[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: chuH

[Steven Boozer]

More Klingon lore about Kahless's {batlh 'etlh}:

KGT 59:  According to Klingon tradition, the first bat'leth was forged by Kahless the Unforgettable, the founder of the Klingon Empire, from a lock of his hair dipped in molten lava. Kahless created the name betleH, meaning sword of honor. The word {betleH} is actually an archaic form. In contemporary Klingon, sword of honor would be {batlh 'etlh}, though this phrase is used almost exclusively as a translation or explanation of the older word, {betleH}.

The first was forged by Kahless from a lock of his own hair which he placed in the lava from the Kri'stak volcano. He then plunged the burning lock into the lake of Lursor, twisted it into a blade and killed the evil tyrant Molor with it. ... The {betleH} wielded by the lord of a great house is called an Honor Blade and is considered the repository of the heart and soul of his or her entire clan." (Star Trek: Continuum Klingon Compendium area: "Klingon Linguistic Studies")

KGT 79f.:  Kahless himself is said to have used his bat'leth, the original "Sword of Honor," to carve a statue for the woman he loved, presumably Lukara.

The bat'leth of Kahless was stolen by the Hur'q and centuries later, recovered by Kor and Worf from the Gamma Quadrant in the 24th century. (DS9 "Reunion"?)


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Felix Malmenbeck [mailto:felixm at kth.se]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2012 1:58 PM
> 
> In paq'batlh, there's no talk of reclaiming his father's sword, but it
> does pick up on the story of Kahless forging the first bat'leth from a
> strand of his hair, and that it guided his blood on his journey into
> the netherworld.
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: Steven Boozer [sboozer at uchicago.edu]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2012 20:50
> 
> Aha!  I thought it rang a bell.   So is {qeylIS betleH} a replacement
> for his lost father's sword, or did Kahless retrieve that from the
> volcano?  (Winding up with two swords at the end of the story?)
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Felix Malmenbeck [mailto:felixm at kth.se]
> > Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2012 1:37 PM
> >
> > > BTW which sword was this?  Did Morath fling it into
> > > the volcano to keep Kahless from getting it?
> >
> > It was their father's sword, which Morath had taken. [Not the same as
> > qeylIS betleH, which was forged later.]
> >
> > paq'batlh does not state exactly why he did it, but it appears to be
> > based on Worf's retelling of a story in the TNG episode "Birthright,
> > Part II": http://www.st-minutiae.com/academy/literature329/243.txt
> >
> > Worf:
> > Kahless held his father's lifeless body in his arms. He could not
> > believe what his brother had done. Then his brother threw their
> > father's sword into the sea, saying that if he could not possess it,
> > neither would Kahless. That was the last time the brothers would
> speak.
> >
> > Ba'el:
> > What happened to the sword?
> >
> > Worf:
> > Kahless looked into the ocean and wept, for the sword was all he had
> > left of his father... and the sea filled with his tears and flooded
> > beyond the shore. The people begged Kahless to stop his weeping, and
> > he did... and walked into the water to find the lost sword.
> > He searched and searched the murky ocean bottom, holding his breath
> > for three days and three night...
> >
> > Toq:
> > That is impossible!
> >
> > Worf:
> > For you, perhaps. Not for Kahless. He was a great warrior.
> >
> > Toq:
> > You're making it up.
> >
> > Worf:
> > These are our stories. They tell us who we are.
> >
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > Felix Malmenbeck:
> > > paq'batlh contains no uses of chuH, but it does have a relevant
> > > passage: [...]
> > >
> > > ghIq HoSHa'choHpu' moratlh
> > > QIStaq qul bIQtIqHomDaq
> > > 'etlhDaj vo' nuch
> > >
> > > And Morath's strength was gone,
> > > The coward threw his sword
> > > Into the fire streams of Kri'stak.
> >
> >
> > I might have expected {woD} "throw away" or {jaD} "throw around, hurl
> > about" but as Okrand writes:
> >   [....]
> > Presumably {vo'} "propel" because Morath had to throw the sword out
> > into the volcano with some force, but not because he considered it
> > garbage to be discarded.  Interestingly, Okrand didn't use {polHa'}
> > "discard" either.