tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Nov 07 09:42:30 2006
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Re: plurals
Quvar
> >> If I remember correctly, a corpse is dead, so cannot speak:
> >> --> -pu' does not apply.
lay'tel SIvten:
> >I remember somewhere ({Hamlet}?) that corpses *do* speak.
mIq'ey:
>IIRC that was a ghost, not a corpse, speaking (at least in the English
>translation; I haven't read it in the original Klingon). I don't see a
>word specifically for "ghost".
The Klingon Hamlet used *{lomqa'} for "ghost". I've also seen {QIb}
"shadow" used as well.
>Would {qa'} do?
Note that the word for "spirit", {qa'}, takes the plural suffix
{?pu'}, which is used for beings capable of using language.
Spirits do speak. (KGT 117)
... the plural of {Qun} ["god, supernatural being"] is {Qunpu'}
since they are or were presumably capable of using language,
which is what the plural suffix {-pu'} implies [...] {Qunpu'}
are distinct from {qa'pu'} "spirits" (such as the spirits of the
dishonored dead which reside at Gre'thor). (st.k 7/19/99)
narghbe'chugh SuvwI' qa' taH may'
If the warrior's spirit has not escaped, the battle is still
going on. TKW
HeghDI' SuvwI' nargh SuvwI' qa'
When a warrior dies, his spirit escapes. TKW
The verb {nargh} ... means "escape", but the same word, or a
phonetically identical one, means "appear". Thus, perhaps the
Klingons are saying that when a warrior dies, his spirit appears,
whereas prior to death it was hidden or disguised by the body.
Another interpretation is that the spirit was held prisoner by
the body. Worf told Jeremy, whose mother had been killed, "In my
tradition, we do not grieve the loss of the body. We celebrate
the releasing of the spirit." (TKW 145)
When someone dies their spirit goes either to Gre'thor or Sto'Vo'Kor and,
presumably, stays there forever. Indeed, Fek'lhr guards the gates of
Gre'thor to prevent spirits from escaping {nargh} a second time:
According to mythology, when a dishonored Klingon dies, his or her
spirit goes to a place called Gre'thor, there to remain. To speak
of spirits escaping from Gre'thor is to speak of an impossibility.
The phrase usually follows the statement of what it is that supposedly
cannot happen:
jIjegh ghe'torvo' narghDI' qa'pu'
"I will surrender when spirits escape from Gre'thor". (KGT 117)
This is believed to happen immediately. That's what the {Hegh bey} "death
howl" is for:
When a Klingon warrior dies or is killed, other Klingons may perform
a ceremonial howl or yell as part of the Klingon death ritual. The
eyes of the fallen Klingon are opened and others roar in a great
crescendo. This yell is victorious in nature, rather than mournful and
also serves to warn the other dead that a Klingon warrior is coming. (S31)
Presumably they are warning the other dead in Sto'Vo'Kor and/or the Black
Fleet:
batlh maHeghbej 'ej yo' qIjDaq vavpu'ma' DImuv. pa' reH maSuvtaHqu'.
Then we die with honor and join our fathers in the Black Fleet where
we battle forever. (Anthem)
We have no information - outside of Hamlet that is - that Klingons believe
that spirits can roam among the living before they arrive at Gre'thor or
Sto'Vo'Kor. VOY "Barge of the Dead" indicated that B'Ellana's "dishonored
spirit" was ferried to Gre'thor on the Barge of the Dead immediately
following her "death". Even if only a hallucination, it came from
B'Ellana's knowledge of Klingon tradition.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons