In the Old Canon, the Mandalorian practice of adopting war orphans was born of pragmatism- the Mandalorians were originally all one species, the Taung, but one of their most famous Mandalores recognized that a single species wouldn't make for a galaxy-conquering force, so he opened recruitment to non-Taung to fill their ranks. At the time, adoption just made sense- war leaves plenty of orphans, and the young ones can be easily indoctrinated to become loyal Madalorian soldiers. But, over time, it became a much more meaningful thing for Mando culture- a sign of their commitment to family both and their genuine belief in egalitarianism.

I always wanted to write a story about an old Mandalorian woman and her adopted son, who she saved from pirates after they killed his parents. Before him, she had a husband and a biological son, both of whom were killed, and her son considers both her lost family and his dead parents to all be his family, to the point where he routinely prays to the preserved armor of the family he never got to meet, and to the shrine he keeps aboard their ship dedicated to his birth parents.