Klingon Culture

 Age of Inclusion

The point in a young Klingon child's life in which he or she earns a rite of passage.

Ascension Chant

When presented with a holodeck-formed Ascension Chamber to mark the 10th anniversary of his own part in the rite, Lieutenant Worf recited the following while enduring the blows of the painstiks:

"DaHjaj SuvwI' 'e' jiH. tIqwIj Sa'angnIS. 'Iw biQtIqDaq jIjaH." (Today I am a warrior. I must show you my heart. I travel the river of blood.)

"jIbechrup may' vIlos." (I / suffer / ready / battle them / wait)

"HIHIvqa'." (You / attack / again)

"may'pequ' moH." (Battle / you be ugly).

B`aht Qul
A Klingon-ritualistic-style tradition of arm wrestling.

Birthday Song, Klingon
The traditional ditty in Klingonese is:

"Cha [name] Toh'gan-nah lo Pre-tOk (repeated thrice), Tu Mak Dagh Cha doh Borak."

Blood Oath
A blood oath is a promise that can never be broken -- although it can be revoked by any of those involved.

Kang, Koloth, Kor and Curzon Dax swore a blood oath of revenge against the Klingon albino, the murderer of each of the Klingons' firstborn -- all sons. It took nearly 80 years to track down the location of the albino. When Kang reassembled the old team he was initially disgusted at Dax's new female host, Jadzia. Kang offered to release Dax from the pledge. She refused, insisting on her firm commitment to her blood oath.

Brek`tal
If the leader of a Klingon house is slain in honorable combat, the victor may be invited to take his place and his wife. The ritual ceremony can be completed with just a single witness who requires no special status -- even a servant will do. Wearing ceremonial robes, each member of the couple recites "Go'Eveh lu cha wabeh to va re'Luk," followed by the witness proclaiming "Ghos ma'lu Kah".

Kozak's widow, Grilka, used this loophole to maintain her late husband's house and property by making Quark marry her, but D'Ghor later forced Rom to admit Kozak died accidentally, and thus negated that option.

Code, Klingon
Part of the warrior tradition is the phrase "Drink not with thine enemy." They showed no qualms about drinking with foes of their own kind, however.

The entity Q mentioned that the rigid code was part of the reason the Klingons were finally "defeated."

Death Wail
A particular type of Klingon ceremony which is performed immediately following the death of a warrior. After a Klingon peers into a just-deceased brethren's eyes and looks at death in the face, all Klingons who are present (although even a lone warrior will also perform this ritual on the deceased, given the opportunity) join in a tremendously loud and powerful howl skyward, which lasts several seconds. According to Lieutenant Commander Data, the howling signifies a traditional warning to the hereafter that "a Klingon warrior is about to arrive!"

No ceremony attends the corpse afterwards, which is viewed as "just an empty shell" and discarded in that manner. Although offworlders have heard of the ceremony, the ritual was apparently first observed by outworlders in the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D sickbay, circa stardate 41503 by Captain Picard, Doctor Crusher and the medical staff after the death of a Klingon renegade. Lieutenant Worf also howled skyward when he realized K'Ehleyr was dead; their son Alexander -- a stranger to both death and the ritual -- ran away.

Dirge, Klingon
Rather than the traditional death wail, a sacred funeral dirge is chanted by Kor over the bodies of Kang and Koloth (no translation is provided):

"Ki-naH-naH, lo-maytoo; Ki-naH-naH, lo-maytaH; "Ko-no-ma ... Ko-no-mayy ... No-no-ma ... Ko-no-MAAAYYY...."

Discommendation
Discommendation is the process of being socially barred and declared a "non-person" in Klingon society, labeled publicly as a coward and thereby being stripped of honor. The discommendation ceremony is brief and yet powerful in nature -- the accused is surrounded by a circle of persons facing him, who in turn cross their clenched fists over their chest and turn outward on their heel.

