View source for Klingons

{{MyriadKlingons}}
{{ImageInfoBox2|name=Klingons|file=worf-tng-165.jpg|caption=[[Worf]] ([[Star Trek: The Next Generation|TNG]]&nbsp;[[Sins of the Father (Episode)|165]])}}
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A humanoid, mammalian warrior society<ref name="TOS27"/> from the planet [[Qo'noS]] (often transliterated as Kronos),<ref name="ST06"/> Klingons first encountered [[Humans]] in [[2151]], when a Klingon [[Klaang|courier]] crash-landed on [[Earth]].<ref name="ENT01"/>

==Physiology==
Outwardly, Klingons looked very similar to Humans, though the range of Klingon skin pigmentation was generally darker than that of most Humans; Klingons also had cranial<ref name="ST01"/> and spinal<ref name="TNG216"/> ridges. Internally, Klingons were significantly different from Humans. Nearly every vital body function had multiple redundancies, which the Klingons called [[brak'lul]]; this gives Klingon warriors enormous resiliency in battle.<ref name="TNG216"/> In addition to an eight-chambered [[heart]] and twenty-three transverse ribs<ref name="TNG216"/> due to brak'lul, Klingons also had redundant stomachs.<ref name="VOY154"/> Klingon [[blood]] was a lavender color,<ref name="ST06"/> which darkened to a deep reddish-brown when dried.<ref name="TNG181"/> Klingons also had no tear ducts.<ref name="ST06"/>

==Augments==
Following an attack on the [[Qu'vat Colony]] by Human [[Augments]] in [[2154]],<ref name="ENT82"/> the Klingons attempted to create a breed of Augments of their own, using [[DNA]] samples taken from the wreckage of a [[Klingon Bird of Prey (2150s)|Bird of Prey]] that had been seized by the Human Augments and destroyed in orbit of the Qu'vat Colony.<ref name="ENT91"/> Unfortunately, one of the Klingons selected for the procedure had the [[Levodian flu]], which caused the Augment DNA to mutate into a lethal, airborne virus. The Klingons, in concert with [[Section 31]], kidnapped [[Doctor]] [[Phlox]] of the [[Enterprise NX-01|''Enterprise'' NX-01]], hoping he could find a cure to what had become a plague that threatened to sweep through the [[Klingon Empire]], and also allow the Augment program to succeed.<ref name="ENT91"/>

Phlox, however, tricked the Klingons, and although he cured the disease, the result was that the Klingons retained many Human features (though their internal organs remained unchanged), but none of the enhanced Augment abilities.<ref name="ENT92"/> It would take more than a century for the Klingons to reverse the changes to their genome and restore their appearance.<ref name="ST01"/> The Klingons were so shamed by the debacle that they refused to discuss it with outsiders, and by the late 24th century, the fact that Klingons once had a large percentage of their population who had a Human-like appearance was largely forgotten.<ref name="DSN503"/>

==Culture==
Most Klingons lived according to a complex system of social customs, originally set down by [[Kahless the Unforgettable]],<ref name="TNG249"/> that placed an individual's honor above all other considerations.<ref name="TNG120"/> A Klingon's honor reflected not only on himself, but also his immediate family and fellow [[Klingon Houses|House]] members.<ref name="TNG165"/> Running from battle, killing prisoners, using poisons, breaking one's sworn word, and disloyalty to family, House, and superiors were among those actions that Klingons considered to be dishonorable.<ref name="Decipher1"/> Klingons tended to speak proudly; they did not typically whisper or keep their distance, as doing so could have been interpreted as an insult in Klingon culture.<ref name="DSN499"/> This aggressive culture made the Klingons an interstellar military power to be both respected and feared.<ref name="TOS27"/><ref name="TOS66"/>

According to myth, ancient Klingons slew their gods in the 14th century ([[Earth]] calendar); the Klingons believed their gods to be “more trouble than they were worth,” according to [[Worf]] in [[2372]].<ref name="DSN483"/> As a result, there was no longer an equivalent of the [[devil]] in Klingon mythology in the 23rd century,<ref name="TOS66"/> although a beast known as [[Fek'lhr]]<ref name="TNG187"/> was believed to guard the underworld of [[Gre'thor]], where the dishonored would go after death.<ref name="TNG187"/><ref name="VOY223"/> Although Klingons continued to believe in an afterlife, there was no burial ceremony; a dead Klingon's companions would pry open his eyes and emit a bellowing cry as a warning to others that a warrior was entering the afterlife.<ref name="TNG120"/> Afterward, the body would be disposed of in the most efficient means possible,<ref name="VOY109"/> other Klingons now confident that the warrior's spirit had left an empty shell and joined Kahless in [[Sto-Vo-Kor]].<ref name="TNG249"/> As a result, Klingons did not mourn the death of a warrior who had died honorably in battle, believing the spirit to have been freed.<ref name="TNG153"/> A dishonorable death, including suicide, however, meant that the dead Klingon's spirit would not travel across the [[River of Blood]] to Sto-Vo-Kor, but would instead be delivered by the [[Barge of the Dead]] to the gates of Gre'thor.<ref name="VOY223"/>

Klingon culture had many traditions and rituals. A blow from the back of the hand could be interpreted as a challenge to fight to the death,<ref name="DSN499"/> while one delivered to the face by the heel of one's palm could indicate the start of a mating ritual.<ref name="ST07"/> Klingons believed that they possessed an instinctive ability to look an opponent in the eye and see the intent to kill.<ref name="DSN487"/> A young Klingon was considered to be a man on the day when he could first hold a blade.<ref name="TNG216"/> Klingon medical technology often suffered, in part, due to cultural biases that injured warriors should be left to die or carry out the [[Hegh'bat]], a ritual that involved a close friend or family member killing a grievously wounded Klingon, so that he could die honorably.<ref name="TNG216"/> The [[R'uustai]] ceremony bonded two individuals' families together, making them, legally, siblings.<ref name="TNG153"/> Other rituals and traditions included the [[Day of Honor]], the [[Rite of Ascension]], the [[Kal'Hyah]], and the [[Klingon tea ceremony|tea ceremony]]. These were designed to prove a Klingon's strength and endurance &mdash; key qualities of a successful warrior.<ref name="Decipher5"/>

==Society==
Klingon society was divided into four tiers. At the top was the nobility, the lords of Houses great and small. Their authority was derived from their control over their lands and the armies at their command. Generally presumed to be the most honorable, the nobility enjoyed the most power and privileges in society. The second tier was formed by the warriors, who sought admission into the militaries of the Houses. The third tier consisted of the healers, accountants, weapon-smiths, nursemaids, and countless other professions necessary to keep society functioning. Generally, this tier consisted of those Klingons who were refused induction into a House's army, although some chose to continue a family business. The fourth tier encompassed the [[jegh'pu'wI]] &mdash; inhabitants of planets conquered by the Empire.<ref name="Decipher5"/> Those Klingons who had no honor, and had been banished from the Empire &mdash; a process known as discommendation<ref name="TNG165"/> &mdash; had no place in this social order.

{{References}}
<references>
<ref name="TOS27">{{RefTOS27}}</ref>
<ref name="TOS66">{{RefTOS66}}</ref>
<ref name="ST01">{{RefST01}}</ref>
<ref name="TNG120">{{RefTNG120}}</ref>
<ref name="TNG153">{{RefTNG153}}</ref>
<ref name="TNG165">{{RefTNG165}}</ref>
<ref name="TNG181">{{RefTNG181}}</ref>
<ref name="TNG187">{{RefTNG187}}</ref>
<ref name="ST06">{{RefST06}}</ref>
<ref name="TNG216">{{RefTNG216}}</ref>
<ref name="TNG249">{{RefTNG249}}</ref>
<ref name="ST07">{{RefST07}}</ref>
<ref name="VOY109">{{RefVOY109}}</ref>
<ref name="DSN483">{{RefDSN483}}</ref>
<ref name="DSN487">{{RefDSN487}}</ref>
<ref name="DSN499">{{RefDSN499}}</ref>
<ref name="DSN503">{{RefDSN503}}</ref>
<ref name="VOY154">{{RefVOY154}}</ref>
<ref name="VOY223">{{RefVOY223}}</ref>
<ref name="ENT01">{{RefENT01}}</ref>
<ref name="Decipher1">{{RefDecipher1}}</ref>
<ref name="Decipher5">{{RefDecipher5}}</ref>
<ref name="ENT82">{{RefENT82}}</ref>
<ref name="ENT91">{{RefENT91}}</ref>
<ref name="ENT92">{{RefENT92}}</ref>
</references>
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