A spiritual Delta Quadrant people whose monks guard a shrine to the ancestral spirits, where Kes is struck down and Janeway undertakes a ritual to save her in Sacred Ground.
The Nechani appear in the Voyager episode Sacred Ground. Their society is guided by an order of monks who tend shrines to the ancestral spirits, and only those who have passed through a purifying ritual may approach the sanctuary.
In 2373, during shore leave, Kes wanders through a shrine gateway and is hit by a powerful energy field that leaves her in a coma. The magistrate explains that long ago a king made the ritual journey to plead for his dying son, and Janeway claims the same right.
She treats it as a scientific problem, enduring fasting, exposure and a venomous bite while the Doctor gathers readings, yet nothing explains how to cure Kes. Three old people in the waiting room finally push her to let go of her need for proof. She carries Kes through the field on faith alone, and Kes recovers.