tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Aug 13 18:05:51 2001
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Re: Mead
ja' DloraH:
> nuq 'oH [mead-bench]'e'?
naQSej
: Literally then it could be HIvje', or tach or any liquor word, or even
: food words, or HIq raS,
Let's see...
{HIq quS} "liquor chair"
{HIq quS tIq} "liquor long-chair [bench?]"
Perhaps the closest literal translation, but not very informative for Klingons
without a lengthy footnote, like the one you've provided us.
: but metaphorically ... what is the symbol of a joH's
: sovereignty - his ships I suppose, or his batleth, the batleths or other
: weapons of his followers, no' DIr, betleH bey', Degh? I think I would go
: for ships or weapons - their symbolic significance in Klingon society is
: obvious.
Ships, armies and weapons aren't just symbolic of a joH's power, they *are* his
or her power. A joH's {no' DIr} or {betleH bey} may well serve the same
function as a mead bench in the poem; but as far as we know every {tuq}, no
matter what its size or importance, presumably has its own.
: If this is from the introduction to Beowulf, the things Scyld Scefing
: deprived people of, it is two things: literally the place where the
: war-band sat in a lord's hall to drink mead, and metaphorically (as it
: is used in the poem) a symbol of the lord's sovereignty - I suppose a
: synechdoche for his hall, thus his retainers, and therefore his power.
If the mead bench is symbolic of the lord's hall or sovereignty, why not just
say {vaS} "assembly hall"; Klingons have them too. Presumably only powerful or
wealthy lords of Great Houses could afford to build and staff a {vaS}, lesser
lords and everyone else probably having to make do with just their {juH} or
some other type of {qach}.
Although we know little about Klingon history, it's not out of the question
that a great lord or overlord *{joH'a'}, or even the emperor {ta' / voDleH},
may well have had an even greater, more impressive hall of his own, a Great
Hall {vaS'a'}.
"On the Homeworld, there is a great hall where the leaders of the
Klingon High Council meet to determine policy and decide upon the
fate of the Empire. Gowron currently presides ... " (SkyBox S25)
We do know that before the cloning of Kahless, there hadn't been a Klingon
emperor for over 300 years. For all we know, the current High Council {yejquv}
may have taken over the last emperor's {vaS'a'} for itself.
: Or is there some word symbolising both the power of a lord, and the
: support he gives his followers which I've missed?
Other symbols of power or authority I know of are the hammer {mupwI'}:
"… the hammer is a symbol of power to Klingons" (TKW 120)
mupwI' yI'uchtaH
Keep holding the hammer! TKW
HoSghaj; mupwI' rur
powerful as a hammer KGT
and the baldric or sash {Ha'quj}:
"Though originally utilitarian in nature, the Ha'quj has taken on
symbolic functions as well, its ornamentation representing the
family unit or house (tuq) of its wearer." (KGT 61)
though neither of these seem to refer specifically to the {joHpu'} or the
nobility - {chuQun}, whatever that is - per se.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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