[90614] in tlhIngan-Hol
Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Kortar and the River of Blood
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steven Boozer)
Wed Nov 9 14:34:10 2011
From: Steven Boozer <sboozer@uchicago.edu>
To: "tlhingan-hol@kli.org" <tlhingan-hol@kli.org>
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 13:33:54 -0600
In-Reply-To: <C305E6BD33E2654DAE1F8F403247B6A6031E43EDD620@EVS02.ad.uchicago.edu>
Errors-To: tlhingan-hol-bounces@stodi.digitalkingdom.org
Voragh:
> We've actually seen a Klingon {bIQ Duj} in VOY "Barge of the Dead":
>=A0Kortar was captain of the mythical Barge of the Dead; he destroyed
> the gods who created him and, as punishment, was condemned to ferry
> the dishonored dead to Grethor.
=
Brent:
>> Maybe this is a silly question, but if he destroyed the gods, who
>> punished him?
=
Voragh:
> jIHagh. You know, I had the same thought as I copied that note into
> my email! Perhaps it was a parting shot from one of the dying gods.
> Or maybe it's the same forces who operate Gre'thor and keep Fek'lhr at
> his post!
Apparently Kortar {qortar} appears in the ('u'} libretto and possibly in th=
e paq'batlh. Here's what little I have in my notes:
According to legend Kortar, the "first" Klingon, and his mate were create=
d 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 Klingon marriag=
e ceremonies. (DS9 "You Are Cordially Invited...")
Kortar was the ferryman on the mythical Barge of the Dead who destroyed t=
he gods who created him and as punishment, he was condemned to ferry the so=
uls of the dishonored dead over the River of Blood to the gates of Gre'thor=
. He's the Klingon equivalent of Charon. (VOY "Barge of the Dead") =
As I re-read these, it's possibly that "destroyed the gods who made him/the=
m" may only refer to those specific gods who made them, not all the ancient=
Klingon gods collectively. Thus there still would be other gods left who =
could have punished him.
And another point... there may be two Rivers of Blood: a physical one on K=
ronos and a mythical one in the Afterlife.
The River Skral {SIqral bIQtIq} is the river on Kronos by Qam-chee where Ka=
hless slew Molor. In the "Way of the Warrior" captions the line /EJAHDAK-S=
O-TAS GHOS VA SKRAAL BYTEEK/ is translated in the novelization by Diane Car=
ey as: "And the River Skral ran crimson red". Is this the "River of Blood"=
('Iw bIQtIq) referred to in the Age of Ascension Ritual? Note the idiom {=
Doq bIQtIq bIQ" "The river water is red" in KGT:
KGT 123: The phrase can be traced back to an old drinking song that commem=
orates the slaying of the tyrant Molor by Kahless. On that day, according t=
o the song, the River Skral ran red; that is, it was filled with the blood =
of Molor.
Why would Klingon warriors say:
'Iw bIQtIqDaq bIlengjaj =
May you travel the River of Blood! PK =
'Iw bIQtIqDaq jIjaH =
I travel the River of Blood. (
if the River of Blood leads to Gre'thor, the afterlife for the dishonored d=
ead? Or could the Klingons - maybe Kahless himself? - have simply called t=
he River Skral "the River of Blood" metaphorically, since Molor is the arch=
etype of a dishonored warrior?
--
Voragh
Ca'Non Master of the Klingons
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