At Worf's discommendation, even his brother Kurn turned away from him, to preserve his secret relation to Worf. Worf accepted this disgrace rather than let the Empire fall into civil war by revealing the Ja'rod as the true traitor at Khitomer.

Worf's discommendation was finally revoked circa stardate 44998 after he and Kurn helped Gowron ensure his installation as High Council leader. In retrieving his family honor and name, Worf performed a ceremony which included gripping the razor-sharp edge of Gowron's extended dagger until blood was drawn; he did so without flinching.

Divorce, Klingon
The Klingon divorce involves the petitioner striking the defendant spouse, and reciting the words "N'Gos tlhogh cha!" and then spitting as a closing act.

This ceremony is demonstrated by Grilka, a Klingon woman married to Quark, the Ferengi entrepreneur on space station Deep Space Nine. Similar to their marriage practices, the divorce ceremony requires no further witness nor official to complete the process.

G`now juk Hol pajhard
A Klingon phrase that roughly translates to "A son will share in the honors or crimes of his father."

Ghoptu
Klingonese word for some object lifted in salute or tribute; though unspecified for a translation, by context it could be a toasting glass, or an arm. It literally means "hand / find / discover."

Gre`thor
In Klingon culture and theology, the place where the dishonored go to die, where Fek'lyr stands guard.

Hegh`bat
Ritualistic suicide ceremony used in cases when an injured Klingon becomes a burden and cannot hope to live a full life again. A family member, preferably the first-born son, is to bring the knife and then attend as the warrior impales himself through the heart; the family member then withdraws the weapon and wipes the blood on his sleeve.

Among the ceremonial objects used is the Klingon dagger and a special type of cloak.

When hopelessly paralyzed, Lieutenant Worf asked Commander Riker to assist him in this final act as his best friend, but when the appalled Riker discovered that such a task should fall to Worf's son, Alexander, he compelled Worf to rethink his plans.

Honor, Klingon
One of the most important of all Klingon values, honor is regarded as highly as a warrior's ability in battle.

The Duras family lost all honor when it was revealed that they had collaborated with the Romulan Empire in order to gain standing on the Klingon high council.

Confronted with Alexander's petty theft and denial, Lieutenant Worf tried to teach him the ideal of Klingon honor -- that, to a Klingon, honor is more important than life itself, that personal dishonor also dishonors the family. The boy picked up his first ideas about Klingon honor from his late half-human mother K'Ehleyr, quoting her as calling it "a lot of dumb ideas."

Ja`chuq
Modern Klingon practices have seen the Klingon Rite of Succession ceremony conclude with only a brief proclamation that two challengers vying for leadership had been decided upon. However, the older form of the ceremony concluded instead with the ja'chuq -- the listing of battles won and the prizes taken by each challenger.

Captain Picard, when he was chosen to act as Arbiter of Succession by K'mpec, found this bit of Klingon governmental tradition very useful. He was able to buy enough time to delay the pronouncement of fit candidates until one of the challengers could be proved to be linked to the poisoning of K'mpec, and then later, for a bombing.

 JIlajneS. ghIj qet jaghmeyjaj
Literally, Klingon word meaning "I accept [with honor]. May your enemies run with fear." Kurn, and later Captain Picard, both responded this way when Lieutenant Worf asked each in turn to be his cha'DIch.

Jinaq
A beautiful Klingon bracelet given to a daughter when she comes of age and is old enough to take a mate.

Kor`tova Candle
Klingon candle, symbolic of the fire in a warrior's heart, lit when a young man declares an intention to become a warrior.

Kot`baval Festival
Annual celebration of the legendary Kahless-Molor battle, featuring operatic mock fights.

Law of Heredity, Klingon
The Klingon Law of Heredity embodies the concept that a son will share in the honors or crimes of his father.

Without raising Duras' treachery, Captain Picard, as arbiter of succession, rules that Toral is indeed Duras' son but that the Council leader's position is not inherited and Toral is not experienced enough yet to lead the Empire.

