Long before the Old Republic was overthrown, the Jedi Knights reigned as the protectors of order. However, despite the Jedi Order's practice of self-policing their ranks, it was not unknown for certain Knights to fall prey to the dark side of the Force. One common practice for dealing with fallen Jedi was exile; the fallen Jedi was banished to an uninhabited world.

After Allya's passing, there was a short struggle for power between the eldest daughters. Before the conflict turned violent, it was decided that it was time for the immense family to break away from one another. Each of the original daughters left the group, taking their extended families with them.

Before the original Force witch Allya died, she created a book of advice, based loosely on the Jedi Code, to guide her children in the safe and sane use of the Force. As generations passed and her descendants scattered, each new clan made a copy of Allya's Book of Law to share with their new clansisters and to add as they learned new lessons.

Many of Dathomir's clan sisters broke with the teachings of the Book of Law. These Witches were cast into the wilderness, an ironic reflection of Allya's exile, to atone for their wrongdoing. After a period of three years, an offending Witch can petition for acceptance back into the clan, at which point the clan's council holds a hearing.

Gethzerion taught her pupils that the anicent text, the Book of Law, was created by Allya after she had become old and weak. That Allya's power had always been of her own ends, and that when she began to lose control of senses, she fell into a world of self-pity and despair.

Though very similar in most respects, there aresubtle differences between the way the Jedi use their powers and the Witches of Dathomir cast spells. Not the least of which is that, while the Jedi access their powers predominantly through meditation, the Witches fo Dathomir sing and chant to focus concentration on harnessing this energy field.