[Tlhingan-hol] Klingon Word of the Day: qa'

[Steven Boozer]

jaSwa':
> > I've always taken it to mean basically the same thing. Unless you
> want to define a ghost as specifically a spirit that manifests in the
> physical world (and in that case, it will still be a spirit). Klingons
> use *qa'* similarly to English *spirit*; both as in one's essence and
> as one's metaphysical consciousness. To me, that means *ghost* isn't
> much of a stretch for *qa'*.

De'vID:
> Re: the difference between {qa'} "spirit", {nIyma'} "apparition", and
> the concept of "ghost", MO had this to say (MO is speaking and he's
> relaying a message from Maltz in the message):
> 
> http://kli.org/tlhIngan-Hol/2008/November/msg00003.html
> It turns out, {nIyma'} is the Klingon word for "phantom" or
> "apparition" -- something that seems to appear, but isn't really
> there.  It's not the same as "ghost," which is the spirit of a dead
> person (and may or may not look like that person, or may not be
> visible at all), and it's not the same as "spirit" (or {qa'}), which
> is sort of a life force within a person (that escapes when a person
> dies and may exist somewhere somehow).  He said using {qa'} for
> "ghost" was OK, but I got the impression there may be another word as
> well (though he didn't offer one). He said that although the word
> doesn't really mean "invited guest that doesn't show up," it made a
> lot of sense to him to use {nIyma'} to refer to such a person.

This is all we know about {nIyma'}, but we do have more information WRT {qa'}:

KGT 117:  Note that the word for spirit, {qa'}, takes the plural suffix {-pu'}, which is used for beings capable of using language. Spirits do speak.

st.k 7/19/1999:  the plural of {Qun} ["god, supernatural being"] is {Qunpu'} since they are or were presumably capable of using language, which is what the plural suffix {-pu'} implies (...) {Qunpu'} are distinct from {qa'pu'} "spirits" (such as the spirits of the dishonored dead which reside at Gre'thor).

In KCD Immersion Studies Vok says, "The celebration was declared a {lopno'}. You have invited all the spirits of our Klingon ancestors." 

SoHDaq qeylIS qa' yInjaj 
May the spirit of Kahless live within you! PK

"You truly have the spirit of Kahless within you!" (Martok to Worf in DS9 "By Inferno's Light")

qa' wIje'meH maSuv. 
We fight to enrich the spirit. TKW

HeghDI' SuvwI' nargh SuvwI' qa' 
When a warrior dies, his spirit escapes. TKW

TKW 145:  The verb {nargh} ... means "escape", but the same word, or a phonetically identical one, means "appear". Thus, perhaps the Klingons are saying that when a warrior dies, his spirit appears, whereas prior to death it was hidden or disguised by the body. Another interpretation is that the spirit was held prisoner by the body. Worf told Jeremy, whose mother had been killed, "In my tradition, we do not grieve the loss of the body. We celebrate the releasing of the spirit." (cf. TNG "The Bonding") 

After the spirit has departed the body, Klingon warriors consider the corpse to be only an "empty shell", to be disposed of accordingly (cf. TNG "Heart of Glory").

narghbe'chugh SuvwI' qa' taH may' 
If the warrior's spirit has not escaped, the battle is still going on. TKW

ghe'torvo' narghDI' qa'pu' 
when spirits escape from Gre'thor  KGT

KGT 117:  According to mythology, when a dishonored Klingon dies, his or her spirit goes to a place called Gre'thor, there to remain. To speak of spirits escaping from Gre'thor is to speak of an impossibility. The phrase usually follows the statement of what it is that supposedly cannot happen: {jIjegh ghe'torvo' narghDI' qa'pu'} ("I will surrender when spirits escape from Gre'thor").

qaSDI' nenghep, qa' patlh chu' chav tlhIngan SuvwI' 
The Age of Ascension marks a new level of spiritual attainment by a Klingon warrior. S9

SuvwI' qa' patlh veb chavlaHmeH tlhIngan lo'chu' chaH. toDujDaj toblu' 
[They] use the devices [painstiks] to inflict pain in a manner which will allow the Klingon to attain a higher state of spirituality as a warrior, proving his mettle. S32

qa'lI' quv yIpab 
Follow the honor in your spirit PB

Daq HopHa'Daq qa'chaj nejlI' qotar Qempa'QeH je 
Not far away, Kotar and his Qempa'keh, are in search for their souls. PB


The distinction seems to be:  (invisible?) spirit/life force/soul {qa'} vs. (more-or-less visible, however vague) apparition/phantom {nIyma'}.  Okrand was careful to point out that {nIyma'} was neither a ghost nor a spirit and left open the possibility that "there may be another word as well".  (IIRC we wondered whether Klingons would also use {nIyma'} for a hologram - whether of the 20th- or 24th-century variety.)


--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons