HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

BY ALEX MATTHEWS 3

BAJORAN BELIEFS AND RITUALS
BY JOSH EDELGLASS 5

COMING SOON 8
Welcome to the fifth issue of TCMS,

Firstly I would like to apologise for the lack of magazines over the
Christmas and New Year period, my laptop crashed with all files on it,
luckily I managed to get it back up and running with all files still attached.

This issue was supposed to be a holiday special and although it wasnt
released over that period it still is, we have two articles for you, the first
being Home for the Holidays by Alex Matthews an examination in to the
various holidays in Star Trek. The second article we bring you is Bajoran,
Beliefs and Rituals by Josh Edelglass, which looks closer at the Bajoran side
of the holidays in closer detail.

We are aiming to get back up to date with a TCM issue due at in the next
week then three more magazines by the end of the month.

Live Long and Prosper

Richard
Trekkie Central Staff:
Writers: Heather Ashleigh; Jennifer Cole; Gerri Donaldson; Josh Edelglass; Beo Fraser; Danny
Levy; Alex Matthews; Richard Miles; Eugenia Stoypra; Sean-Paul Teeling and John Whiting.
Head Writers: Gerri Donaldson; Alex Matthews; Richard Miles and Eugenia Stoypra.
Photographers: Jennifer Cole and Richard Miles
Graphics Artists: Steve Gilson and Richard Miles; Front Cover: Richard Miles
Creative Consultants: Michael Hudson and Rick Pike.
Assistant Editors: Heather Ashleigh and Alex Matthews

Editor: Richard Miles

Special Thanks: Contributors: Josh Edelglass and Alex Matthews.

Trekkie Central Magazine and Supplemental is produced for fans by fans. This is a free to
download and view online magazine, from which no profit is made in anyway. If you see this
magazine on sale anywhere please do not purchase it as this will jeopardise feature
issue of this magazine. If you do find it on sale please inform us immediately by emailing us at
admin.trekkiecentral@googlemail.com and put
fraudulent magazine in the subject box. Many Thanks




























Humanity is just one in a large number of
sentient races that exist in the world of
Star Trek, with our own individual flaws,
qualities and traditions that make us
special. With the rapid approach of
Christmas, as well as the recent
Halloween, Thanksgiving and Bonfire Night
celebrations, we take a look at how some
of these traditions and festivals are
depicted throughout the history of Trek,
and the various traditions some other
races celebrate.
Christmas has only ever been addressed
twice in canon Trek, and once in the
memorable episode Santa Q in the fanfilm
series Hidden Frontier. In the TOS episode,
Dagger of the Mind, Kirk reveals that he
became very well acquainted with
crewmember Dr. Helen Noel at the science
lab Christmas party. This 'friendship' is
then used against him when both he and
Noel are captured by the corrupt head of
the psychiatric facility they are visiting. It
may also be a simple coincidence that
Noel's surname is the French word for
'Christmas'... Decades later, during the
time that Picard is drawn in the Nexus
during Generations, he finds himself
celebrating Christmas with the loving wife
and family he always wanted but
sacrificed in order to have his career. The
Santa Q episode of Hidden Frontier once
again examines the idea of Christmas, and
actually attempts an explanation of why,
in an age where the Earth is largely non-
religious, why Christmas is still celebrated.
The reason that humanity has left behind
the religious aspects of the holiday,
but kept the idea that it is a time for family
celebration, of being with the people that you
care about.
Other holidays we celebrate today seem to
have faded into the winds of time by the 24
th

century when a holodeck character
commented to Picard that his uniform would
be a good look for Halloween; he had no idea
to what the character was referring. But the
tradition of Thanksgiving seems to have
sustained, since the Enterprise crew were
planning on celebrating it, and the actions of
young Charlie Evans, a human boy with
incredible psionic abilities, transformed the
meatloaf into the more appropriate turkey
(TOS: Charlie X). The day is still celebrated by
some people over a century later, when
Captain Sisko invited his senior staff to a
Thanksgiving dinner, which he had been
growing vegetable for months in preparation.
The festivities of other religions have also
survived into the 24
th
century, such as the
Hindu Festival of Lights, known as Diwali was
celebrated on the Enterprise-D in 2367,
whereas the Polish tradition of the Mazurka
Festival, a celebration of folk dance and music,
was celebrated on the New Berlin colony in
2354, attended by Benjamin and Jennifer
Sisko, and their friends Cal and Gretchen
Hudson.

