Harma

The Harma was a Tarn greeting between members of an un-broken circle.

When two Tarn of equal stature meet, one greets the other by exhaling noisily. The receiving Tarn would exhale back. The Harma was used at one time to reveal that the one who stood before you had the same scent as others of your hunting circle. If one of the Tarn was of lower stature, they would lower their head during the exhaling process. This would be an acknowledgement of the other Tarn's superior position.

The verbal portion of the greeting is "(title & name), I greet you into our circle as if you are of our blood." The proper response would be "I accept the greeting as if I am returning to those of my blood." According to Tarn diplomatic protocol, a greeting must be first performed by another of equal rank. After the greeting a Tarn can be introduced to a higher ranking official without "loss of face".


 * ''When Commander William T. Riker was performing the Harma, he identified himself as "Riker, of old America, of Earth, and my circle is unblemished."

In 2367 Captain Jean-Luc Picard had to refrain from trying to shake hands with the Tarn observer Harna Karish. The ritual of shaking hands is seen as an aggressive move by a Tarn too close to a foe.