Traditions and Culture

Cardassians are a traditional people. One of the central themes of Cardassian life is duty; duty to the state and duty to the family. They have a deeply ingrained loyalty to the state, though of course individual perceptions colour what entails as duty and loyalty. This is reflected in Cardassian literature, one of the most well known works is "The Neverending Sacrifice" - a chronicle following seven generations of a typical Cardassian family whose lives revolve around duty to the state.

Every Cardassian citizen has his or her place; rank and position is an important factor. They are very socially conscious. One should dine or essentially be seen only with others of equal or greater stature. Marriages are likely to be politically motivated.

This sense of loyalty is also very strong towards their families. To a Cardassian, the next important core part of their lives is their family. Elders are revered and respected. Advanced age is viewed as a sign of power and dignity. Children are valued and well looked after. Cardassian parents devote much time and resources to their children, It has been said that up to four generation of a family can live under one roof and eat at one table. However in contrast, they have a social bias against orphans, illegitimate children and half-Cardassians. In the eyes of society, these individuals have no status and are usually not acknowledged.

In addition to this sense of duty and loyalty, Cardassians are very protective of their own homeworld and people. Outsiders are strongly discouraged from interfering in internal affairs, whether political or otherwise.

However should anyone be found guilty of a crime in Cardassia or against Cardassia, will be brought to trial, whether Cardassian or no.

The Cardassian judicial system is extremely strict and rigid. The Articles of Jurisprudence ensures cultural norms to be maintained and as no individual is ever brought to trial unless already determined guilty, the verdict is invariably guilty and the sentence death., allowing the people to feel assured that evil is always punished. The defendant is not allowed to present evidence until the trial commences and is required to testify against himself. The system has a traditional structure, with an archon, conservator and nestor. the archon is the presiding officer of the court.

The conservator is an officer of the court whose function is to help the defendant concede to the wisdom of the court and confess his crime. He also aids the defendant in accepting the inevitable execution. the nestor assists the defendant during court proceedings and is not allowed to address the court or any of its officers. As part of the citizen database kept by the government and also utilized by the judiciary system, molars are extracted from Cardassian children at age 10 for identification records by the Bureau of Identification. Retinal scans and hair smaples are also taken.

Cardassia is also well known for its education system, proposed to be unparalleled in the Alpha Quadrant. Children are put through intensive mind training from age 4, and as adults have highly disciplined minds, including photographic memories. They have a saying, "Knowledge is Power and Joy is Vulnerability." This rigorous mind discipline appears to allow Cardassians to be resistant to the Vulcan mind-meld.

Academic accomplishments are a source of pride and academia is a highly respected profession. Those who teach at the tertiary level are known as Inquisitors. However, in the field of science, only females succeed, as males tend to lack the perspective for this discipline. In business, though their acumen or lack of is not known, Cardassians alwyas honor their transactions and are prompt to pay their bills. The monetary unit used on Cardassia is the lek.

Though rather insular, several Cardassian traditions and customs are known. Funeral rites are sacred and it is an affront for non-Cardassians to view the remains. The body of the deceased is till held in respect. Prior to death, a Cardassian confides his innermost secrets to another, usually a close relative. In this way, the burdens of life are relieved and also precious information is passed on.

Another Cardassian custom is that the captain of a ship is to entertain his guests personally and also takes a share of his ship's cargo's worth, giving the captain a personal stake in his consignment.

Cardassian courtship rituals are not really known but overt irritability of a male towards the female is indicative of interest and a prelude to a more permanent situation. In addition, children are very much desired and fertility of both mates are looked for. A form of greeting between the sexes appear to involve touching of palms together.

As a race, Cardassian bear many similarities to the other humanoid races of the Alpha Quadrant, but are yet unique as a race apart. They have many observable racial characteristics.

The Cardassian physiology is adapted to a higher ambient temperature than several of the other humanoid species, eg. Humans and Bajorans, approximately 32 Celsius. They also have relatively high physical endurance and are capable of withstanding harsher conditions, though they do not appear to have the brute strength of a Klingon. They prefer environmental conditions that are warmer and darker than standard Federation settings.

Moreover they exhibit a high metabolic endurance, capable of resisting high doses of drugs, in particular sedatives. One Cardassian specific nerve agaent is known; cobalt diselenide, an unstable compund which is deadly to Cardassians but harmless to most other humanoids.

Cardassians excel at conversation and enjoy talking, sometimes simply for the sake of it. They like things to be ordered and have a strong attention to detail. Their disciplined minds rarely miss much. And they are known for their meticulous record keeping. All official meetings and important information are inscribed onto single-write isolinear data rods. It appears all data accumalated is stored, both as information or as specimens. It is also said that Cardassians enjoy intrigue as much as conversation. A popular game among them is Coltram a strategy game which requires "bold strategy and decisive action".

A favourite style of fiction is the Cardassian Enigma Tales, in which all the participants are usually guilty, the challenge being in determining who is guilty of what. Another of their favourite type of literature involves the repititive epic, the most popular being "The Neverending Sacrifice". Among the popular works is also a fictitious work of war, "The Crimson Shadow" by Preloc, in which the Klingon Empire is at war with the Cardassian Union, which ironically bears out to be true.

They have a preference for the number 3 and have many aspects of their society in sets of 3, including their architecture. Cardassians are considered master architects. Their structures are one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring in the quadrant, both modern and ancient sites. They tend to prefer the open concept in their designs, such as visible supports rather than hidden, and integrated into the overall design.

Cardassian cuisine, thought enjoyed by most Cardassian people, fail to entice most other races in the Alpha Quadrant, who tend to find it unpalatable.

Among the more well known foodstuff are taspar egg, yamok sauce, Larish pie, regova egg, sem'hal stew, tojal in yamok sauce and the preferred beverage is kanar, though in the morning, the usual beverage is hot fish juice.

Cardassians enjoy their food and dining is never rushed. they prefer to savour the food and also indulge in conversation. However the act of dining, especially in public, has social ramifications. Who one dines with is an extremely important factor.