Religion
According to legend, Kortar, the "first" Klingon, and his mate were created in a place called QI'tu'. The two destroyed the gods who made them and turned the heavens into ashes. This event is recounted in marriage ceremonies through the following, singular passage: "With fire and steel did the gods forge the Klingon heart. So fiercely did it beat, so loud was the sound, that the gods cried out, 'On this day we have brought forth the strongest heart in all the heavens. None can stand before it without trembling at its strength.' But then the Klingon heart weakened, its steady rhythm faltered and the gods said, 'Why do you weaken so? We have made you the strongest in all of creation.' And the heart said... 'I am alone.' And the gods knew that they had erred. So they went back to their forge and brought forth another heart. But the second heart beat stronger than the first, and the first was jealous of its power. Fortunately, the second heart was tempered by wisdom. 'If we join together, no force can stop us.' And when the two hearts began to beat together, they filled the heavens with a terrible sound. For the first time, the gods knew fear. They tried to flee, but it was too late. The Klingon hearts destroyed the gods who created them and turned the heavens to ashes. To this very day, no one can oppose the beating of two Klingon hearts."
In the episode "Barge of the Dead" on Star Trek: Voyager, B'Elanna Torres envisioned the Barge of the Dead in penance for the dishonour her Klingon mother, Miral, felt for not raising her half-human daughter to be a Klingon Warrior of the Way of Kahless. As she attempted (successfully) to escape going to Gre'Thor, realm of the dishonoured dead, B'Elanna met Kortar, whose fate when he died was to ferry Klingon souls over the River of Blood, to Gre'Thor's gates, where the demonic being Fek'lhr waited to consume particularly loathsome souls.
In the TNG episode "Rightful Heir," the clone of Kahless refers to a Klingon legend, telling of his return near a star that is visible from the night sky of the Klingon homeworld. This, combined with the Klingons' strong religious tradition, could suggest that religious beliefs might have been a driving force behind early Klingon space travel. However, several sources from the Star Trek universe have stated that space travel was one of the legacies left behind by the marauding Hur'q, who pillaged the Klingon home world of Qo'nos, taking with them the sacred treasures of the Klingons, including the Sword Of Kahless. Kahless's star has at least one planet orbiting it, and the first Klingons who landed there built a monastery. Warriors that came after have visited, hoping to receive enlightenment through a vision of Kahless.
Read more about this topic: Klingon Culture
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“I told him that Goldsmith had said,... “As I take my shoes from the shoemaker, and my coat from the taylor, so I take my religion from the priest.” I regretted this loose way of talking. JOHNSON. Sir, he knows nothing; he has made up his mind about nothing.””
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“Whoever seeks to set one religion against another seeks to destroy all religion.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)
“Those to whom God has imparted religion by feeling of the heart are very fortunate and are rightly convinced. But to those who do not have it, we can give it only by reasoning, waiting for God to give it by feeling of the heart—without which faith is only human and useless for salvation.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)