tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Dec 07 07:35:40 2009

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RE: Comments sought on Klingon poem

Steven Boozer ([email protected]) 

'ISqu':
>> reading this line again I realize that using {'u'} in this
>> line may not such a great idea. Though in many contexts {'u'}
>> works really well as a rendition of "heaven/s,"
>> here the word might imply that the entire universe was burnt,
>> not just the abode of the Gods.
>> But if so, the Klingons would have no place to live. I'm not
>> sure what would work better.
>> I doubt we know anything about
>> the place where Klingon gods were supposed to reside.

DloraH:
> /Qun qo'/ ?

That's exactly what I was going to suggest.  {qo'} is usually translated "world":

  DIHIvbe'ch[ugh] qo'chajDaq toy'wI''a' DImoj 
  Attack or be slaves in their world. ST6 

  qo'mey Sar charghtaHvIS chaH Dat tlhIngan may'Duj luleghDI' neH qIb
   nganpu' buQpu' may'Duj 'ej ghIjpu' 'oH. nIteb ghIjpu' je Deghvam 
  this symbol grew to become as feared throughout the galaxy as the
   menacing profiles of their battlecruisers. SP1 

but Okrand has also glossed it as "realm" so it seems to refer to something more than a {yuQ} "planet".

Another option is {ngeHbej} "cosmos":

  vaj toDuj Daj ngeHbej DI vI' 
  Shooting space garbage is no test of a warrior's mettle. ST5/TKW
  ("Sharpshooting of the cosmos' litter inconclusively tests a warrior's courage.") 

Although this was a back-fit for a dittography in the ST5 shooting script and never seen again, it's now available for wider use.  How {ngeHbej} differs from {'u'} "universe" or {logh} "space" in *Klingon* usage is unknown.  I've seen it used a couple of times for "continuum" - as in {Q ngeHbej} "the Q-Continuum" and, for all we know, could refer to a plane of existence, like the one wherein the gods dwell.

qurgh:
>How about QI'tu'?  It seems to be synonymous with Sha Ka Ree, the home of a Vulcan deity.

  ngo'; QI'tu' rur 
  old as Qui'Tu  KGT

KGT 130:  {QI'tu'}, sometimes translated "Paradise", is the mythological source of all creation, hence its association with antiquity. 

The difference between and inter-relationship of {QI'tu'}, Sto-Vo-Kor (the Klingon afterlife where Kahless waits for the honored dead), the Black Fleet, the River of Blood and Gre'thor in Klingon mythology is still not fully understood.  However, the planet {QI'tu'} at the center of our galaxy is surrounded by the Great Barrier, which imprisons the God-Being (ST5). 

According to legend Kortar, the "first" Klingon, and his mate were created in a place called {QI'tu'}. The two destroyed the gods who made them and turned the heavens into ashes. This event is recounted in marriage ceremonies. (DS9 "You Are Cordially Invited...")  Kortar's fate when he died was to ferry Klingon souls over the River of Blood, to Gre'Thor's gates. (VOY "Barge of the Dead")] 

If that first legend WRT Kortar is accurate, {QI'tu'} would be correct.

 
-- 
Voragh                          
Canon Master of the Klingons

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