The Rites of Ascension

Lt Worf prepares himself for the ordeal. It is important that no fear is shown - the ritual is not just about being capable of enduring the pain, but also proving you are no afraid to face it!

Picking up a bat'leth and standing one's ground isn't all there is to becoming a true Klingon warrior.  Klingon youths also have to undergo Rites of Ascension, in which they must prove their courage and strength.

As with countless human and non-human cultures the Klingons Practice a coming of age ceremony designed to eliminate the weak and perpetuate the status quo.

The Klingons call the first major test of a young male's combat skills and spiritual devotion the First Rite of Ascension.

Deterring the future:

Because the outcome of the First Rite of Ascension ceremony sets the course of a Klingon's entire life, training for the event begins as early as possible.  By the time a warrior-to-be is approximately eight years of age, he should already have mastered the basics and is ready to light the kor'tova candle.  This act officially announces the childs commitment to achieve warrior status.  The flame of the kor'tova candle symbolizes the fire in a warriors heart.

If by the age of 13, a child has not completed the ritual he can never become a true klingon warrior.  And in a society where cowardice is equal to blasphemy, a non-warrior is definitely a second class citizen.

As Worf enters the trench, he faces the warriors with something more akin to arrogance than apprehension. 

A true Klingon is always ready for battle.

Endurance test:

The second ceremony puts the now-tempered warrior's spiritual strength on trial.  The unique Klingon method for measuring this inner quality involves torturing the warrior with painstiks - unpleasant devices capable of blowing the head off a two-ton Rectyne monopod - as he proclaims his most profound feelings,  Enduring massive pain is a sign of spiritual stamina.

Elaborate ceremony:

Inside the Ascension Chamber, a metal pathway bisects the room.  On either side of the pathway, standing on raised steel platforms, eight fierce Klingon warriors, each holding painstiks, form a gauntlet.  Off to the side, the warrior's family witness this hopefully proud moment.

To begin the process, the warrior steps inside the Ascension Chamber and announces in Klingon "Today I am a warrior.  I must show you my heart.  I travel the river of blood."

The warrior walks, at a leisurely pace, down the chamber path, stopping only after reaching the first pair of waiting Klingon warriors.  He utters the ceremonial phrase "jlbechrup may' vllos."  This is the cue for the two Klingons to viciously dig their painstiks into him.  Blue sparks fly off the painstik and the warriors body.  After many long seconds of off-the-scale agony, the Klingons withdraw their painstiks.  The warrior gasps for air, pretending not to affected by the pain, and says, "The battle is mine.  I crave only the blood of the enemy."

The warrior bravely continues his stroll, approaches the next pair of waiting Klingons, and then stops to tell them, "HlHlvqa' "  The painstik torture is repeated.  Often fighting to remain conscious, a warrior is nonetheless expected to declare. "The bile of the vanquished flows over my hands."

Moving down to the final painstik stop, the warrior tells the waiting klingons, "may'pequ' moH,"  and, again, the body-twisting torture is applied.

At last, when the final pair of painstiks are taken away, and assuming the honouree has survived, the Second Rite of Ascension ceremony is completed.

Worf reels under the pain, but does not falter.  He must continue to the end of the line.

Collapsing in agnony carries almost as much of a stigma as giving up - if you cannot take the pain, you are no more use in battle than a coward who does not want to face it.

Klingon Language:

Klingon: "DaHjaj Svw'l'e'jiH,"

English: "Today I am a warrior."

Klingon: "tigwij Sa'angNIS."

English: "I must show you my heart."

Klingon: "Iw blOtlqDaq jljaH."

English: "I travel the river of blood."

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This page was lasted updated: 06-Mar-2006