Caste System

This article is about the Tau caste system. For other uses of Fire Caste, see Fire Caste (disambiguation).

Tau Portal

T'au from each of the castes. Left to right: Fire Caste, Earth Caste, Ethereal Caste, Water Caste, and Air Caste^[17]

The T'au caste system is a system of social division that divides all T'au into five distinct groups.^[2]

Overview

Each caste is named after an element of nature, symbolising the purpose and temperament of the caste's members. A T'au's caste is determined at birth and inherited by one's parents. Inter-breeding is forbidden by the Ethereals. For a T'au to choose another caste for himself seems to be impossible, and held contrary to the notions of the Greater Good. The castes are based upon the racial and political divisions that separated the Tau on their homeworld of T'au during the time of the Mont'au. The Castes were first formally established after the Ethereals brokered peace between warring T'au factions at Fio'taun. Emphasizing the need for the Greater Good, the Ethereals decreed that the T'au would be formalized into castes, each known by the element that most befitted its role in the new T'au society.^[6a]

Overstepping ones lot in their Caste and undertaking actions relegated to another is one of the most grievous crimes in Tau society. For instance, an Earth Caste engineer is usually forbidden from using Fire Caste-issued weapons in a pitched battle without special permission from the Ethereals. Violation of this law commonly results in the accused being sent to a Re-education Facility.^[15]

Caste\Rank	Trainee rank — SAAL[1]	Lowest rank — LA	Second lowest rank — UI	Middle rank — VRE	Second highest rank — EL	Highest rank — O
Fire - Shas	Underling	Warrior	Veteran	Hero	Noble or Knight	Commander
Earth - Fio	Apprentice	Worker	Senior	Overseer	Engineer	Planner
Water - Por	Assistant	Bureaucrat	Envoy	Magister	Diplomat	Ambassador
Air - Kor	Deliverer	Messenger	Carrier	Pilot	Captain	Admiral
Ethereal - Aun	Lord	Prince	Prelate	King	Holy Ones	Highest

Shas - Fire Caste

Fire Caste symbol^[6a]

Members of the Fire Caste are the warriors of the T'au Empire, and as such are most often seen on the field of battle. They have been bred to be the strongest and most aggressive T'au, and weak strains are quickly weeded out. These traits come from the Fire Caste's origin on the plains of T'au, where they were hunters and warriors. Fire Warriors, as soldiers of the Fire Caste are known, spend their entire lifetimes in battle or preparing for it, constantly honing their tactics and working to improve their skills. The strongest of the strong are those T'au from the world of Vior'la, who have slightly greater muscle mass because of the stronger gravity of that planet.^[6a] The Fire Caste are guided by the Code of Fire — a doctrine of loyalty, martial arts and merciless war tempered by wisdom.^[6a][9a]

Fio - Earth Caste

Earth Caste Symbol^[6a]

This caste provides for the manufacturing, agricultural, industrial, artisans, and engineering needs of the T'au Empire. By far the largest caste in sheer numbers, it is they who erect dwellings, provide food, and produce new technology. Members of the Earth Caste are often described as plain and dour, possessing a rather stoic outlook on life in general. They were originally the first T'au to build cities and practice agriculture. The city of Fio'taun is an example of this, being the first place where the Ethereals appeared.^[6a]

Por - Water Caste

Water Caste Symbol^[6a]

The Water Caste serve the T'au Empire as traders, merchants, public servants, bureaucrats, administrators, diplomats, and ambassadors. They interact with other races when such affairs are not handled by the Fire Caste, and often act as administrators of T'au worlds in the absence of an Ethereal governor. Like water, Water Caste bureaucrats fluidly move between other Castes and alien races incorporated within the Empire to make sure that it flows smoothly. The Water Caste are known for their great linguistic, diplomatic, and negotiation skills. Members of the Water Caste are often the ones who initiate first contact with new species encountered by the Empire, skilfully negotiating their union with the T'au.^[6a] The members of the Water Caste have a gift for linguistics that has become more and more developed over time, so they able to learn alien languages with ease and show a remarkable ability to emulate and pick up subtlest of communication features.^[9a]