MajQa, Rite of
A ritual vision quest of Klingons, it manifests itself in deep meditation which is undertaken in the lava caves of No'Mat. The effect of the intense heat in these caves after a time induces hallucinations in participants, many of which are considered profound. The most important revelation one can achieve on this quest is a vision about one's father.

The Rozhenkos allowed the young and curious Worf to try this, and he did indeed have a vision.

Mak`dar
A Klingon epithet used by drunken Kozak referring to Quark, modified by "pathetic."

Oath of Union, Klingon
Klingons usually mate for life, and the union -- once a couple is "engaged" -- is solemnized with a sacred traditional oath.

Lieutenant Worf felt honor-bound to propose to K'Ehleyr after they finally made love, but she rejected him, feeling no need for tradition to interfere with their separate careers. By the time she was ready to take the oath with Lieutenant Worf nearly a year and a half later, he declined so as not to bring his trumped-up dishonor upon her and Alexander. For a moment, they exchanged vows which may be the formal beginning to the oath: "jIH dok" (Worf) and "maj dok" (K'Ehleyr).

Qab jIH nagil!
The Klingonese challenge uttered by each witness during the Sonchi ceremony when applying the painstik to the corpse of the leader to be succeeded. It translates literally to "face / me / dare."

R`uustai, the
Literally, the Klingon word meaning "the bonding." It is the ceremony of adoptive brotherhood that Lieutenant Worf completed with fellow orphan Jeremy Aster, after the boy's mother died on stardate 43198.7 during a mission under the Lieutenant's command. Both participants wore ceremonial vests and each used a candle to light their own set of three large candles apiece. On stardate 43198.7, after adorning Jeremy with a sash similar to his own, Worf invoked the memory of their mothers by reciting "SoS jIH batlh SoH" ("Mother[s] I [we] honor you"). According to the tradition, once the ceremony is performed, they are now brothers, and their families are stronger because of the union.

Rite of Ascension, Klingon
The First Rite of Ascension is where a young Klingon's fighting skills, stamina and knowledge of Kahless' teachings are tested.

Sonchi
The Klingon death succession ceremony, and also the word of confirmation used when all parties have challenged and confirmed the death of the passed-on leader. It literally translates as "He is dead."

Sos jIH batlh SoH
Literally, Klingon phrase meaning "Mother[s] I [we] honor you", the oath Lieutenant Worf swears after he and fellow orphan, Jeremy Aster, complete the candle-lighting of the R'uustai bonding ceremony.

Sto-Vo-Kor
The afterlife of the Klingon honored dead, presided over by Kahless until his return to the world of the living.

Suicide, Klingon
Depressed at the fear of the unknown ailment and apparent inevitable death, Lieutenant Worf prepared to kill himself with a boxed, ceremonial dagger, kept on display with tall vials of liquid and an ornate round metal plate. He held the knife tip to the plate and poured one of the liquids down the blade. No translation or spelling is available on the Klingon he spoke, although at least part of it meant roughly, "Alexander, I hope you will forgive me," a reference to his son.

Tea Ceremony, Klingon
A ritual using a drink deadly to humans -- and only slightly less unhealthy for Klingons -- as a test of bravery and a reinforcement of the preference for facing death as a shared experience. The ceremony includes a chalice for each participant plus an extra one, along with the woody stem whose seeds and tulip-like flowers are plucked to make the tea. Doctor Pulaski had heard of, but not seen it, telling Lieutenant Worf she "understands the externals, not the mysteries" of the ceremony. Still, she gave herself a quick antidote in order to safely join him when invited, asking for a reading of Klingon love poetry when they finished.

The Promise
The messianic oath Kahless swore to his people to return one day to Qo'noS.

Voting, Klingon
Though it is not depicted, Klingon High Council members publicly vote by outstretching their right fist and grasping the right elbow with the left hand.

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This page was lasted updated: 06-Mar-2006