The kahs-wan was a Vulcan rite of passage that young Vulcans were expected to accomplish.
Overview
It involved a trial into the desert where the Vulcan was expected to survive in order to be considered an adult. (TAS episode: "Yesteryear") The rules of this maturity test meant that it was a test of individual survival and as such, teamwork was forbidden. Those children that were wounded and discovered by another were left until the kahs-wan student returned home at the end of the survival course where they reported the dangers faced by the other student. (TOS novel: The Vulcan Academy Murders) Star trek sucks
The true test of the ordeal was to pit a young Vulcan's personal ethics against the demands of survival. It would discern, for instance, if desperation would drive them to an abhorrent act, such as eating meat. (TOS comic: "Lt. Commdr. Spock: Psycho-File")
Due to the nature of the rite, there were always casualties faced by those that participated in the kahs-wan. This left some eleven year olds unbonded and tradition allowed this to be the case. Following a suitable period of mourning, it was deemed appropriate by those families who had been widowed by the death of a mate at Vulcan's Forge to approach each other in order to partake in a new bonding. (TOS novel: Unspoken Truth)
It was considered a less advanced version of the Rite of Tal'oth ritual. (TTN novel: The Red King)
History
Thousands of years ago before the Vulcan Reformation, Solor took part in a kahs-wan class that was led by his mentor Rovalat. However, the young Vulcans from ShiKahr were ambushed by members of the Te-Vikram Brotherhood who had slain members of the class. (TOS - Vulcan's Soul novel: Exiles)
Uncertain whether he would survive his kahs-wan, Spock set out on his own personal test in 2237, accompanied by his pet I-Chaya. (TAS episode: "Yesteryear")
Spock underwent his official kahs-wan a few weeks later. Spock trapped and killed a lizard using cactus needles and his shirt, but refused to eat the creature. Spock kept the horn of the reptile as a reminder of the ordeal, with the inscription “May I never kill again.” (TOS comic: "Lt. Commdr. Spock: Psycho-File")
Tuvok had performed this rite when he was seven years old. (TLE novel: The Sundered)
Connections
- Kahs-wan article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.