The Water Caste also employs criminal investigators known as Kar'tyr.^[11]

Kor - Air Caste

Air Caste Symbol^[6a]

The Air Caste is charged with holding the T'au Empire together through the Kor'vattra, the T'au Empire's merchant and war-fleet in addition to operating Tau Orbitals and Fortress Stations. Formerly functioning as messengers, these days they are the T'au Navy and are sometimes called the "Invisible Caste", for they rarely if ever set foot upon planets. Living in Orbital Cities, T'au of the Air Caste are the tallest and most slender of all T'au, with long, skinny limbs and hollow bones developed due to lives lived mostly in low- and zero-gravity ships and space stations. In the past, before the time of the Mont'au, the T'au that originally became the Air Caste had membranes stretching between their limbs, allowing them to glide on air currents. T'au pilots tend to be superior pilots compared to their human counterparts because they have a better depth perception and higher G-tolerance, but lack battle-experience compared to the best Imperial fighter-pilots.^[6a]

The Air Caste also operates air defences within T'au territory.^[13]

Aun - Ethereal/Celestial Caste

Ethereal Caste Symbol^[6a]

The Ethereals serve as "philosopher kings", and guide the other castes, as well as alien member-races of the T'au empire, towards the enlightenment of the Tau'va, the Greater Good. They serve as the undisputed rulers of the T'au Empire. Their unique role is a combination of spiritual and political duties, and their declarations shape and steer every action of the Empire. Were an Ethereal to order a T'au to kill himself, he would be met with instant obedience.^[6a] Ethereals themselves rule from the Ethereal Council, with the Ethereal Supreme being the highest ranked of the Caste. They are in turn protected by the Ethereal Guard.^[16]

Sources

• 1: Fire Warrior (Novel), pg. 120^[Help]
• 2: Specialist Games Catalogue, pg. 101
• 3: http://web.archive.org/web/20130118035448/http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Tau/TAU-ACCESSORIES/TAU-AIR-CASTE-PILOTS.html (saved archive page, dated Jan 2013, last accessed 9 August 2015)
• 4: http://web.archive.org/web/20130118035439/http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Tau/TAU-ACCESSORIES/TAU-AIR-CASTE-GROUND-CREW.html (saved archive page, dated Jan 2013, last accessed 9 August 2015)
• 5: Games Workshop
• 6: Codex: Tau Empire (6th Edition):
  • 6a: pgs. 8–12
  • 6b: pg. 36
• 7: Warhammer 40,000: Conquest
• 8: White Dwarf 89 (2015):
  • 8a: XV95 Ghostkeel
  • 8b: Mantle of Heroes
• 9: Codex: Tau Empire (7th Edition):
  • 9a: The Castes
  • 9b: Alien Auxiliaries
• 10: Warhammer 40,000: Conquest - Tau preview
• 11: Voice of Experience (Short Story)
• 12: Warhammer Community: Take to the Skies with the T’au Air Caste (posted 6/5/2020) (last accessed 6/5/2020)
• 13: Warhammer Community: Flight Plan: You're Grounded (posted 10/20/2020) (last accessed 10/20/2020)
• 14: Warhammer Community: Trailer Breakdown – The Best Moments From The Exodite Reveal (Posted on 11/03/2021) (Last accessed on 11 March, 2021)
• 15: Elemental Council (Novel) - Chapter 4
• 16: Farsight: Blade of Truth (Novel) - Chapter 4
• 17: 'Battlefleet Gothic: Armada - Tau Empire Trailer (saved archive page, dated 28 August 2018, last accessed 29 October 2025, original link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StCXrBMl648)

Uncited

This article purports to rely on sources which are not cited in the body of the text. For help on citation see the citation guidelines. You can help Lexicanum by fixing it.

• Codex: Tau (3rd Edition)