Ferengi
Ferenginar
Only snippets of information are known about the Ferengi Homeworld which is called Ferenginar (once thought by the Federation to be called Ferengal).
Ferengi--(English)
/frEngi/--(Ferengi)
verengan--(tlhIngan,Klingon)
Feh'rengi--(Rihannsu,Romulan)
Ferengi Architecture
The houses of residents of Ferengal have a large dome shape, almost resembling an igloo. The entrance to the building is a low arched passageway with no door. Near the enterance are towels, for wiping the head clean, and a box, for the collection of an admission fee from guests.
Weather
For the brief look of Ferengal we had, it was constantly raining. The dome shape of the architecture seems to be well suited well for a rainy environment, supporting the idea that typically the weather on Ferengal is wet. Actually, the Ferengi have 178 words for rain and it is interesting to note that there is no word for crisp! ("Let He who is without Sin").
The Tower of Commerce
Tallest building in Ferenginar, adorned with a large spire. Probably the same large building in the above picture.
The Sacred Marketplace
Ferengi Physiology
Ferengis are humanoid, but with a few subtle differences. They are bipedal, multicellular surface-dwelling organisms (although they may have evolved from burrowing organisms). They have an internal skeletal structure and a centralized nervous system. They are oxygen-breathers, reproduce sexually and communicate verbally. They also posess a similar number of DNA genomes as other humanoids; Ferengi genetic structure is not that dissimilar from human structure, (simply note: Ross Perot, Michael Milken,William Vanderbilt, and Bill Gates).
The Ferengi Brain
The Ferengi brain is separated into four sections (lobes), instead of two, as in most humanoids, making their thoughts unreadable by Betazoids. Dopterians have a similar brain structure, so their thoughts are consequently unreadable by telepaths as well.
The Ears
Due to the thin atmosphere of the Ferengi homeworld, Ferengi ears have evolved to become more receptive to sound, becomming larger. Ferengi ears are also among the most erogenous zones of the body. Fondling the lobes is known as oo-mox and is quite pleasurable. The Ferengi's ears have small fine hairs in them, and the ear's of older Ferengis (like Zek's) have quite lenthy hairs, which are often styled with a small comb.
Size
Ferengis are more diminuative in stature than many other humanoids. Typically, Ferengis are between 1.7 meters and 1.9 meters. The stance and posture of some Ferengi, hunched over quite a bit, does not add to their height at all.
Ferengi Teeth
The Ferengi diet often consists of various types of burrowing grubs and worms (tube grubs, gree-worms, chew grubs, flaked blood feas, millipede juice, and various beetles). Their teeth are small and sharp, indeed making them ideal insectivores. When a Young Ferengi's teeth become dull, they keep their teeth sharp and pointed through the use of special equipment like latinum tooth-sharpeners or less expensive equipment like chew-sticks.
The Senses
The Ferengi have average eyesight. Although, evidence has shown that (in "Prophet Motive") Ferngi's have an accute sense of taste and smell also (Quark smells and licks Zek's Revised Rules of Aquisition). The most sensitive and accurate sense, however, must be the Ferengi's sense of hearing. Such a sensitive devise has its drawbacks; in "The Last Outpost" the Ferengis were almost crippled by the loud blasts of thunder in the background. They held their lobes and jumped up and down.
The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
The Rule Book
Introduction
The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition are a listing of 285 Rules outlining the principles, ideas, and policies of the Ferengi outlining the acquisition of profit. "The Sacred precepts upon which all Ferengi society is based." Children are taught the Rules of Acquisition and made to memorize them at a young age. Even though females may not acquire profit, many know the Rules of Acquisition anyway.
Ferengi Government and Millitary
Ferengi Alliance
The formal name for the Ferengi Government is the Ferengi Alliance. The leader of the Ferengi Alliance is the Grand Nagus. He organizes large scale trade negotiations between the Ferengi Alliance and other organizations like the Federation, the Cardassians, etc... He controls the allocation of trade territories and takes advantage of grand commercial opprotunities. He is a master strategist and has emormous power over Ferengi business. He is looked up to by most every Ferengi as a personification of success and shrewdness in business. It is not assumed that the Nagus is honest; most times he is acknowledged as a master of commerce because of his corrupt practices.
The first Grand Nagus was Grand Nagus Gint. He developed the first Rule of Aquisition. As a business genius, however, he named this Rule #162 as a marketing strategy to increase the demand for #161 and a #163. The Grand Nagus In ST:DS9 is Grand Nagus Zek.
Organizations
Working for the Ferengi Alliance are several associations which keep order throughout Ferengi Society.
