"A Klingon's honor means more to him than his life!"
– Kurn
The Klingons (Second Human Empire: Hamo Tuiy'kio Ciuyi'nuggh) are a humanoid warrior species that originated from the planet Qo'noS (pronounced Kronos), an M-class planet. One of the major powers of the Milky Way galaxy in some universes such as Duyi'zu and the Nuyi’zu Universes. The aggressive Klingon culture had made them an interstellar military power to be respected and feared, which controlled a vast territory of the Beta Quadrant, bordering the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire.
Known for their proud warlike mentality and adherence to a code of honor, Klingons have been one of the most influential species in the history of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants since at least the 22nd century (14 century NE), and have acted both as enemies and allies of the Federation, mainly those from the Duyi'zu were previously allies of the Axis of Empires until later on switched sides to fully support the Alliance of Nations. Over time became official members of the Federation.
Biology and Appearance[]
A Klingon with a smooth head
The most distinctive feature of Klingon anatomy (except in those individuals afflicted with the Augment virus) was a sagittal crest, beginning on the forehead and often continuing over the skull. The cranium was encased in an exoskeleton, which possessed a feature known as the tricipital lobe. Internally, Klingon anatomy was markedly different from that of Humans. There was a great deal more multiple redundancy in their organs, a principle they called brak'lul. This allowed Klingons to survive severe injuries in battle. They had twenty-three ribs, two livers, an eight-chambered heart, three lungs, and even redundant neural function as well as multiple stomachs. Some geneticists believed that the extra organs, notably the third lung, evolved to give Klingons greater stamina on the battlefield. Klingons had relatively little knowledge of their own biology and their medicine was very poorly developed. This was largely due to their warrior traditions – a Klingon who was wounded was expected to be left to either survive through his own strength, die, or undergo the hegh'bat, a form of ritual suicide.
History[]
Distant Origin[]
Like their Human, Cardassian, Vulcan, and Romulan counterparts, Klingons and many humanoid races from several variations of the Milky Way Galaxy all shared a common ancestry back to the ancient humanoids with the DNA code they produced and seeded across the galaxy. Though each evolved under separate conditions from each other, their shared DNA allowed these species to remain roughly compatible and viable with each other. ]
Early evolved Klingon ancestors possessed extreme strength and speed, they were quite large, weighing up to 200 kilograms. They were armored with an exoskeleton, with spines and bony plates protruding from their sides, upper arms, and back, arms ended with clawed pincers. On their face were venom sacs, filled with bio-acidic compound and spitting glands inside their mouth that were used for defense and to mark territory. Along with these sacs, these early Klingons evolved two mandibles protruded from their lower jaw. The males used vocalizations to frighten other predators, mark their territory, and commence the mating process. These early Klingons mating rituals involving biting its intended mate, to induce pheromone production in the sebaceous glands. Once the mate was ready, the pheromones drew the male Klingon back to its location.
At a certain point in their evolution, they become more like the modern Klingons.
Culture and Society[]
Klingons are a warrior race which take pride in conquest and victory, seeking prestige and validation for both themselves and their bloodlines by deeds of honor and courage.
They're native to the M-class planet Qo'noS, which serves as capital of the Klingon Empire. Klingon families make up the Great Houses, which are represented in the Klingon High Council. A Chancellor serves as leader to the entire species.
Outside of battle, Klingons are a boisterous people who engage in festivities and enjoy eating, drinking, singing and trading playful insults. Their culture is rich in music, from songs that immortalize battles to the celebrated Klingon operas. Despite their historical enmity with Humans, they also have an appreciation for some aspects of Human culture, notably the plays of William Shakespeare: a sentiment expressed by Chancellor Gorkon, who joked that "you have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon".
Klingons are a monogamous and patriarchal race, and place great importance in familial ties. Rather than using surnames, a Klingon will introduce himself by stating his name and the name of his father (e.g. "I am Worf, son of Mogh"). They share the honors and the dishonors of their immediate relatives: a disgraced father equals a disgraced son. Klingon tradition holds that the son of a Klingon is a man the day he can first hold a blade.
Klingon culture is centered around the concept of honor, as taught by the founder of modern Klingon civilization, the warrior-emperor Kahless, who originally unified his people and created a code of conduct to be followed for centuries after his death. Honor and dishonor are more important than life and death for a Klingon. They prefer to die honorably in combat than to face the dishonor of being captured alive. Emphasis is also placed on courage, loyalty and battle skills.
However, Klingon honor differs somewhat from what most Humans would regard as honor. While they're usually upfront and hardly ever resort to the sneaky tactics employed by their Romulan and Cardassian enemies, they're not averse to deception, and will always ponder their options based on which strategy has the best chance of resulting in victory. To a Klingon, nothing's more honorable than victory.