There are also new festivals and celebrations
that mark how much the times have changed
over the course of the last several hundred
years, including First Contact Day and
Federation Day.




























First Contact Day was a holiday celebrated to
honor the flight of the Phoenix and first
contact with the Vulcans on April 5, 2063. On
Earth, children get the day off from school, a
fact Captain Janeway remembered was really
the only way they used to celebrate it. (VOY:
"Homestead") Federation Day is a day of
celebration commemorating the founding of
the United Federation of Planets.
A card game called "Federation Day" poker
existed in the 24th century, in which "2"s,
"aces", and "6"s were wild, since the
Federation was founded in 2161 (TNG: "The
Outcast").

The Klingons are a race known for the warrior
skills, but they also hold a reverence for
tradition and festivities, which has been seen
in much detail in the various shows. One such
holiday is the Day of Honour, and on this day,
a warrior evaluates his or her deeds for the
past year to see whether he has been
honorable. It is customary to serve Rokeg
blood pie on this day, and the traditional
ceremony on the Day of Honor includes
eating the heart of a sanctified targ, drinking
mot'lach from the Grail of Kahless, enduring
the ritual of twenty painstiks, engaging in
battle with a bat'leth master, and traversing
the sulfur lagoons of Gorath. (VOY: "Day of
Honor")

Another celebration where Klingons honour
their past is the Kot'baval Festival which
celebrates and honors Kahless the
Unforgettable's defeat of the tyrant Molor in
single combat using a bat'leth. That legendary
sword would eventually come to be known as
the Sword of Kahless. (TNG: "Firstborn")

Much of the Klingon lifestyle is celebrated
in a more ceremonial style, as being seen
as a warrior, is almost a religion in itself.
Klingons moved past religion very early on
in their past, with the actual slaying of their
Gods, allowing them to take control of
their own lives. Ceremonies such as the
Age of Ascension, the Rite of MajQa, and
the Right of Vengeance are examples of
how even though the Klingons have left the
idea of a deity behind, the warrior lifestyle
is still very much steeped in religion. The
Age of Ascension is the time when a
Klingon child officially becomes a warrior,
with the first Rite of Ascension being taken
by the age of 13, in order for a Klingon
youth to declare his intentions to become a
warrior (TNG: "Firstborn"). The final
initiation ceremony involves the use of
painstiks, as the celebrant walks along a
line of warriors, intoning: "Today I am a
warrior. I must show you my heart. I travel
the River of Blood." The anniversary of the
event is a day of ritual and celebration.
(TNG: "The Icarus Factor") The Rite of
MajQa is a Klingon ritual that involves
lengthy meditations in the Caves of
No'Mat. The ritual is generally undertaken
for the first time at a young age. The
participant in the ritual seeks to gain a
vision of his past or future, visions of family
are considered particularly powerful and
important (TNG: "Birthright, Part I"). The
Right of Vengeance is a traditional Klingon
matter of honor that is claimed when a
Klingon seeks revenge against another. In
2367, after Duras had killed K'Ehleyr,
Lieutenant Worf claimed Right of
Vengeance against Duras and killed him in
hand-to-hand combat. (TNG: "Reunion")

According to renowned Klingon
commander and warrior Kor, "A Klingon
who denies himself the Right of
Vengeance is no Klingon at all." (DS9:
"The Sword of Kahless")