Ferengi Commerce Association (FCA)
The most powerful and important association is certainly the Ferengi Commerce Association (FCA). The mentioning of the FCA strikes fear into the hearts of Ferengis everywhere--some associations only have jurisdiction on Ferenginar; the FCA, however, has power over any Ferengis dealing with the Ferengi Alliance. The FCA keeps track of your profits, your family, your holdings, your business, and your properties. An annual statement must be made to the FCA informing them of your profits for the year. An incorrect statement is not an uncommon thing, many Ferengis "forget" to include some of their profits in the statement. If, however, the FCA finds out, the penalties are severe.
When the FCA finds out about an incorrect statement or someone's lack of observation of a Ferengi Code or Law, the FCA sends a Registered Liquidator to your place of business.
Registered Liquidators
The Reqistered Liquidator, (if he cannot be bribed into overlooking the incedent), informs the accountable male of the infraction, what he must do as a punishment, and how long he has to complete this task. The Registered Liquidator then shuts down any private business by placing a Writ with the Alliance's Symbol on the wall and the statement of the infraction. The business is shut down until the infraction is taken care of.
(In "Family Business," because Quark was charged with 'improper supervision of a family member,' the 'writ of accountability' as placed on his wall.)
Ferengi Code
The Ferengi Code is an ethical set of guidelines enforced by the associations working for the Ferengi Alliance. These guidelines govern the behavior of the Ferengi citizens (although they are not like the Rules of Aquisition, which are simply suggestions on how to create a successful business). The "Ferengi Code" is not actually a single code; this is a simplified way of refering to the sum of the codes created by the Alliance for the Ferengi Citizens and the Military.
Ferengi Salvage Code:
states that anything found abandoned is open to claim by those who find it
Code which Refers to Interactions with Other Races
Allows for the "offering of the life of the second officer" for offending another race.
Ferengi Trade By-laws:
extensive laws guiding trading in the Ferengi Alliance
Subsection 1027 Paragraph 3 deals with the "Improper Supervision of a Family Member." In "Family Business" Quark had three days to obtain a confession from the family member, make restitutions, and reveal their accomplices. If he didn't, the family member would be placed in indentured servitude and he would have had to pay restitution.
Military
A Ferengi's status in the military is directly connected with his wealth; wealth is power.
Millitary ranks are as follows (DaiMon being equal to the rank of captain):
Pilch
Zok
TarkMon
QuoMon
KoMon
Sub DaiMon
DaiMon
Miser
Sub Nagus
Nagus
The uniform of the members of the military seems to include a headdress. This headdress is a small piece of cloth worn on the back of the head which begins at ear level and continues down to the neck.
Actually, this cloth is simply a covering worn out of necessity as the costume which the actors wear does not completely cover the back of their heads. So, although memebers of the military wear it, it is uncertain why Rom on DS9 wears it--he's just a waiter! When his son Nog, however, becomes a cadet at StarFleet Academy (a "military" position), he begins to wear a headdress as well.
All members of the Ferengi Alliance's military have a small stamp or tatoo of the Ferengi symbol on their forehead, predominantly on the right side.
Weapons
Most weapons used by the Ferengi are begotten through trading with others. Ferengi phasers work using a forced plasma beam. the Ferengi have used Romulan disruptors ("Rascals") the Ferengi have used a purple whip-like weapon which is used to fire high-energy plasma discharges at a target. The weapons are very simple to use and, despite what it may seem, do not require that much skill to accurately fire ("The Last Outpost").
Death and the Dominant Religion of the Ferengis
Discs of Vacuum Desicated Remains
Death
Rituals dealing with the treatment of the Ferengi after death. According to the rules guiding the rituals, autopsy is strictly forbidden. Crusher is confronted with the rules guiding these principles when she wants to autopsy Dr. Reyga's body.
She probably couldn't ruin the body because it needed to be untouched so it could be prepared into discs of vacuum desicated remains (each sealed with the "Fereangi Seal of Dismemberment"), to be sold on the Ferengi Futures Exchange. Discs of Vacuum Desicated Remains are vacuum sealed discs of the deceased Ferengi's body, which can be sold on the Ferengi Futures Exchange. Quark placed his 52 discs of vacuum desicated Quark on the Exchange and Brunt bought them all ("Body Parts") See The Latinum Shrine for the bids.
Religion
Not much is known about the Ferengis Religious Beliefs. There is most likely more than one belief, however, much like other humanoid cultures.
The basics of one Religion, which is believed to be the dominant religion of the Ferengis, is known:
When you die, two things could happen...
1. The Divine Treasury
If you were "good" in life, and always turned a profit, you go to the Divine Treasury, which is made entirely of latinum. At the gate of the Divine Treasury, the Registrar accepts your bribe and lets you in--if you lived, and died, like a Ferengi. The Divine Treasury is made of pure latinum. Inside of the Treasury is a Blessed Exchequer and Celestial Auctioneers. It is here where you bid on your new life.
