They're database-independent representations of the data Jira holds for its main data (entities.xml) and the data it holds for apps and plugins (activeobjects.xml). They make up 2 or the 3 backups you need to take for a full, but minimal backup (the third one being the attachments from the files system)
I would very strongly recommend not editing the xml - it is incredibly easy to get it wrong an leave yourself with a destroyed or corrupted system if you restore from it. And I'm pretty sure Atlassian will not support the edits, or even possibly a system rebuild from edited xml
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