Hello all, Ric here about to talk at length on a subject that I realise is complete fiction,
and what’s more, lore and speculation on the mythology of that fiction,
but you know what? It’s my channel and Klingons are fun.
It is established that the Klingon people once had deities that they worshipped,
but they are long gone. Of course, every Klingon knows of Kahless the Unforgettable,
the warrior-philosopher who shaped much of Klingon culture into their spacefaring age. However, he is
not a god, but a mortal with traceable historical context who has faded into legend and mythology.
It was his teachings on warfare, and general Klingon life that cemented his legacy. However
even he was aware of the Gods of Klingon myth and even became involved in these supernatural
elements concerning the afterlife, delving into Grethor to retrieve the soul of his father.
The existence of the Klingon hell and heaven suggests that they too were inhabited by more
than the souls of Klingons, and in fact, this is certainly the case with the Fek’lhr, the Klingon
demon that presides over their dishonoured hell. Klingon myth even includes a creation story that
predates all recorded history, and certainly the time of Kahless. In fact it is a tale that is told
even during matrimonial ceremonies by Klingon clerics, so let’s start by looking at this.
The story as told in ceremony is that of the celebration of the Klingon heart. The First
Klingon was forged by the Gods, his heart made from fire and steel and it was wild
and passionate but soon grew lonely. The Gods exclaimed that they had created the “strongest
heart in all the heavens. None can stand before it without trembling at its strength.” The Gods,
seeing the diminishing of their creation, decried his loneliness so forged a second soul for him,
a companion, the second Klingon and his mate. This second Klingon was as strong as the first,
but also gifted with more wisdom than Kortar and, after a brief skirmish,
they united. However, together their flames burned bright enough so that in time,
they turned on their creators and destroyed the Gods, reducing their heaven to ash. As Worf says,
the Gods were “more trouble than they were worth.” Which has a lot of interesting connotations.
For his part in the betrayal, Kortar was banished to the land of the dead,
to forever take the helm of the Barge of the Dead and ferry dishonoured Klingon souls to Grethor,
his eternal task a punishment. In a deleted line from “Barge of the Dead”, B’elanna Torres talks
about the tale as she understood it. She describes that Kortar loved a warrior called Shelka and that
these were the first Klingons. It was united in their love, that they were able to turn
on the very gods that created them and overthrew them, slaying them outright but setting in motion
a curse that would forever part them. While Kortar’s punishment was revealed in the shows,
his mate’s remained elusive, but according to Torres, Shelka was said to be cursed
with eternal life, so that she may never find death and forever the two would remain parted.
We also have mention of the Klingon source of creation, the realm of Ql’tu and it was from
this wellspring that all was birthed, which was one of Sybok’s alleged finds at the heart of the
Galaxy. So according to Klingon religion, Sto Vo Kor, the realm of heaven and Grethor lasted
beyond the death of the Klingon gods so from all of this we have scant few facts on their deities.
So all that is Canon. We know that the Klingon religion was a polytheistic one,
that their gods created everything from a realm called Ql’tu and that their death at the hands
of Kortar and his wife did not bring down the Klingon afterlife, suggesting that the systems
they set up outlasted them. Kahless later steps into the picture and is venerated, but does not
take the place of any deity, while Grethor is ruled over by a being that predates Kahless,
the Fek’lhr and his hordes of demon Fek’ihri. As Sto Vo Kor still exists, we can assume that the
heaven they reduced to ashes was either Ql’tu or some other realm that the pantheon called home.
Turning to beta content now, we have a few more details, such as the names of
several of these gods; Wa’Joh’a, Kar-Tela and Tuq’mor as well as some more details on the
purge and Klingon religion before Kahless. From the book titled, “Klingon Art of War”,
we have a brief passage or two on the deities of ancient Klingons. This mentions that all this
took place millennia before Kahless and that the pantheon resided atop the Great World Tree Qo’Sor
on the plains of Balduq. This might reside in the realm of creation, but they could leave the tree
to walk among the primitive Klingon people, which they did often, requiring sacrifice, tribute and
ritual. All of which the Klingons provided. One day, the first God, Wa’Joh’a destroyed a
small village and told the surviving Klingons that he would rebuild it better than before if
they sacrificed ten creatures and burned them for him. This they did, although two hunters
died in acquiring their prey. In return, Wa’Joh’a resurrected the fallen hunters and
built for the Klingons mortar and brick houses, sparking an advancement in their technology. In
return for these gifts, the Klingons venerated Wa’Joh’a and soon he was joined by more of his
pantheon. Over time however, the demands from the Gods increased and the rewards grew less,
while other Gods began to covet the worship of their kin, soon claiming territory, societies
and followers for themselves and pitting them against one another in wars of faith.
