tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Thu Mar 25 07:33:13 1999
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Re: qul tuq
: [Voragh] schrieb:
: > The "House of Fire" is the title of a popular Klingon opera {ghe'naQ}
: > telling the tale of the House of SepIch.
:
: Oh! That's good. But why is there a picture shown in the language lab?
:
: > Qua'lon gave a leather-bound copy
: > of the score as his {cha'nob} gift to his nephew Pok during the latter's
: > {lopno'}, a celebration held on the eve of a young Klingon's {nentay'}.
:
: toH. So that's what a {lopno'} is?
It's obviously derived from {lop no'} "the ancestors celebrate". I have
more information from my eclectic notes for those interested:
The *lop'no* (as the Feds spell it) is an "open house" celebration held on
the eve of a young Klingon's {nentay'}, hosted by the father of the
{lopwI'} (celebrant). "Open house" in the sense that any Klingon warrior is
welcome and no harm can come to him while in the house, even if an enemy.
The mother's duty is to welcome the guests, who bring {cha'nob} gifts. The
celebrant can honor the guest by accepting his gift or... not! (KCD) The
only example of a {lopno'} that we have is the one on KCD held to celebrate
a {nentay} and it is full of references to family traditions and ancestry.
The Language Lab gives the meaning as "party" with no additional
information and shows a group of Klingons gathered around a table with food
and {cha'nob} gifts. However, in the Immersion Studies, Vok says, "The
celebration was declared a {lopno'}. You have invited all the spirits of
our Klingon ancestors."
The scene from the KCD novelization (p.23f):
Then speaking to Pok, but looking directly into Vok's face, [K'Tar]
said, "Throw this {veQ} out."
Pok stood and moved toward Vok, reaching for the unwanted guest.
"{bIyem'a'}!" Vok said.
Pok stopped short of grabbing Vok...
"The celebration," Vok said, "was declared a {lop'no}. You have
invited the spirits of all our Klingon ancestors. Tradition dictates
that all are welcome to the {lop 'no}. Even ancient rivals. Even me,
K'Tar."
"{Chut Quj}," K'Tar said.
"{Luq ratlh}," Pok said, almost spitting his words at Vok.
"... such a celebration may or may not be declared a {lopno'} (otherwise,
why would Vok have to point that out to K'Tar?). Perhaps Pok's {nentay}
could have remained a private matter, for the House of Sepich only. Then it
would not be called a {lopno'}. However, I doubt the honor would have been
as great, given that Torghn wanted to show off his son, whose hunting
skills were so renowned. Besides, I'm sure a little strife is welcome at
all Klingon ceremonies..." (SuStel)
"I think {lopno'} may have an emic significance of "celebration of
ancestors" and be a specific type of party held in conjunction with the
{nentay} and possibly with other rites of passage." ([email protected])
"I think that at one point in STK reference is made to someone remembering
'his own {lopno'}' (which they spelled *lop 'no*). This would imply that
it's specifically the party associated with a child's coming of age and
becoming a warrior, in context. (Seqram) That "someone" may have been
Ghowron, who over several nights tells the story of Pok to Picard et al. in
the novelization.
: Does anyone have pictures or drawings of that building?
:
: muHwI'
Can't help you with that. I've never watched the CD (I don't have the
hardware to run it!).
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons