- "In five millennia, the Mandalorians fought with and against a thousand armies on a thousand worlds. They learned to speak as many languages and absorbed weapons technology and tactics from every war. And yet, despite the overwhelming influence of alien cultures, and the absence of a true home world and even species, their own language not only survived but changed little; their way of life and their philosophy remained untouched; and their ideals and sense of family, of identity of nation, were only strengthened. Armor is not what makes a Mandalorian. Armor is simply a manifestation of an impenetrable, unassailable heart."
- ―Passage from "Mandalorians: Identity and Language"
Mandalorian culture consisted of a very straight-forward nomadic society, influenced by many other cultures around the galaxy. As a whole, Mandalorians were not prejudiced of any species, but tolerated all Mandalorians, as long as they followed Mandalorian principles. Many war-orphaned children (such as Jango Fett and Mira) would be adopted into Mandalorian society, and brought up as Mandalorian children.
The Mandalorians were nomadic warriors, despite the fact that they had the home world of Mandalore. The Mandalorians kept their nomadic ways so that in the event of attack, there would be no easy way to exterminate the Mandalorians. They also built no straight roads on Mandalore in order to make it much easier to ambush and pin down any invaders. Tactics such as these contributed to the Mandalorians' survival over thousands of years. This also meant that many Mandalorians had never visited Mandalore.
Individual Mandalorians were independent warriors, bound together by the same culture. Each piece of Mandalorian steel was created, chosen and customized by a Mandalorian to their level of skill. The armor had great cultural significance for the Mandalorians, and each set told about the Mandalorian underneath. However, there was a saying in Mando'a: "Verd ori'shya beskar'gam", meaning a warrior is more than his armor.
Not all Mandalorians constantly fought on the front line. There were farmers, regular factory workers, engineers, and doctors too. However, all Mandalorians were warriors at heart, and all knew how to fight.
There were six acts one needed to follow to be a Mandalorian, known as the Six Actions (Resol'Nare).
- wearing armor,
- speaking Mando'a,
- defending themselves and families,
- raising children as Mandalorians,
- helping the clan succeed and sustain itself,
- when called to arms by the Mandalore, rally to his cause.
The only leader of the Mandalorians was the Mandalore himself, and he held his rank as long as he commanded the respect of his fellow warriors. In battle, Mandalorians would be assigned to different squads and jobs, depending on their area of expertise. The Mandalorians worked together to the best of their ability in battle. Mandalorians were not promoted to better jobs, since they did not have jobs—only in battle would some kind of organization need to occur.
The only exception to this would be the way Jaster Mereel ran the Mandalorians. He often diverted from the culture of the Mandalorians, but only slightly so. His armor was different from everybody else's, which was gold and red, perhaps signifying rank. His second in command, Montross, wore silver and blue armor. This armor-rank system was carried on by Jango Fett, who wore Jaster's armor, and had his second in command, Myles, wear the blue-silver armor. Like Jaster, Jango did not act like a traditional Mandalorian.
Sometimes the color of a Mandalorian's armor had a specific meaning. Black, for example, signified justice, while gold armor was for vengeance. Green armor signified duty. Blue was for reliability, gray for mourning a lost love, and red was to honor a father.[9] Or the color of a Mandalorian's armor could signify nothing more than that they liked the look.
Despite their rather gruff appearance and style of combat, the average Mandalorian was more sociable and kind than one would expect. As long as individuals spoke their mind, accepted a meal when offered, looked them straight in the eye (or the horizontal section of their visor), took off their boots when guests, paid their debts, fussed over their children, never made a pass at a Mandalorian of the opposite sex (unless the individual planned to become part of the culture) and respected the elderly, anyone who encountered a Mandalorian was not likely to be killed.
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Family was very important to the Mandalorians, yet when compared to most other cultures, they held very different beliefs as to what constituted a familial relationship. Despite the fact that fidelity and chastity before marriage was highly emphasized, they were unconcerned about parentage. Believing that aliit iru'shya tal'din (Family is More Than Bloodlines), it was common for orphaned children, and even adults, to be brought into the culture. The ceremony for adoption of a new Mandalorian is named gai bal manda, which means literally "name and soul". For the Mandalorians, there was no difference between a "real" child and an adopted one.
Mandalorian children were usually raised by their mothers up to their third birthday, and then by their fathers, who would train them in the art of war until they became adults. Mandalorians were considered adults at the age of thirteen, when they would undergo a trial (the verd'goten, or coming of age) turning them into warriors. This contributed to the fact that Mandalorians married and settled down earlier than most cultures. Family bonds were a large part of the Mandalorian culture, and as a result, they felt more comfortable around each other than they did around strangers.
Mandalorian women were expected to have the same combat skills as men, in order to defend their homes when the men were away. If they didn't have children to raise, they fought alongside men on the battlefield. The ideal Mandalorian woman was physically strong and resilient.
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