Shamin The Shamin were a humanoid species . A Shamin priest passed through Starfleet Headquarters air tram station in San Francisco on stardate 7410 . 2 . ( ) Background information . The Shamin were designed by Fred Phillips and Robert Fletcher for " The Motion Picture " . With the approval of Gene Roddenberry , the Shamin , as well as numerous other new species in the film , were named by Fletcher and provided a backstory by him . The following is a brief description , in Fletcher ' s own words : " " SHAMIN PRIEST – From O ' Ryan ' s planet , discovered by Paddy O ' Ryan in 22nd century . Costume : made of fabric and liquid plastic , solidifies , turns into another kind of material . Bob developed this process more fully for the movie . All gold objects of this process . Rag parts of costume specially worn on s . " " ( " " , p . 132 ) In an interview with Robert Fletcher – published as part one of " The " Star Trek " Costumes " , in the edition of " Fantastic Films " – the Shamin Priests were described thus : " " This person comes from O ' Ryan ' s planet discovered by Paddy O ' Ryan in the late 22nd century . The planet , like its people , are in an early stage of social and technological development . It will be a long time , if ever , before they reach the capabilities of space travel . Their society is like the society of America ' s western Indian civilizations . The smiilarities are particularly striking when one realizes that no travelers from Earth , in recorded history , had ever set foot on the planet until Paddy ' s discovery of it . " " In an interview appearing in the edition of " Fantastic Films " , part two of " The " Star Trek " Costumes " , Fletcher revealed more information about the Shamin priests and the design of their costumes : " " This is the Shamin Priest from O ' Ryan ' s planet . His undergarment is of a knit material . The tunic is a very plush material that I had woven on a hand loom . The material can ' t be purchased commercially . It was originally to be used in an outfit for Mr . Spock , sort of a ceremonial attire . That didn ' t work out so the Shamin got it . At first they wanted him dressed entirely in rags but I didn ' t feel that he should be all that raggedly looking wearing all this fine gold jewelry , so this is the compromise we arrived at . " " Maggie Browne added : " " The Shamin ' s mask is another of those resin and felt creations . This one is gold plated . The mask is really gorgeous but it had a lot of bad luck . It got broken twice because someone on the set sat on it twice . " " In an article appearing in the edition of , entitled " Who is that Alien ? " , the following information about the Shamin Priests , which included information from Fletcher ' s original background notes , added : " " We are provided very little information about the Shamin Priests . The notes simply say that they were from O ' Ryan ' s planet , which was discovered by Paddy O ' Ryan in the 22nd century . " " The mask and attire worn by the Shamin in " The Motion Picture " was sold in the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction . The lot , which also contained a Betelgeusian mask , sold for US $ 732 . 00 . According to " " ( " United Federation of Planets I " , " United Federation of Planets III " ) , O ' Ryan ' s Planet orbit ed a in the Alpha Quadrant . O ' Ryan ' s Planet had , by 2378 , become a Federation member .