Even a race as driven by logic as the
Vulcans still honour their own emotional
past with a variety of traditions. The Tal-
Shanar is a Vulcan spiritual practice that
they rarely allow outsiders to see {ENT:
Cold Front), whereas Kal Rekk is a
holiday observed on the planet Vulcan.
Kal Rekk, to the Vulcans, is a day of
atonement, solitude and silence. (VOY:
"Meld"). But other traditions have been
left to the ages, such as the Rumarie, an
ancient pagan holiday that was last
observed during the 14th century AD,
and was once described as a festival "full
of barely clothed Vulcan men and
women, covered in slippery Rillian
grease, chasing one another." (VOY:
"Meld")

These kinds of traditions illustrate that
even though cultures may been
separated by dozens of light-years, we
all have something to unite us in
common ground, as well as show how
much a race has evolved from its earliest
days, but letting go of the trappings of
our past, but embracing the more
important points the past may have
taught us.




























Over the course of the seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, we learned a great deal about the culture
and belief system of the people of Bajor. Indeed, the Bajorans are probably the most fleshed-out of all the
myriad alien cultures introduced in the various Star Trek series (except perhaps for the Klingons).
The Prophets
The Bajoran belief system centers around
their belief in, and worship of, the
Prophets. These non-corporeal beings,
referred to by Federation personnel as the
wormhole aliens, dwell in the Bajoran
wormhole (called the Celestial Temple by
the Bajorans) and exist outside of linear
space-time. This enables them to have
access to both the future and the past,
and the Prophets have revealed glimpses
of both to many Bajorans over the
millennia. Several ancient Bajorans wrote
down these visions, in what the Bajorans
now refer to as their Sacred Texts. Over
the course of the seven seasons of Deep
Space Nine, Federation Commander (then
Captain) Benjamin Sisko was granted a
number of these visions.

The Orbs
Over the millennia, the Prophets sent
several mysterious Orbs to the Bajoran
people. These orbs, called Tears of the
Prophets by many Bajorans, seem to be a
vehicle for the Prophets to communicate
with the Bajorans. During the series, we
saw many instances in which characters
looked into the orbs and received visions.
In the pilot episode, Emissary,
for example, Jadzia Dax
looked into the orb while
studying it for Starfleet,
and had a vision in which
she re-lived her joining
with the Dax symbiont.
More often, the visions
were less linear. In
Collaborator, we saw
numerous instances in
which Vedek Bareil saw
cryptic images that hinted
at his coming trials (the
exposure of his alleged
collaboration in the Kendra Valley
massacre that resulted in the
deaths of many Bajorans,
including Kai Opakas son). In
Rapture these visions were
referred to as Paghtemfar
(although it is possible
that term was
only used in
reference

to visions granted without exposure
to an orb).

Bajoran Religious Hierarchy
The Bajoran religion is headed by a
Kai, who functions as a spiritual
leader for the Bajoran people. The
Kai is elected by, and serves as the
head of, the Vedek Assembly. This
Assembly consists of numerous
vedeks (the exact number was never
stated on the show) who gather on a
regular basis to discuss and make
decisions on various religious issues.
This is a separate organization than
the Bajoran political ruling body
(referred to throughout most of DS9
as the Provisional Government as the
Bajorans struggled to get back on
their feet after the lengthy
Cardassian occupation.)

The position of Vedek is a role of
great significance within the Bajoran
religion (although it is unclear if all
vedeks are automatically members
of the Vedek Assembly. One might
assume that only certain Vedeks

become members by election? to that
leadership body.) Below the rank of
Vedek is the position of Ranjen. There is
also the position of Prylar, which by all
indications is the head of a Bajoran shrine
or temple.

While much Bajoran worship is centered
around gatherings for prayer services in
local temples, it also seems customary for
Bajorans to have small shrines, called
Mandalas, in their own homes. These
circular objects, adorned with candles and
incense, are also used for prayer.

Bajoran Lifecycle Events
As most cultures have (both in Star Trek
and in real life here on Earth!), the
Bajorans have developed a number of
rituals and customs surrounding their
lifecycle events.

In The Begotten, we saw parts of the
Bajoran birthing ritual. As Kira Nerys gave
birth to her child (actually the son of
Miles and Keiko OBrien long story!),
she was attended by a Bajoran midwife.



























The midwifes role seemed primarily to be
to relax Kira, as Bajoran women are only
able to give birth when they are able to
attain complete relaxation. The midwife
(and any family members present) used
incense and a small hand-held drum-like
instrument, presumably to help calm the
mother. It is unclear if the midwife was a
religious figure she was not garbed as a
Vedek or a Ranjen, although she did
proclaim a blessing after the child was born:
Awake child, we await you with love and
welcome you into the world.

The episode Accession included a brief
mention of the Itanu ceremony, for when a
Bajoran child reaches the age of fourteen.

In Fascination, we learned that when a
Bajoran is engaged to be married, it is
customary to give ones partner a betrothal
bracelet. (In that episode, Vedek Bareil gave
such a bracelet to Jadzia Dax while under
the influence of Lwaxana Trois telepathic
projections.) In Accession, Benjamin Sisko
was asked to recite a marriage blessing, to
ensure good fortune for the newly-engaged
couple. In A Call to Arms we also saw
some of the traditional blessings recited at a
Bajoran marriage (in that case, the marriage
of the Bajoran Leeta to the Ferengi Rom).

We have also seen some examples of
Bajoran death and mourning
rituals. In the TNG episode
The Next Phase, the
Bajoran Ensign Ro
described a Bajoran
death chant that is over
two hours long. Following
the death of Shakaar,
Major Kira lit a ceremonial
lamp (a Deranya) and
said prayers in memory
of Shakaar. Comments by
Major Kira in other episodes
indicated that the Bajorans
do not have elaborate burial
rituals, as they believe that a
dead body, bereft of a pagh (spirit
/life-force), is but a shell. The
previously mentioned episode The
Next Phase also gave us our first
mention of a Boryhas, a ghost or
spirit. (The extend to
which most
Bajorans
believe
in ghosts or an after-life is unclear.)

Bajoran Festivals
Over the years of Deep Space Nine we have
also seen many glimpses of a variety of
Bajoran festivals.

Time of Cleansing The Bajoran Time of
Cleansing occurs for a full month once a
year, in which all Bajorans fast and abstain
from other pleasures and comforts. (In the
episode Bar Association, Quark lamented
at the effect this extended ritual was
having on his profits.)

Gratitude Festival This festival of Thanks-
giving was mentioned several times over
the course of the series. One of the
centerpiece rituals is for Bajorans to write
their problems on a ceremonial scroll,
which they would then burn. In The
Nagus, Ben Sisko remarked on his plans to
visit Bajor with his son Jake to attend the
Festival. In the aforementioned episode
Fascination, a celebration of the festival
was held on Deep Space Nine. The festival
also played an important part in the
episode Tears of the prophets. In that
episode we witnessed Bajorans greeting
one another with the phrase Peldor Joi.

The Days of Atonement A period of
self-reflection, for which many
Bajoran monks prepare with prayers
and reflection, mentioned in The
Darkness and the Light. The episode
did not state specifically the length of
this festival.

Hamara In Starship Down, Major
Kira revealed the existence of a new
Bajoran holiday, celebrating the arrival
of The Emisary.

The above listed festivals and rituals
are only a small part of the rich
Bajoran religion that played such a
large part in the ongoing story of Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine. This society,
for whom their belief system and their
culture was so strongly intertwined,
proved to be a fascinating and
engaging addition to the fabric of Star
Trek. Writers of comics and novels
have continued to further develop the
Bajoran rituals and beliefs, and that
will no doubt continue.

Peldor Joi!

By Joshua M. Edelglass
www.MotionPicturesComics.com




























COMING WITHIN THE WEEK

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