Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi showcased something previously unseen in Star Wars, a Jedi funeral on Coruscant that also begged the question as to why Qui-Gon Jinn’s funeral was on Naboo. Tales of the Jedi episode 3 showed the funeral in question, with the Jedi paying respects to Master Katri after her death inquiry was solved by Count Dooku and Mace Windu. The following installment, Tales of the Jedi episode 4, revealed that Qui-Gon Jinn’s funeral was to be held on Naboo, as opposed to the Jedi Temple like Katri’s.
Considering his home planet is also Coruscant, where the Jedi Temple is and the funerals take place, it is even more of a mystery as to why Qui-Gon’s funeral was on Naboo after his death at the hands of Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. However, the answer is simply so that the people of Naboo could honor Qui-Gon and his sacrifice. Qui-Gon died during the Battle of Naboo, defending their queen, Amidala, from the Sith. For this reason, Naboo likely asked for permission from the Jedi to hold Qui-Gon’s funeral there, in honor of his sacrifice for the planet. This was likely largely for political reasoning, but it still stands as a great honor for Qui-Gon’s legacy.
How Naboo Honored Qui-Gon Jinn
This funeral, despite not being shown and only referenced during Tales of the Jedi, is one of the main ways the planet of Naboo honored Qui-Gon Jinn. However, one specific Star Wars novel depicts another way the people of Naboo honored the Jedi after the Duel of the Fates in The Phantom Menace. In the young adult novel Queen’s Hope by E. K. Johnston, it is confirmed that the people of Naboo built a memorial shrine for Qui-Gon Jinn somewhere near Theed, the capital of the planet. It was also revealed that Anakin Skywalker, who was originally supposed to be Qui-Gon’s apprentice, visited the shrine the day before he married Padme on the planet. This is one of the other major ways Qui-Gon was remembered on the planet, besides his cremation at the funeral referenced in Tales of the Jedi and shown at the end of The Phantom Menace.
Why Is A Jedi’s Body Burned As Part Of A Funeral?
This may lead many to question why Jedi are burned as part of their funeral as opposed to buried. There are a few reasons for this that can be inferred from the wider Star Wars universe. Firstly, the Jedi Order, between the High Republic and the prequels, was very strict and forbade any attachments such as love. If Jedi were to be buried, this would go against these specific beliefs. Burials are used as a way to continue the memory of the deceased, with graves specially picked out and often regularly visited. Jedi, in their belief that attachments are a weakness, would have little reason to specially pick out a burial site and are even less likely to visit a grave as this signifies attachment. Instead, cremating fallen Jedi falls much more in line with the Jedi Order of that time, simply honoring their comrades in a very efficient way without the afterthought a burial site offers.
However, Star Wars: Rebels may have presented an actual reason beyond this. In one episode of that show, Kanan Jarrus, who is linked to Mace Windu and Ahsoka Tano, and his apprentice Ezra Bridger track down Luminara Unduli, with Kanan sensing her presence. Upon locating Luminara, it is revealed that she is already dead and Kanan was sensing an echo of her Force abilities. Through burning the Jedi after death, the possibility of the Force living on as an echo through the dead body is removed, meaning the Jedi in question are fully at peace. While Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi does not divulge any of this by showing Qui-Gon Jinn’s funeral or what happens thereafter, other facets of the Star Wars universe certainly shed some light on the subject.
