Sirah (Bajoran)
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A Sirah (pronounced suh-RAH[1]) is a spiritual leader from an unnamed village on Bajor in the fictional Star Trek universe. Two Sirahs are featured in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode The Storyteller. A Sirah's role can be summarized as follows: the village in question used to be bitterly divided, so the first Sirah used a piece of an orb to channel all the villagers' fears into a monster called the Dal'Rok, which would appear over a five-day period every Bajoran year and be repeatedly driven out by the collective goodwill and unity of the villagers, catalyzed by stories told by the Sirah, which essentially stated that although the Dal'Rok is powerful, the village is united and thus the Dal'Rok will be defeated.
[edit] The Sirah sermons
The following sermon[2] is used by the old Sirah on the fourth night in the episode. It is reproduced here in order to illustrate the means by which the monster can be driven away. The sermon was finished by Miles O'Brien and is aggregated here without breaks caused by the Sirah's illness, which led to his death once the sermon was completed.
In the shadows of the night he hungers... With the hatred of the ancients he rages... From the twisted pit of chaos he approaches... The Dal'Rok's anger is like a wave crashing down on the village. The weight of its fury threatens to crush us all. The Dal'Rok thinks the village is powerless to defend itself. But the Dal'Rok is mistaken. The village is strong. Much stronger than the Dal'Rok can ever imagine. Our strength... our unity... shall drive... the Dal'Rok... The village shall not be destroyed. Despite our fears, we stand our ground and face the Dal'Rok. The village is strong. More powerful than the Dal'Rok. Together we use that power to drive it away. Drive it away! Drive it away! The Dal'Rok is defeated. The village is safe.
On the fifth night, Hovath, the new Sirah, drove away the monster using the following sermon:
Wait, there's no need to run. A new voice appears to challenge the Dal'Rok. The Dal'Rok is a fearsome enemy. The mountains shake with its fury. But our prosperity is its misery. Our unity is its vulnerability. Our strength is its doom. Look... the Dal'Rok trembles. It fears our strength. It fears our determination. It knows it cannot stand against us. There... see for yourselves, the Dal'Rok is defeated. The village is safe for another year.
[edit] The life of a Sirah
In addition to the yearly ritual of driving out the Dal'Rok, a Sirah enjoys significant respect in the Bajoran village. He is often asked to bless newborns and given gifts by other villagers, including at least three young women for unspecified services, although it is unknown whether this is related to the Sirah's initiation ceremony or perhaps to the yearly ritual. A Sirah can have a family, which is expected to live with him in the village.
