Original artwork, not a still
Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.
— Star Trek: The Next Generation • 1987
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the best-known example of a language that works by story: the words only make sense if you know the myth behind them. Dathon's phrase, along with its companions 'Shaka, when the walls fell' and 'Temba, his arms wide', became shorthand for communication across a gap of understanding and for references only fans get. Fans quote it when an in-joke defies explanation, and for the idea that shared stories can bring strangers together.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Star Trek: The Next GenerationShow the scene
In "Darmok" (Star Trek: The Next Generation, season five, first aired 30 September 1991), the Enterprise meets the Children of Tamar, whose captain Dathon speaks only in references to their myths, which the universal translator cannot decode. After disarming his first officer on his own bridge and repeating the phrase, he beams himself and Picard down to El-Adrel IV. There he hands Picard a knife and says it again. Picard takes it for a challenge to a duel. It is an invitation: Darmok and Jalad were strangers who beat a common enemy on the island of Tanagra, and Dathon wants Picard beside him against the beast on the planet.
Sources (2)
- Memory Alpha: Darmok (episode)Summary, Acts One, Three and Four; Background, premiere airdateReference checked
- Memory Alpha: Darmok (episode), production historyBackground information, Story and scriptReference checked
Context reviewed
