FAMILY AND LIFE BEFORE VOYAGER

young Tuvok [Gravity]

Tuvok was born in 2264 [#44 Flashback]. The actual date and place of his birth was stardate 38774, Vulcanis lunar colony [#147 Unimatrix Zero, Part Two]. In his youth he felt an infatuation for a Terellian female called Jara who was at the same school as himself. His father banished him from the family home and sent Tuvok, against his will, to a Vulcan Master in order to learn how to control his emotions. In later life, shown in [#107 Gravity], however, Tuvok told Paris, that he "chose" to leave Jara.

From [#107 Gravity]:
The Vulcan Master started by drawing the youth's attention to "the cornerstone of our beliefs".
Young Tuvok: "'Infinite diversity in infinite combinations' - I know all about Vulcan philosophies."
Vulcan Master: "Why have you come here?"
Young Tuvok: "I was sent against my will."
Vulcan Master: "Then I suggest you leave."
Young Tuvok: "I'm not a prisoner?"
Vulcan Master: "Only of your emotions or so I have been told."
Young Tuvok: "My emotions free me."
Vulcan Master: "I see. It's regrettable that I won't be able to teach you."
Young Tuvok: "Where should I go?"
Vulcan Master: "Are you seeking my counsel?"
Young Tuvok: "I can't return home. My father banished me."
Vulcan Master: "Your school?"
Young Tuvok: "They revoked my seat."
Vulcan Master: "Why?"
Young Tuvok: "Because I refused to deny myself passion the way and men like my father do."
Vulcan Master: "You reject logic."
Young Tuvok: "If I was meant to deny feelings, why was I born with them? Where is the logic in that?"
Vulcan Master: "Hidden for you to find, or in plain sight for you to ignore."
Young Tuvok: "You speak in riddles because the truth frightens you."
Vulcan Master: "You're right, it does frighten me. You are surprised to hear a Vulcan Master admit to having emotions?"
Young Tuvok: "Yes."
Vulcan Master: "Emotions can be a powerful tool. To deny their existence is illogical but you must learn to control them."
Young Tuvok: "Why?"
Vulcan Master: "Do you wish to be taught?"
Young Tuvok: "I would question everything you say."
Vulcan Master: "You would not be a worthy pupil otherwise. Let us begin. Sit down, Tuvok."

Tuvok did not want to join Starfleet but it was his parents' wish therefore he obliged, in 2289 [#44 Flashback]. He graduated in 2293 and was assigned first to USS Excelsior [#44 Flashback]. He left Starfleet in 2298 for fifty years before rejoining: in 2298 he started the Kolinahr, a Vulcan ritual designed to purge all remaining emotions and so leave the subject devoted to the pursuit of pure logic; but in 2304 he was forced to abandon his studies because he entered the pon farr and took a mate, T'Pel, and they decided to raise a family. They had four children: three sons (one called Sek) and a daughter. His daughter arrived during his eleventh pon farr [Alice], and is called Asil [#147 Unimatrix Zero, Part Two]. Tuvok: "Raising children of my own made me appreciate what my parents experienced raising me, and I came to realise that the decisions I made as a young man were not always in my best interests. I understood their decision to send me to the Academy, and that there were many things I could learn from humans and other species." [#44 Flashback]

T'Pel, Tuvok's wife [#24 Persistence of Vision]

 

Tuvok in pon farr	Tuvok in pon farr
Part of one of the Doctor's daydreams in [Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy]

the planet Vulcan [#24 Persistence of Vision]

At home on Vulcan, Tuvok was proficient at playing the Vulcan lute, a string instrument [#24 Persistence of Vision].

Vulcan lute [#24 Persistence of Vision]

Tuvok plays kal-toh. He learnt from the age of five from a master [#56 Alter Ego]. On or soon after stardate 50471.3, in the Paxau resort holoprogram created by Neelix, Tuvok started teaching Kim to play kal-toh, even though Kim was aware it would take years to learn [#56 Alter Ego].

kal-toh [#126 Riddles]

While marooned on Hanon IV [Basics], Tuvok: "I've completed a few weapons that might be appropriate, Commander." Chakotay: "This is thoughtful of you, Tuvok, but my tribe never used bows and arrows and I've never even shot one." Tuvok: "This is mine. I taught Archery Science for several years at the Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts."