The Damiani: Anything I've missed or gotten wrong?

What's green and horny? An Orion? A Damiani.

I've not read the comics in which the Damiani were introduced, and although I'm familiar with the plot and many of the details I want to be sure I've gotten things right, particularly in terms of their anatomy. Below is the entry on "Damiani" in my Trek lit encyclopaedia; some of it is speculative, but all of it is based in what we've seen in comics and novels. I wondered if anyone who does have the comics can correct any misconceptions or maybe point out anything I've missed?

*Sends up the KRAD Signal*

As you might have realized, this is hardly important, but I thought I'd see if anyone has anything to add. Here we go:

Damiani

A Humanoid species native to Damiano, and recent members of the United Federation of Planets. Damiani are a race of three biological sexes, corresponding in mainstream culture to three genders. These are known to aliens, for ease of communication, as “male”, “female” and “cogenitor”. All three sexes are necessary for reproduction.

Damiani are distinguished by the smooth, silvery horns protruding from below the temples, or else attached to the forehead. These horns are several inches long, and angled upward at the tips into sharp points. The number and position of the horns signifies the sex of the individual. A single horn in the centre of the forehead distinguishes what to other species is known as a “he”, though the pronoun is only used for convenience. A Damiani “he” does not fully correspond to a Human male in terms of anatomy. They do, however, generally read as male, being larger and stockier than the other sexes. Their tendency to have large, “feminine” breasts detracts from this somewhat, but most Humans confronted with such a person assume “he”. Three horns, one in the centre of the forehead and one below each temple, signify a “she”. Again, this does not truly correspond to a woman, but such people do appear “feminine”. They’re also the sex that births the young, further reinforcing the term. The “female’s” forehead horn is usually slimmer and lighter than that of a “male”. A Damiani with two temple horns and lacking the forehead horn is a cogenitor, generally referred to as “it”. Cogenitors are often read as masculine by Humans, but are typically slighter than their “male” equivalents.

Damiani skin is coloured in various shades of green, most commonly a dusky hue with little blemishing. The eyes are a monochromatic silver-white, while the lips are coloured red in females, green in the other sexes. The hair is almost always black, and naturally spiky, resembling the bristles of a hedgehog. Cogenitors grow facial hair, but this is rare in the other sexes. The ears are large and pointed, and the average Damiani is slightly larger and stockier in build than a Human. They also have muscular necks, a consequence of the strain placed on their body by the weight of the horns.

Damiani don’t normally possess telepathy, but the potential likely exists in a limited few, given the historic creation of the telepathic offshoot race, the Hed’em’disol, through genetic engineering.

Other species with three genders include the Vissians and the Bactricians. Unlike in these societies, among Damiani the cogenitors have equal status with the other sexes. Damiani culture has its controversies in regards to courting and reproduction, though: traditionally, sexual relations between pairs were not approved of. Only trios, and so those relationships that could lead to biological offspring, were tolerated. By the 24th Century many Damiani had more inclusive views, but traditionalist factions still exist who are opposed to any corruption of the traditional family structure. In 2371, a small but powerful group of these "moralists" attempted to assassinate Damiano governor-elect Ra’ch B’ullhy after it was revealed she was sleeping with a single partner.

There are no distinct gender roles in regards to profession within Damiani society, at least in the modern era. For example, all three sexes are found in the government and the military.

Damiani tend to wear tight-fitting clothes most commonly coloured in grey, black or dark blue, tones soothing to their eyes. Clothing styles typically make use of smooth, tight rubber gloves and leather body suits; these cover much of the neck, forehead and the side of the face. Holes are provided for the ears and horns. Earrings may be worn, among females in particular.

Damiani cultures place the family name before the individual name. There’s little variety in the latter, which usually consist of a letter followed by an apostrophe, followed by “ullh” for males, “ullho” for cogenitors and “ullhy” for females. Family names are almost always two syllables in length, with the two separated by a pause represented by another apostrophe.

Damiani individuals include: As’si K’ullho, Cu’lan T’ullhy, Da’v, Dr’wshi, Du’re C’ullho, El’ar, Es’sca G’ullho, Go’en C’ullho, Ha’rt M’ullhy, Je’tran T’ullh, Ju’les L’ullho, K’ut, Mar’na F’ullhy, Mik’ka, My’ah, Ne’al G’ullho, Pad’gy D’ullh, Ra’ch B’ullhy, Te’ri O’ullhy, Tor’in.

Prior to the late 22nd Century, Damiani were divided into many opposing nations. One thing they had in common was worship of a god named Ho’nig; indeed, differing cultural viewpoints on the exact nature and teachings of Ho’nig resulted in several armed conflicts, and much international tension. Worship of Ho’nig is still common today, with the dominant holy text of this religion known as the Se’rbeg. Following the Damiani invention of warp drive in the 21st Century, missionaries spread the faith to other worlds in their sector. Rather than wage war on one another from space, a prospect few on Damiano welcomed, various nations competed to convert aliens to their particular form of Ho’nig-worship. Damiani missionaries were rarely violent in conduct, but were relentless, and perfectly willing to impersonate divine prophets. They used their advanced technology to perform “miracles” turning populations away from the native deities. Worship of Ho’nig, in many different forms, is today still commonplace among a multitude of alien cultures, including colonial Xindi and on worlds such as New Mirada.

