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The Ferengi death ritual was a death ritual performed on a deceased Ferengi.

Preparations[]

Upon learning that he had six days to live after being diagnosed with Dorek Syndrome during his annual insurance physical, Quark drew up a list of preparations he had to fulfill before he died. These included making out his will, funding his mother's pension, making arrangements for a funeral service, and paying off all Ferengi debts. (DS9: "Body Parts")

Disposal of the body[]

Vacuum desiccation[]

Pleggs remains

A disk of vacuum-desiccated remains

The process following death of a Ferengi could be best summarized by Odo, who found "the Ferengi ritual of chopping up their loved ones and selling them [to be] irresistible." Odo explained to Quark, in 2370, that he found it to be "a fitting and distinguished way to honor the memory of great Ferengi entrepreneurs." (DS9: "Melora", "The Alternate")

A more notable aspect of Ferengi death rituals happened between the chopping up and selling pieces of the body, where the remains were immediately vacuum-desiccated, then divided into fifty-two disks, each disk typically marked with the Ferengi Seal of Dismemberment. (DS9: "The Nagus", "The Alternate", "Body Parts") In addition to localized sales, one could always sell the desiccated remains of their corpse on the Ferengi Futures Exchange. (DS9: "Body Parts")

One of the Federation's early encounters with this ritual was following the death of Ferengi Doctor Reyga aboard the USS Enterprise-D in 2369. Though, according to Doctor Beverly Crusher, Reyga's death was under questionable circumstances, his family insisted that she not perform an autopsy, much less his body be touched, until they performed the Ferengi death ritual. The specifics of the death ritual were that "the body can't be violated before it's buried." (TNG: "Suspicions")

Brunt, in 2372, purchased fifty-two disks of a then very much alive Quark, who could obviously not immediately fulfill his end of a contract, and who rhetorically asked, "What do you expect me to do? Kill myself?" Brunt replied, "Of course not. You can have someone do it for you. I recommend strangulation. It leaves the body relatively unmarked for desiccation." In spite of this request, Brunt's intentions included "a thousand ideas of how to defile [his] remains."(DS9: "Body Parts")

The desire for an unmarked body would also seem to give reason to support the wishes of not having an autopsy performed.

Burial[]

With further regards to the death of Ferengi Dr. Reyga, Federation Dr. Crusher, nonetheless, disregarded the family's wishes of not touching the body, whom she felt were "more concerned about ritual than finding out the truth about how he died." Unable to determine what she needed with tricorder scans, Crusher performed the autopsy anyway, and found no additional cause of death. For her actions, she was chastised by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who reminded her that she "interfered in the burial rituals of another culture," adding, "the family will have to be notified. I don't doubt that they will react strongly." (TNG: "Suspicions")

Follow the death of Smeet, the only Grand Nagus to be assassinated while in office, his body and that of his First Clerk were buried together, indicating a further ungracious end for the former Nagus. (DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs")

The funeral service[]

Zek's funeral

Quark inspecting the merchandise at Zek's funeral

A funeral service was the final part of the Ferengi death ritual. (DS9: "The Nagus", "Body Parts")

Variations included, such as in the case of Grand Nagus Zek's funeral in 2369, a private service, with a portrait of the deceased displayed behind a table of their desiccated remains up for purchase. (DS9: "The Nagus")

In the case of Quark's 2374 funeral arrangements, which proceeded the pre-sale of his remains, he wanted his eulogy to take place in the holosuite, where he intended to charge an admission fee of three slips of latinum a head. (DS9: "Body Parts")

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