Dal (species)

The Dals were a race which lived on the planet Skaro.

The Thal Dyoni said that the Dals were originally teachers, while the Thal leader Temmosus said they were philosophers. (TV: "The Escape") 500 years after the end of the neutronic war the Thals believed the Dals were the "forebears" of the Dalek race. (TV: "The Ambush") However it seems the Thal historical record was incomplete or mistaken as the Daleks were actually descended from the Kaleds. (TV: Genesis of the Daleks)

The Dals were extinct by the time of the Thousand Year War between the Thals and the Kaleds, as were the Tharons, as a result of a programme of genocide orchestrated by the Kaled government. Knowledge of the Dal language was still known to a few, including Davros and Magrantine. In the Dal language the word "Varga" meant "devourer". (AUDIO: Purity)

Davros, the creator of the Daleks, found a prophecy in the forbidden Book of Predictions, written in the extinct language of the Dals, which stated "...and on that day, men will become as gods." In the original language, the final word was pronounced "Dal-ek." (AUDIO: Guilt)

Varna, a Kaled from the time of the Thousand Year War, said that "Dal" was a Kaled word for warrior. (AUDIO: The Lights of Skaro)

Behind the scenes

 * The television story The Daleks names the Dals as the predecessors of the Daleks. The television story Genesis of the Daleks, which actually showed the creation of the Daleks, contradicted this and named the Daleks' ancestors as the Kaleds. The Dals could be said to be the spiritual ancestors of the Daleks as Davros' creations were inspired by Dal prophecy, however they are not the biological ancestors of the Daleks.