Damiani society matured somewhat in the late 22nd Century, with the rise of the philosopher-politician Mar’na F’ullhy. Known as “Mar’na the Uniter”, she was able to cut through cultural barriers in order to bring the disparate factions of Damiani together. The Sword of Mar’na F’ullhy (said to have been used to cut these barriers) remains to this day the sacred symbol of the office of the Planetary Governor. The newly formed Damiano world-government, based in the city of Iaron, unfortunately took some time to function effectively. In the 23rd Century, leadership of the planet went to Pad’gy D’ullh, who would later become known as “Pad’gy the Destroyer”. A ruthless dictator, he refused to give up power when his term ended, and was responsible for many atrocities. Among his more infamous actions was initiating a breeding program that used genetic engineering to produce a caste of telepathic Damiani, named Hed’em’disol. Now extinct, the Hed’em’disol wielded the terrible telepathic weapon known as the Chova, which Pad’gy used to control and destroy his enemies. Inserted into Hed’em’disols’ minds, the Chova would then be projected onto others, where it prompted dreams, then waking hallucinations, based on the victim’s perceived personal failures. Pad’gy also corrupted the name of Mar’na F’ullhy by erecting in Iaron “Mar’na Memorial Stadium” in order to host bloody gladiatorial competitions. Eventually, he was overthrown by military forces under the leadership of General Te’ri O’ullhy, and democracy was restored to Damiano. Te’ri is known today as the saviour of the planet, and the “Te’ri O’ullhy Award for Valour” is one of the highest honours the government can bestow. Public support for the armed forces remains strong to this day; as a result the Damiani retain a larger peacetime military than most Federation members. Within its hierarchy, “General” is a leading rank, as held by the overall coordinator of the planetary defence force. Damiani soldiers utilize airborne fighter pods resembling obsidian bubbles, spiked with gun turrets and rocket launchers. They also operate armoured tanks armed with powerful phasers.

In the mid-24th Century, the Damiani sought membership in the Federation. They were granted protectorate status in 2341, but the presence of a sizable isolationist faction complicated the admissions process. Es’sca G’ullho, who took office as Planetary Governor of Damiano in the same year, was largely responsible for guiding its people towards complete membership. Its efforts included soothing public opinion following Starfleet’s Starfly One Bioprobe debacle in 2368, which resulted in the destruction of much of Iaron. Eventually, in 2371, the Damiani took their place in the Federation as full members. Since then, they’ve been represented on the Federation Council by Ra’ch B’ullhy, who also served as Planetary Governor (and Es’sca’s successor) for the first several years. The Damiani have rapidly become quite influential within the Federation; by 2376, they had a seat on the Security Council, and there were many serving in Starfleet. In 2377, Damiani delegates attended a high-profile diplomatic meeting between Federation, Romulan and Watraii ambassadors, which was also attended by Romulan Praetor Neral.

Captain Klag once read a novel involving Damiani. This “erotic thriller” featured a Damiani protagonist and their Andorian lover, caught in a dangerous romantic septangle.

A quartet of Damiani were among the refugees at iy’Dewra’ni in 2381. They boosted the camp’s morale with their singing.

Old Illyan was a language used by the Damiani centuries ago, now considered obscure.

 

I don't see anything wrong there, though there's some stuff I don't remember. But then, I did write Perchance to Dream 15 years ago.

Where'd you get "cogenitor" for the third gender? That isn't from either Perchance to Dream nor A Time for War, a Time for Peace nor "Oil and Water" in No Limits that I recall......

 

Has it really been that long?

It's a bit surreal sometimes, thinking how long some of you have been doing this.

Thanks for the reply.

I used Vissian terminology, mostly because it's the only term Star Trek has ever given us for a "third" sex (as far as I'm aware). I'm not entirely happy with using it here, though, since "cogenitor" seems suggestive of afterthought, which would certainly fit with the way Vissians tend to view their third sex (as a means of permitting a male/female couple the means to reproduce, not as a partner in its own right) but seems unsuited to Damiani. Then again, we'd consider "it" dehumanizing too, while Damiani are perfectly fine with it, so...

 

The Memory Beta entry on the Damiani lists the third gender as "cogenitor", but that was probably just because whoever wrote the entry didn't know what other word to use. Understandable, really. ("It" is kind of rude, really, isn't it?)

 

HOW DO YOU THINK WE FEEL??????????????????????????????

*goes to brandish cane and tell kids to get off my lawn*

Ya velcome.

Okay. I don't have a problem with it, especially since I was never able to come up with a good term for the third sex anyhow.