, even without truly being religious in the way of the ancient Mandalorians.
Death Watch:
Tor Vizsla raised Death Watch in response to Jaster Mereel’s reforms, believing he and his ilk were weakening Mandalorian society by shackling them with oppressive codes of conduct and setting their sights too low, content to sit in the sandbox the Republic had confined them to rather than reclaiming their lost glory as a conquering people.
They view honor as not being tied to so-called “ethical” behavior, but to identity as a Mandalorian and strength as a victor. Where the True Mandalorians might say “parjai ti ijaat” (“victory with honor”), the Death Watch would say “ijaat adol parjai” (“honor through victory”).
Despite their claimed identity as the more traditional of the factions, they do not hold to the more spiritual customs and traditions—even as they pay lip service to the warrior religion of the ancient Mandalorians—and are a more generally secular faction.
Haat’runi*:
An ultra-traditionalist “clan” based on Serroco and largely unknown to other Mandalorians, the Haat’runi (literally “true-soul”) are really a faction, as they have their own Mand’alor and the members come from a variety of clans and houses, all renouncing prior allegiances and taking on the surname “Haat-runi.” Founded centuries prior to the True Mandalorian reforms and isolated for all that time, they have minimal knowledge of events on Mandalore since their self-imposed exile.
Following a strict interpretation of the Resol’nare , they only speak Mando’a, and upon beginning their training at the age of eight, they are given armor and are to never remove their helmets in the presence of anyone (with the exception of their spouses and their children below the age of eight).
They believe that to remove one's helmet in front of others or speak another language in daily practice would be to forfeit a place in the Manda, though there are a variety of caveats and opportunities for redemption which could allow such an offender to rejoin the clan and regain a place in the oversoul. There are multiple competing schools of thought within the Haat’runi about how strictly to interpret the Resol’nare and the consequences for failing to follow the Resol’nare as they interpret it, but all agree at least in broad strokes with the aforementioned principles.
The Haat’runi are the most traditional of the factions, and still hold to the ancient religious customs. However, they are not nearly as blood-thirsty as Death Watch believes the ancient Mandalorians were, in practice seeming more like the True Mandalorians.
Children of the Watch:
A similarly traditionalist sect, the Children of the Watch are not as strict in certain aspects of the Resol’nare as the Haat’runi are, but have a similarly strict interpretation of the rule about wearing armor. A relatively recent faction, they found their origin with the rediscovery of the Way of the Mandalore shortly after the Mandalorian Civil War between Death Watch and the True Mandalorians.*
The Children of the Watch are an offshoot of the Death Watch, even more committed to the “old ways,” if with different focuses and intensities. They also resided for a time on Concordia, but did not seek the conquests sought by Death Watch or even see the Death Watch as legitimate Mandalorians, and so refused to join them in their campaign. This earned the ire of Death Watch, but since they had larger concerns, they left the Children of the Watch in peace.*
In their holds on Concordia, the Children of the Watch rode out the great purge and eventually scattered, living in hiding and regaining their strength, growing their faction through the recruiting of foundlings and taking mercenary work in their ones and twos to build up their resources.
They follow the “Way of the Mandalore,” yet another offshoot of the Resol’nare and associated texts, their own creed with its own rules and dictates. They do not hold to many of the traditions and customs seen as ordinary by most Mandalorians, however, seeing them as being almost another culture entirely, having been introduced by Mandalorians who diverged from the true way.