Quark had a dream that he died and went to the gate of the Divine Treasury ("Body Parts") and the inscription above the door said "Please have your Profit/Loss statement ready for inspection before entering the Divine Treasury." This might just be his dream, or it could be written somewhere in Ferengi religion.
2. The Vault of Eternal Destitution
If you were not good, and your businesses did not turn a profit, you go to the Vault of Eternal Destitution.
A Tribute to Latinum
A Ferengis profits can be represented in any number of materials generally agreed upon as having worth, like gems or precious metals. The most common material in circulation throughout the Alliance, however, must be a material called gold-pressed latinum. This medium occurs in three common demoninations: slips (smallest), strips, and bars (largest). In "Body Parts," a nice conversion factor was made for us: 500 bars equals 10,000 strips, which equals 1,000,000 slips. If you do the math...
1 bar = 20 strips = 2,000 slips
This fits with the ferengi counting system (they count by 20s): 1 bar= 20 strips. 1 strip=100 bars (or 5 x 20)
In fact, here is a Klingon joke to show exactly how profit-oriented the Ferengi are.
"Firstborn" (TNG) -The cost of Quark's confidence is 12 bars of latinum
"The Defiant" -Dax lent Riker 3 strips of latinum
"Progress" -Nog and Jake were willing to include Quark in their
land scheme for 5 bars of latinum
"Prophet Motive" -Quark was going to sell all of the stem bolts for 10
bars of latinum
-Zek gives 1 bar of latinum to Bashir to thank him
-Zek was negotiating a trade of 2,000 tons of Barley
for 189 bars of latinum
"Rejoined" -Dax and Bashir each pulled out 1 slip of latinum out
of Quark's ear
"Family Business" -Ishka earns 3 bars of latinum from a Huyperian beetle
farm (she earns more, but formal charges are
initially brought against her on this offense)
-Quark climbs 40 flights of stairs because
the elevator costs 7 strips of latinum
-To sit in the waiting room for Brunt costs 3 slips
of latinum
-To stand in Brunt's waiting room costs 1 slip
of latinum
"Bar Association" -Rom gives 1 slip of latinum to everyone who passes
by Quark's bar if they don't enter
"Body Parts" -Rom offers to buy the discs of vacuum desicated
Quark for 17 bars, 3 strips, and 5
slips of latinum
-The anonymous bid, actually from Brunt, for all
52 discs of vacuum desicated Quark was for
500 bars of latinum
-Quark owed 196 bars of latinum to his Uncle Gorad
and Cousin Gaila
-Dr. Orpax charges 2 slips of latinum to walk into
the waiting room
-Quark proposes to charge 2 slips of latinum per
head as an admittance fee for his euology in
the holosuite, but changes his mind and makes
it 3 slips per head
-Quark was going to repay Brunt his 500 bars, plus 5
bars for his trouble (then 10 bars, then 12
bars), but Brunt refused
"The Darkness -Dax lost 10 bars of latinum to Captain
and the Light" Ramirez in Tongo
"Rules of -Tongo: the opening bid was 5, purchase was 2,
Acquisition" and sell was 8
"Sanctuary" -Bajoran intuition and 1 strip of latinum will
get you a trip to the Dabo table (Quark's comment)
"The Abandoned" -Quark pays 3 bars of latinum to buy/search the wreckage
"The Quickening" -Quark pays the Dabo girl 14 strips of latinum for pay
"The Homecomming" -Kira is worth 2 strip of latinum as a whore
for the prison guard
"The Begotten" -Quark sells Odo the changeling baby for
(dead) 5 slips, (alive) 10 slips, but finally
(sick) 8 slips.
"Business as Usual" -Quark lost 15 strips to Dax in Tongo
Mathematics
The Ferengi number system is a highly organized and efficient way of relating numbers. To represent a number, the word is written as the result of an algrebraic expression. For instance 308 could be written as (15*20) + 8
The number system is a vigesimal system, (base 20), because the Ferengis probably used both their fingers and their toes to count their profits. 1 is /Din/ and to represent 20 (which is actaully 20^1) an 'm' is added to make the word /Dim/. The addition of an 'm' always represents twenty raised to the power of that number. 40 is /gim/ (2 is /gid/ plus an 'm')
21 is /Dim Din/, (Words placed next to each other are added...20+1, like an algebraic expression)... Similarly, the expressions can be created using negative numbers, which are formed with the addition of an "i" to the word. 39 would be /gim Dini/ (40+ -1).
(Summary of Timothy Miller's Ferengi Lexicon Numbers section)
Traditional Ferengi Food
Ferengis are mainly insectavores, though they can eat other food. They keep their food live in a cellar in their houses (to keep them "dank and musty"). On one occasion, when Jake mentioned that a friend of his was studying Entymology, Nog asked what that was. Jake replied "The study of bugs." Which to Nog meant, "Oh, you mean she wants to be a chef?"
