tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Nov 28 15:13:02 2001
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Re: yem! (was Re: Klingon WOTD: wem (n))
>> Klingon word: wem
>> Part of Speech: noun
>> Definition: violation
Voragh:
> Cf. the homophonous verb {wem} "violate". Related verbs include
> {HeS} "commit a crime" and {yem} "sin".
qurgh:
: "yem" ghaj tlhInganpu' 'e' vISovbe'. chay' yem tlhIngan?
Good question; we're not sure. {yem} appears in the "Star Trek: Klingon!" CD:
bIyem'a'
Will you sin? (KCD Language Lab)
In the KCD novelization (p.23f, sic!), we have the following exchange at young
Pok's {lopno'} in celebration of his Rite of Ascension {nentay} between his
mother K'Tar and his father's hated rival Vok:
Then speaking to Pok, but looking directly into Vok's face,
she 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.
Here, {bIyem'a'} seems to mean "Do you dare go against Klingon tradition?" or
"Do you dare do this dishonorable thing?"
: I always thought sin was a religious thing, and Klingons don't really have a
: religion. If a Klingon does something dishonourable, is that a Klingon sin?
Depends on how you define religion {lalDan}. If it's the worship of powerful
supernatural beings, then all we can say that by the 23rd century Klingons
don't worship the gods any more but they did in the past. (Klingons say that
they killed their gods in antiquity.) Thus they still have old words for
"god/goddess" {Qun}, "sin" {yem}, "shrine" {lat}, etc. Even if they don't use
these words as believers do, they can still use them metaphorically and be
understood: e.g. the "sins" of the Federation, the "false gods" of the
Bajorans, etc. Thus, Vok's use of {yem} in KCD was metaphorical or rhetorical.
Another explanation: Vok used {yem} in a quasi-religious sense because, as Vok
stated, the House of Torghn had "invited the spirits of all our Klingon
ancestors" to the {lopno'}. Although modern Klingons no longer worship the
gods, they do believe in the survival of a person's spirit (soul?) in an
afterlife (Sto-Vo-Kor, Gre'thor, the Black Fleet, etc.), Fek'lhr the guardian
of Gre'thor, the myth of Kahless' eventual return to Boreth, etc., not to
mention all forms of honor {batlh}. Perhaps {yem} refers to any transgression
of "sacred" Klingon ethics and values {ghob}, customs {tIgh}, or traditions
{lurDech} as opposed to transgressing written laws {chut}, committing crimes
{HeS} or violating {wem} treaties {mab}.
All we can know for certain is that neither Okrand nor his native informant
Maltz have ever explained the finer points of {yem}.
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons