tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Jun 21 13:11:23 1998
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Re: magic
On Sun, 21 Jun 1998, Eduardo Fonseca wrote:
>Is there a word for "magic/sorcery/enchantment" ?
Here we go again! For some reason, this is a Frequently Asked Question.
About a year ago (?) there was a very lengthy and tedious thread about this
very topic. Check the archives. My own view is that since Klingons no longer
believe in gods, many may just use {lalDan} "religion" for all varieties of
superstition and irrational belief. We've never seen Okrand use it in any
context, and so we don't really know just what {lalDan} does and does not
refer to in the modern language. (For example, can it refer to the cult of
Kahless, or do Klingons not consider that to be "religion"?) Whether there
are {no' Hol} words, we have no idea and may never know. Okrand's native
informant Maltz was, after all, a science officer.
That being said, I did add a couple of suggestions to my AKD along with their
sources. Perhaps one of these will do:
*qa' HoS "magic" (SuSvaj?)
*qa''a' "god, deity, divinity" (the monotheists on the List
seem to prefer *joH'a' however)
*qa' SeHwI' "witch" (lit. "controller of spirits") (KSRP Hamlet),
also "sorceror, magician"
Compare this last with
*tojwI' "(stage) magician" (lit. a "trickster, deceiver")
which, come to think of it, may also be the term some modern Klingons use
for witches, shamans, priests, etc. (particularly alien ones).
Also look at the recent post by Marc Okrand (which I forwarded to the List
yesterday) on startrek.klingon regarding terms for "cleric" quoting Qov's
excellent suggestions depending on the precise meaning sought.
Voragh