The Klingons soon became less and less interested in worshipping these gods,
that in their eyes were acting no better than themselves and soon, Kortar and his mate recruited
warriors from across the lands to march on Balduq, where they climbed the great tree,
slew the Gods in battle then set it ablaze. Kar-Tela is said to be the only diety to
survive the purge of the heavens and represented the concept of destiny and inevitability. Her
appearance is that of an armoured Klingon holding a ch’tak (a bladed cudgel) over her heart and an
old cup that when drunk from will either contain poison or water. The second goddess’ name was
Tuq’mor however her name is now used as a curse word and little more is understood than that.
This adds some more context to the Klingon patheon, firstly the fact that the home of
the Gods seems to be atop a World Tree, akin to Norse mythology, one of the later Klingon
inspirations, and that although Kortar and Shelka were the first two Klingons,
there were many others before the fall of the gods. This means that either the Gods created
Kortar and Shelka to have very long lifespans or that the Klingon species expanded very rapidly,
within one lifetime. Of course it's all myth anyway but there is another possibility;
that the Klingon Gods are just one of many alien influences their culture suffered in its past.
It would not be the first time that the Klingon world of Qo’Nos was targeted by some species
seeking to exploit the natives. The Hur’q are the most known outsiders to invade, and this was in
the time of Kahless with their defeat seemingly heralding the emergence of Klingons into the
interstellar scene. Additionally, we have non canonical stories that mention the Fek’ihri as
genetically augmented Klingons, which were created to fight for the Dominion before the Jem’Hadar
existed, pre Kahless, however they were created and named based on preexisting Klingon myths.
And recently, we have the non canonical inclusion of the Engineers of Sakadesh
which were a Godlike species that reside close to Klingon space and a species that has long been at
peace with the Empire. Something the notorious conquer-hungry Empire sees as a mark of shame
and a species that has been kept secret since the time of Kahless. And of course,
there is always the origin of the Ancient Humanoid species from “The Chase” that revealed
a semi-shared ancestor of most humanoid life that clearly predates and precludes the Klingon
creation myth. Perhaps these ancient humanoids came back to check on their creations and some
grew a little power hungry at being regarded as deities until the Klingons overthrew them.
But all in all, mythology does not have to line up with what really happened, doubly
so for mythology within fiction, but I still find it fun to talk about and enjoy ancient legends,
regardless of their origin. Klingon myth sounds like a great time to be honest, and the line
from Worf has always stuck in my mind for several reasons, one of which I have explored here, the
extensive history and speculation it encourages. The other reason is because I found it relatable
and funny, also very suitable for the Klingons. The very fact that their lore tells them that even
their Gods could not stand up to the Klingon’s martial prowess and passion tells us so much
about how they view themselves. Warfare and honour are integral to their culture and even the notion
that they would bend the knee to anyone, even some mythological creator, is absurd to them.
The casual remark also makes it seem as if most of their old gods are relevant and forgotten, while
the Empire chooses to venerate one of their own, a very proficient but mortal individual, Kahless
in place of any superior being. It says much too that while they did away with their gods, they
retained their mythology of demons and Fek’lhr, an unequivocal enemy figure for them to battle.
Finally, the additional apocrypha creates the notion of the Klingons splitting into religious
wars for a time, each following a different deity and may very well just be metaphorical
interpretations of various ancient beliefs coming into conflict until all were wiped away
by progress and the emergence of a more global Qo’Nos. Thanks for watching this video on the
Klingon gods, I’ve been Ric and I hope this was fun, until the next video thanks again and Qapla!