The Givin were a race of xenophobic, mammalian humanoids distinguished by the fact that its members carries their skeletons on the outside of their bodies. This exoskeleton helped protect them from the sudden pressure changes and periods of hard vacuum that occurred on the surface of Yag'Dhul, their homeworld. This exoskeleton allowed them to seal their joints, giving further protection. A heightened sense of barometric pressure allowed the Givin to anticipate storms and seal themselves inside their skeleton. While protected in this way, the average Givin did not breathe. Many scientists have likened the Givin to Twi'lek string puppets in their appearance.
The Givin lived in hermetically sealed cities that were built to withstand the tides of vacuum, and their society grew around the intense mathematics needed to accurately predict the vacuum tides. This use of mathematics provided the Givin with the reputation of being proficient mathematicians and strategists, a reputation that was only heightened by the fact that Givin used quadratic equations to greet each other. The Givin also had a fairly advanced technology, and were respected starship builders in most sector of the galaxy. During the Clone Wars, the Givin allied themelves with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, providing their shipbuilding talents in an effort to gain a measure of respect against the Mon Calamari. This provided the Separatists with access to, and control of, the Rimma Trade Route and the Corellian Trade Spine. It also allowed the Separatists to take advantage of the natural ability of a Givin individual to calculate hyperspace travel routes in their heads, reducing their dependence on navigational computers.