JAFFA HIGH COUNCIL

Following the defeat of the System Lords, the newly freed Jaffa prepared to build a new Jaffa Nation on the sacred homeworld of Dakara. The new government consisted of a High Council, on which both Teal'c and Bra'tac served as interim members, but generations of infighting between warring factions hampered the establishment of a permanent government. As Gerak emerged as a new leader, the structure of the High Council underwent a transition. With the passage of Gerak's proposal, voting within the High Council was attributed to various coalition representatives based on military assets, making Gerak, the head of the most powerful military faction, the leader of the Jaffa High Council and the Jaffa Nation.

The Jaffa High Council over which Gerak presided consisted of approximately 14 members who met in the Council chamber on Dakara. Representatives who served on the Council have included Teal'c, Bra'tac, Ka'lel, Maz'rai, U'kin, and Yat'Yir. Gerak's capture and execution of Ba'al won him the hearts of the Council, and many were prepared to accept his decision to embrace Origin despite urgent warnings from Teal'c and Bra'tac. Through the power of the Ori, Gerak was transformed into a Prior, and his proposal to deliver the Jaffa Nation to Origin nearly brought the nation to civil war as the Council was faced with the impossible choice between the Ori and their fellow Jaffa.

Following Gerak's death, Bra'tac and Teal'c proposed a referendum to allow all Jaffa to vote for the dissolution of the High Council and a move toward democracy. Council members, including U'kin, Maz'rai and Ka'lel, favored the referendum, but their alliances shifted as they became victims of Ba'al's attempt to gain control of the Council by brainwashing key members. In the final vote, however, the referendum passed, the Council was dissolved, and an Interim Council was put in place until the general elections that would be held in two months' time.

Before democracy could be established, however, the Council and its new leader, Se'tak, moved to defeat the Ori by using the Ancient Dakara weapon to destroy all living beings on worlds that had fallen to Origin. Instead, Dakara itself became a target, and in retaliation, Adria destroyed the Jaffa homeworld, leaving the Jaffa Nation fractured and the High Council in disarray. In an attempt to organize a new Council that would reunite the nation against the Ori, influential leaders met at a summit at Dar Eshkalon, but sabotage left many dead. Without a formal government, the Jaffa have struggled to rebuild their nation once more.

Cross Reference: Ba'al, Bra'tac, Dakara, Dakara Weapon, Gerak, Jaffa Nation, Ka'lel, Maz'rai, Se'tak, Teal'c, U'kin, Yat'Yir

Episode Reference: Avalon, Origin, Ex Deus Machina, The Fourth Horseman, Stronghold, Counterstrike, Talion