Tamarian

A Tamarian Male

The Tamarians or Children of Tama are an alien race, first encountered by the Federation in the 23rd century.

Tamarians stand at roughly the same size as an average Human and their body shape is similar to that of many humanoid species found in the Milky Way Galaxy, apart from some minor differences. Tamarian hands and fingers are Human-like but their thumbs are elongated and have a sucker-like tip at the end.

The Tamarian head also differs from the Human counterpart. Tamarians possess two long slitted nostrils and have no visible auricles, but instead have two small holes located on the sides of the head, a little higher than the Human ear. A large ridge runs from the top of their nose to the back of the head and several more bony ridges or flaps of skin can be observed on the sides of the skull. Apart from typical sexual dimorphisms observed in many humanoid species, female Tamarians feature the same characteristics.

Tamarian skin is colored light brown with several darker red markings, especially on the head. The species seems to be completely hairless and their blood is white, which shines through in some small arteries of the head.

History and politics

Although the species was encountered a total of seven times in the hundred years after first contact, formal relations were unable to be established, due to the complexity and provincial nature of the Tamarian language – which is entirely composed of metaphors derived from their collective experience and mythology. The origins and context of several of the terms and persons referenced suggest that the Tamarian homeworld is Shantil III.

In 2368, a Tamarian ship sent a general hail towards Federation space, a standard mathematical progression interpreted as a request for communication. The USS Enterprise-D was dispatched to El-Adrel IV to establish contact. While there, the Tamarian captain Dathon beamed himself and Enterprise captain Jean-Luc Picard to the planet's surface, in an attempt to establish a dialog through the idea of "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" – the idea of cooperation against an enemy leading to mutual understanding and friendship. To prevent any interference, the Tamarian ship established a particle scattering field in El-Adrel's ionosphere, preventing transporters on either ship from functioning, and fired attenuated energy weapons on an Enterprise shuttlecraft dispatched to retrieve Picard. Unfortunately, Dathon was killed by the creature inhabiting the planet, but not before Picard was able to gain an understanding of the Tamarian language, and communicate with the Tamarian ship, which was engaged in combat with the Enterprise as a result of the misunderstanding over Picard's "capture". Dathon's sacrifice was remembered as a new "word" in the Tamarian language: "Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel".

Culture

The Tamarian written language Apart from their unique language, Tamarians follow several rituals and some characteristic gestures have been observed.

Before sleeping, Dathon performed a ritual on El-Adrel IV. He removed five ceremonial objects from the right side of his uniform. He then threw those objects to the ground gazing at the pattern the objects formed on the ground and repeated the ritual. After each new pattern, he touched his forehead.

After finishing the ritual, he took the five objects and placed them on the ground forming a circle around his sleeping spot. Again, he touched his forehead after placing each of them on the ground. The next morning, when Captain Picard explored his camp, he found two of the objects still on the ground, Dathon had reattached the other three to his uniform.

After hearing the news of their captain's death, the two Tamarian bridge officers took their dagger out of the sheath, touched the blade and then touched their forehead in mourning or remembrance of their captain. Captain Picard did the same with the knife that was given to him by Dathon after he had returned to the Enterprise-D and found a quiet moment in his ready room to remember Dathon.

The Tamarian written language consists of thin horizontal and vertical lines with small letters written in the spaces between the lines. The lines meet at right angles in the hand written form of the language but in an angle of circa 70 degrees on computer interfaces. Tamarians still use paper, colored bright green, to write down notes. Dathon took a small book, perhaps a captain's log, down to El-Adrel IV in a leather pouch. His other officers didn't carry such a book.

Tamarian language

The Tamarian language was the spoken language of the Tamarians. Federation Universal Translators, although they successfully translate the words, present the syntax as almost nonsensical, because the Tamarians speak entirely by metaphor, referencing mythological and historical people and events from their culture. Thus, instead of asking for cooperation, they would use a phrase such as "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra", because their culture's stories include a tale of two Tamarians, Darmok and Jalad, who fought a common foe together on an island called Tanagra. The problem with communicating in this fashion is that without knowing the meaning of the reference, the metaphor remains utterly obscure. (TNG: "Darmok")

Some examples of the Tamarian language:

• "Darmok on the ocean" - loneliness, isolation
• "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" - cooperation
• "The beast at Tanagra" - an obstacle to be overcome
• "Kadir beneath Mo Moteh" - failure to communicate/understand
• "Kiteo, his eyes closed" - refusal to understand
• "Temba, his arms wide/open" - signifying a gift
• "Temba, at rest" - when a gift being offered is declined
• "Mirab, with sails unfurled" - signifying departure/engines to full/fleeing
• "Shaka, when the walls fell" - failure
• "Sokath, his eyes uncovered/opened" - understanding/realization
• "The river Temarc in winter" - be quiet/silence
• "Zinda, his face black, his eyes red" - anger or conflict, also can indicate pain or discomfort
• "Rai and Jiri at Lungha. Rai of Luwani, Luwani under two moons. Giri, or Ubaya. Ubaya of crossroads, at Lungha. Lungha, her sky gray" - greeting between two different cultures/races
• "Uzani, his army with fists open" - to lure the enemy away
• "Uzani, with fists closed" - to attack
• "Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel" - to work toward a common goal

These phrases and idioms are often attenuated in conversation - "Shaka, when the walls fell" has been heard shortened to "Shaka"; others follow a similar pattern.

In one scene where Picard attempts to treat a wounded Dathon, the Tamarian says "Kiazi's children, their faces wet". It is unclear what Dathon means by this, although (since Dathon is trying to shoo Picard away from caring for his injuries at the time) it may allude to children crying for no reason; the Tamarian may be saying that Picard should not worry or feel sad.

Background

A language based on metaphors pre-supposes that the stories behind the metaphors are known and understood in the first place, which means they must at some point themselves be told (or possibly communicated in some other way, e.g. through pictures).

Military

The dominant colors used by the Tamarians as evidenced by their starships, uniforms and interfaces are shades of green and red. The engines of their starship glow red and their weapon's beam is green. Consoles on the bridge of their ships are colored mostly red and walls are green. Tamarian computer interfaces are transparent but the writing is blue and green.

Tamarian uniforms do not show much variety. All uniforms consist of several layers of olive green fabric and dark green leather. Several small colorful applications and stripes are only visible when viewing the uniform from a close distance. The full uniform consists of the trousers and tunic, long dark green leather boots and a double shoulder-strap connected to a belt, both made from leather as well. A sheath for a dagger is fastened to the front of the two leather straps and a small pouch for a book, possibly the Captain's log, is attached to the left side of the belt.

A decorative pattern can be seen on the sides of the sleeves. Several small ornaments made from thin metal pieces and small colorful stones are attached to the front right side of the uniform. Dathon carried five such pieces; his first officer wore three.

Every Tamarian carries a dagger. The weapon has a green handle with a smaller yellow inset and the silver blade has one smooth and one serrated edge. (TNG: "Darmok")