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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: nentay

Steven Boozer ([email protected])



> Klingon Word of the Day for Tuesday, May 19, 2015
> 
> Klingon word: nentay
> Part of speech: noun
> Definition: Rite of Ascension

  nentay loptaHvIS tlhIngan potlh tlhIngan 'oy'naQ'e' 
  The Klingon Painstik is an important part of a Klingon's Age of
  Ascension ceremony. S32

The ritual by which a Klingon embarks on the road to becoming a warrior. "The Age of Ascension marks a new level of spiritual attainment by a Klingon warrior. The initiate must pass through a gauntlet of warriors who test him with painstiks." (S9)

KGT 11:  a ceremony symbolizing a young Klingon's attainment of a certain spiritual level

It consists of two parts: {nentay wa'Dich}, the First Rite of Ascension (which signals the celebrant's willingness to commit him/herself to the way of the warrior) perfomed before the age of thirteen (TNG "Firstborn"), and the {nentay cha'Dich}, the Second Rite of Ascension, performed at the age of fifteen.  The tenth anniversary of the Second Rite of Ascension is a significant time for Klingons, but it "is a secret known only to Klingons." (Worf, TNG "The Icarus Factor")

KGT 65:  the painstik, {'oy'naQ} ... is nonetheless usually used ceremonially, playing an important role in the {nentay cha'Dich}, or Second Rite of Ascension

TKW 110:  Upon reaching a certain age, the Age of Ascension, a young Klingon undergoes a rite of passage symbolizing the attainment of a certain spiritual level. After intoning the three ancient and sacred phrases recorded above, the initiate, while walking along a path lined by painstik-wielding warriors, expresses his or her deepest feelings.

"Though training in {betleH} begins early in a Klingon's life, mastery is rarely reached until years after the Rite of Ascension." (KCD)

KGT 182:  Each Klingon who undergoes the Rite of Ascension, for example, follows the same script, beginning with {DaHjaj SuvwI''e' jIH} ("Today I am a warrior"). The lines must be said in the same way each time, with little room for variation.

KGT 176f.:  Similarly, one might describe how to wield a painstik during the Rite of Ascension by saying: {'oy'naQ DaQeqDI' mIw wa'DIch Data', 'ach 'oy'naQ Dachu'DI' mIw paghDIch Data'} ("When you aim the painstik, you accomplish the first step, but when you turn the painstik on, you accomplish the zeroth step"). The implication here is that activating the painstik must be done before beginning the ritualistic part of the ceremony... Speaking of the Rite of Ascension, one might say {'oy'naQ Dachu'Ha'DI' mIw HochDIch Data'} ("When you turn the painstik off, you accomplish the last step").

"Pok has yet to complete the Second Rite of Ascension. In the eyes of the {nugh tlhegh} he is still a boy." (KCD novel)

SEE ALSO:
nen  			growth,  maturation (n)
nenghep  		Age of Ascension (n)

nen  			be mature, be grown-up, be adult (v)
nenchoH  		mature,  grow up (v)



--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons



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