Suicide is considered dishonorable among Klingons. However, a form of ritual assisted suicide exists, known as Hegh'bat, to allow those who can no longer fight and have become a burden to their families to die honorably, with the assistance of a friend or family member, preferably the warrior's own son. Similarly the controversial rite of Mauk-to'Vor allows a Klingon to kill a wrongfully disgraced brother and restore his honor upon death.
One (in)famous aspect of Klingon culture that has been often misunderstood by Humans is the custom that allows a Klingon officer to climb in rank by murdering his superiors. While this is technically true, there are strict restrictions: a superior officer can only be challenged by his immediate subordinate if the latter is convinced that the former is no longer fit to perform his duties. This practice serves to ensure that Klingons face pressure to perform their duties correctly, both from their superiors and from their subordinates.
Due to the strong emphasis on warrior mentality, Klingons who seek other professions may not be very well-regarded by their kin. Antaak was disowned by his father for becoming a physician, and Klingon scientists such as Kurak resent the lack of appreciation for their work. However, some Klingons have become respected in other fields, such as advocates who view the courtroom as a battlefield in which uncovering the truth represents victory.
Like the Romulans, Klingons have been known to employ cloaking technology on their ships. This, along with the Romulans using Klingon designs on their ships in 2268 (1415 NE), suggests that the two species have acquired technology from each other, possibly via a short-lived alliance before becoming blood enemies. The Klingons have also acquired holographic technology from the Xyrillians in the early 2150s duyi'zu, long before holodecks became commonplace among other species.
Despite having access to advanced technology, a Klingon's favorite combat weapon is the bat'leth: a bladed weapon that can be held with one hand or both.
Klingon cuisine, much like Ferengi cuisine, includes live invertebrates. The many varieties of gagh and racht are to be consumed alive. Half-dead racht is considered poor quality.
Klingons, for the most part, speak a single language across the Empire known as Klingonese, or simply Klingon, although dialects are known to exist. The Klingon language makes heavy use of guttural sounds and has phonetic features that are highly unusual compared to most Human languages, but can still be learned and spoken by other species, including Humans, Kilominitic, Trills and Elaysians.
According to Kang, Klingons have no belief in the devil. However, they do believe in two types of afterlife: Sto-Vo-Kor is the destiny of those who die with honor, and its halls are guarded by Kahless himself. In contrast, those who die without honor end up in the hellish realm of Gre'thor, guarded at the gates by a monster known as Fek'Ihr. When a Klingon dies, it is customary for his peers to howl at the sky as a warning that a Klingon warrior is about to arrive in the afterlife.
Klingon courtship and mating rituals are violent by Human standards. It is traditional for Klingon females to roar, hurl heavy objects at their mates and claw at them, while the males read love poetry and duck a lot.
Klingons have domesticated species such as the Targ, the Klingon Monster Dog and the Jackal Mastiff.
The Klingon unit of currency is called the darsek.
Striking someone with the back of one's hand is considered a challenge to a battle to the death among Klingons. Keeping distance and speaking softly or whispering is considered extremely insulting.
Although despite becoming members of the Federation long after the Duyi'zu War, the Klingons still maintain a strong hold of their traditions and sovereignty.
Technology[]
Klingons achieved warp drive sometime after 930 AD (77 NE). By the year 2152, Klingon vessels were capable of warp 6.
Klingons in the Multiverse[]
Duyi'zu[]
The Klingons joined mostly the Axis of Empires, though some of them joined the Alliance of Nations (most notably Worf and Alexander Rozhenko) and the Coalition (Duras, son of Ja'rod, a founder of their rebels).
Nuy'izu[]
The Klingons of the Nuyi'zu' backstory was somewhat similar to their 'prime' version, but were more barbaric and raided. United by a Klingon named Kahless the Unstoppable who slain a Klingon named Malor, founding the Klingon Alliance and were mortal enemies of the Terran Empire and were almost wiped out by the Terrans before they joined the Axis, when the Terran Empire fell into disarray and lost faith in the Combine for their numerous attempts to invader their alternate counterparts, the Klingons took advantage and joined forces with the Cardassians to create the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, earning favor of the Combine to gain the majority of the Terrans' territories as a more powerful force to control their part of the galaxy. During the First War, the Klingons from both realities fought each other
Ruyi'zu[]
The Klingons from the Ruyi'zu Universe are in a continues war against the Confederation of Earth along with other races.
Known Klingons[]
Trivia[]
- The Klingons from the Duyi;zu universe joining the Federation was mentioned in Start Trek: Enterprise by Daniels sometime in the 26th century.