KTF/Of Myth And Lore
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|width=550px div align="left"|<p align="center"><font face="KlingonDagger, Arial" size="4">Culture Basics</font></p><br><br><br> | |width=550px div align="left"|<p align="center"><font face="KlingonDagger, Arial" size="4">Culture Basics</font></p><br><br><br> | ||
− | <p><font face="KlingonDagger, Arial" size="4"><b><u>OF MYTH & LORE </u></b></font></p><br><br><br> | + | <p align="center"><font face="KlingonDagger, Arial" size="4"><b><u>OF MYTH & LORE </u></b></font></p><br><br><br> |
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; word-spacing: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"><b>by Barbara M. Paul | <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; word-spacing: 0; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="center"><b>by Barbara M. Paul | ||
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It was a clear night and the stars were shining in all their glory. The fire blazed hot as the young ones arrived for their evening of stories and lessons. Komrek was old, had seen many a battle, and carried the scars to prove it. Now in his declining years when his strength was leaving him he found his heart yearning for the Glory days when he would rush into the battle without fear yelling “Kai Kassai!”. His words striking fear into the enemy. He had one more battle left. How he would meet his death would determine his place in either Sto-Vo-Kor or Gre’Thor.<br><br> | It was a clear night and the stars were shining in all their glory. The fire blazed hot as the young ones arrived for their evening of stories and lessons. Komrek was old, had seen many a battle, and carried the scars to prove it. Now in his declining years when his strength was leaving him he found his heart yearning for the Glory days when he would rush into the battle without fear yelling “Kai Kassai!”. His words striking fear into the enemy. He had one more battle left. How he would meet his death would determine his place in either Sto-Vo-Kor or Gre’Thor.<br><br> | ||
− | + | He sat on a log near the fire and stared into its flames as the young would-be warriors gathered around him. He could see the fire dancing in their eyes as his mind recalled his younger days when he would sit and listen to the old storyteller partake his songs and legends upon him and the others. Now it was his turn to pass on those tales of Glory and Honor to the new generation coming into age.<br><br> | |
− | + | After a few moments, silence once again claimed the night. Only the crackling and roaring of the flames could be heard. He stood slowly steadying his legs and lifting his bat'leth high toward the naked stars that shown down on them he lifted his heart, closed his eyes and cried out “Kai Kassai!”.<br><br> | |
− | + | The cry startled the young ones and they began to tremble. He opened his eyes, lowered his bat’leth, and looked at them. “Qam!” (Stand) he said firmly. They all did as he asked quickly and with purpose. “ Now, look up and tell me what you see?”<br><br> | |
− | + | “I see the stars.” One of them said.<br><br> | |
− | + | “Those stars will see everything you do or fail to do. A Klingon ballad-poem says:<br><br> | |
− | + | <p align="center">‘And though I had slain a thousand foes less one,<br> | |
+ | The thousandth knife found my liver;<br> | ||
+ | The thousandth enemy said to me,<br> | ||
+ | ‘Now you shall die, now none shall know’.<br> | ||
+ | And the fool, looking only down, believed this,<br> | ||
+ | Not seeing above his shoulder, the naked stars.<br> | ||
+ | Each one remembering.’</p><br><br> | ||
7. Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.<br><br> | 7. Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God.<br><br> | ||
8. Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word.<br><br> | 8. Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word.<br><br> |
Revision as of 23:04, 25 February 2012
Klingon Task Force Main Page
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Culture Basics OF MYTH & LORE by Barbara M. Paul It was a clear night and the stars were shining in all their glory. The fire blazed hot as the young ones arrived for their evening of stories and lessons. Komrek was old, had seen many a battle, and carried the scars to prove it. Now in his declining years when his strength was leaving him he found his heart yearning for the Glory days when he would rush into the battle without fear yelling “Kai Kassai!”. His words striking fear into the enemy. He had one more battle left. How he would meet his death would determine his place in either Sto-Vo-Kor or Gre’Thor. He sat on a log near the fire and stared into its flames as the young would-be warriors gathered around him. He could see the fire dancing in their eyes as his mind recalled his younger days when he would sit and listen to the old storyteller partake his songs and legends upon him and the others. Now it was his turn to pass on those tales of Glory and Honor to the new generation coming into age. ‘And though I had slain a thousand foes less one, 7. Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God. The first and second commandments deal with piousness and defending the Church respectively. The concept of being devout if not religious is well known to Klingons. Examples are found in Worf’s dedication to the rituals of the Klingon culture and religious ceremonies such as the Heghtay (Klingon death ritual). The spiritual beliefs in places like Sto-Vo-Kor and Gre'tor and the legendary deeds of Kahless all show the spiritual element contained within Klingon society Klingon spiritual life encompasses a host of ceremonies. Ceremonies such as nentay (Rite of Ascension), majQa tay (Rite of Maj'Qa) and the Darghtay (Tea Ceremony) are all examples of Klingon rituals designed to enrich the Klingon spirit. The Third commandment is a less obvious. The code of chivalry requires knights to protect the weak. In Klingon society weakness is disdained. However, the Klingon proverb -pujwI' HIvlu'chugh quvbe'lu' (there is no honor in attacking the weak) clearly demonstrates the concept of honorable combat and worthy opponents. This protection of the weak can also be seen in Quarks fight with D’Ghor. Quark, challenged by D’Ghor, throws down his Bat’leth and kneels before his attacker. When D’Ghor raises his bat’leth to kill him despite his unarmed stance, Gowron comes to Quark’s aid. Gowron admonishes D’Ghor for this dishonorable act – an act that would kill a weak and unarmed opponent. Although one could argue that Klingons don’t technically protect the weak they do not prey upon the weak either and honor dictates that combat is between worthy opponents. |
The fifth commandment “Thou shalt not recoil before the enemy” is a vital to the code of chivalry and Klingon culture. In a warrior society this is the most important of the commandments. Without courage one cannot have honor -- for the warrior would soon betray his very essence. To die in battle in service to the Empire is the hope of every warrior. Klingon culture is full of examples of the virtue of courage. Heroes such as Kor, Koloth, Kang, Gorkon, Kruge, Gowron, K'mpec, Koord are revered in Klingon society. A son of a Klingon becomes a man when he can hold a blade – emphasizing the courage in the young warrior’s heart. It also symbolizes his willingness to be a worthy member of a House and to carry on the honor of his family. Klingon ceremonies, such as the nenghep (Rite of Ascension) and the Darghtay (Tea Ceremony) show the importance of courage in Klingon culture. Proverbs such as wej Heghchugh vay', SuvtaH SuvwI' (A warrior fights to the death) and may'meyDajvo' Haw'be' tlhIngan (A Klingon does not run away from his battles) illustrates the importance of courage in the Klingon worldview. The sixth tenet of chivalry is "Thou shalt make war against the infidel without cessation and without mercy” The Church in the eleventh century took great pains in trying to transform the wildness of knights into tempered warriors for Christ. For them this was a manner of social control. There is no direct coalition in Klingon society to this tenet. For this was an attempt by the Church in the Middle Ages to provide some manner of protection to them and divert warrior’s attentions to potential economic and religious rivals. For the Church in the eleventh century -- Crusade was an economic and political move which we are still feeling the affects of today. A similar event could be argued in reference to the Klingon Empire. Prior to 2069 the Empire was plagued by nearly constant internal warfare. There is a marked turn in events after the 2069 when the Klingon High Council turned its attention to space. Like, Western Europe the Klingon Home world turns the warrior spirit loose on the non-Klingon universe thus giving an outlet for the warrior spirit. balth potlh law' yIn potlh puS Sources
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