Here is a list of some foods:
Chew grubs Tube grubs Razor toothed gree worms Flaked blood fleas Raw Slug Liver hyperian beetle snuff (an expensive habit)
Black Hole Snail Juice Millipede juice (hold the shells) Ferengi Starduster
The Ferengi Family
The family structure seems simple enough. Each family is nuclear: father, mother, children; grand parents and cousins do not live with in the same household. Although women are considered inferior, children actually show a great deal of filial piety:
Quark sends home anuual stipends to his mother. Quark and Rom have a pet name for their mother (Moogie). In "Family Business" Quark and Rom recall how much the other children's insults reguarding their mother hurt their feelings. ["Your mother won't chew your food!" "Your mother talks to strangers!"] Quark "snuggles" with his mom by putting his head down into her lap and sometimes rubbing noses
Therefore, the Rule of Acquisition "Never insult a Ferengi's mother, insult something he cares about instead" does not really show the sentiments the children actually have for their mothers.
Females, however, are still considered inferior. As a result, many laws have been created to restrict women:
Females must chew or soften the food for the family Females may not earn profit Females may not talk to strangers Females may not wear clothes Females may not travel Females must keep their room in a certain order (Ishka kept her room traditional" to remind herself of the Ferengi traditions she was rebelling against)
The Ferengi Marriage ceremony is very male oriented, consisting of Latinum Dances, Bridal Auctions, and the female wedding dress is sant at best (either nude, or a loin cloth)
Despite the inferior treatment of women, the Ferengi family structure works. There are no divorces or broken homes on Ferenginar. Because women do not work or travel, the men are never alone at home. The home is actually considered to be a blissful, relaxing place, where a male and a female can concentrate on each other.
Children have many responsibilties when they are young. Males commit to memory all of the Rules of Aquisition. They also, like Nog, must help out in the family business. Also, children go to school and learn helpful information in such subjects as economics, calculus, and business. The Ferengi have a high reguard for academics, especially economics. Knowledge is power, and the Ferengis know it. A Ferengi's knowledge of calculus or chemistry could potentially prove profitable in the future, so Ferengi children are strongly encouraged to do well in these subjects. When children reach the Age of Assention, all of their worldy posessions are sold in a grand bazaar and the young Ferengi then leave with the profit they gained as a result.
Children are also, as in many other cultures, greatly admired and recieve special attention. Quark can remeber with great fondness all the the times he read to his little nephew: "See Brak acquire. Acquire, Brak, acquire!"
And, like human children, Ferengi children have their fun, get into trouble, and even play with somehting as frivolous as toys. When Quark was young, he played with a Marauder Mole action figure. He probably explained it away by saying that it wasn't a toy--it was an "investment," as the action figure has dramatically increased in value since his youth.
Ferengi History
The Ferengi have a very long, strange, complicated history--mainly due to their strange way of recording dates.
Known Nagi of the Past (in relative order)
Grand Nagus Gint (Enlightened Prophet of Greed) ?-207
Grand Nagus Yost 207
Grand Nagus Smeet (Smeet the Obvious) 11903-11912
DaiMon Vurp (Vurp the Inevitable), a military dictator 15791-15792
Grand Nagus Twim 17882
Grand Nagus Zek
Grand Nagus Quark 2369*
Grand Nagus Zek 2369*-present
----
Grand Nagus Frek--pioneer of Ferengi Econosolipsistic Mathematics (unknown placement)
Grand Nagus Brolok (unknown placement)
Gradn Nagus Untz--Untz the Invisable (unknown placement)
Grand Nagus Oblat--during the Ferengi-Hupyrian Conflict (unknown placement)
Timeline
207 Grand Nagus Gint (Enlightened Prophet of Greed) dies
Grand Nagus Yost takes command
9183 Timber Weevil Stampede, Weevilville
11902 Snail Steak food-poisoning Epidemic
11903-11912 Grand Nagus Smeet (Smeet the Obvious)
12023 The Great Earthquake of 12023
15791-15792 DaiMon Vurp, Ferenginar's only Military Dictator, takes command
15799 The Financial Collapse of 15799
17231 The Great Overpopulation Crisis
Ledgends of Chimera Pi lead Ferengi to space exploration
17882 Ferenginar discovers time-travel
Grand Nagus Twim takes command
17998 Bowog Dam warranty expires and Dam bursts
18101 Beginning of Ferengi-Lytasian Conflict (the Sack Incident)
18105 End of the Ferengi-Lytasian Conflict
18211-18217 Doctor Solev of Vulcan resides on Ferenginar
2369* Quark Becomes Nagus
*Not in Ferengi Dating System