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Desert Vocabulary: Subtle Damage
Feb. 6th, 2008 12:57 amPreviously I shared some of the Seshaa vocabulary dealing with talents as organs of the subtle body. Things can go wrong with those, sometimes quite badly. So here are some terms dealing with injuries and ailments of the subtle body.
kiljii kiljíl (phrase) – In the Waterjewel Healers’ lexicon, also in the shamans’ lexicon, means something like “broken hero” or “hero bone, broken” and can refer either to the whole person or to that particular organ of the subtle body. It takes a great deal to break either, and that sort of injury rarely heals well, especially without the attention of a Healer or a shaman or both.
kiljiir (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, means something like “songbone,” “poet bone,” “speaking bone,” or “the bard’s bone,” an organ of the subtle body that prods someone to compose music, write poetry, tell stories, etc. It derives from kilji (“something that pokes and prods”) and shiir (“poetry”).
kiljiiri tiqamuk (phrase) – In Whispering Sands use, means “to choke on the poet’s bone,” that is, to have a serious problem with one’s creativity. It most often refers to writer’s block, but can also refer to having written something that gets one into so much trouble that further writing is difficult or impossible. But it can also be contagious, as when someone who tries to censor a poet loses his own voice. The perfective kiljiiri tiqamuuk implies dying for one’s art: either being murdered for writing something too controversial, or else dying of a broken heart after losing one’s talent or being prevented from using it. The milder kiljiiri tiqamek (“to cough because of the poet’s bone”) refers to a more minor problem, causing a stumble rather than a full stop; for example, stage fright, or forgetting one’s lines and looking stupid.
shaaluk (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, means “permanently jaded.” One of the nastier risks of a decadent lifestyle is damaging one’s reshâlu (“experiencer”), so that nothing seems new or interesting anymore; a bit like liver disease caused by alcoholism. Bandits don’t tend to get into this kind of problem, and may not even believe it exists. Decadent folks may scoff at it, or be terrified by the prospect. In Waterjewel it’s considered a tragic result of a bad lifestyle – something that any competent Healer or shaman can usually repair in time, if the sufferer is willing to make the necessary changes in behavior. The related adjective is shaalukil.
shaluk (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, means “the state of feeling tired in one’s experiencer.” The implication is that a person has had such a busy day that the thought of doing anything else interesting is repellent, even if it’s something fun. The body may not be tired, but the part of the spirit that appreciates doing things is and wants to stop now. It’s rather like being too full to eat dessert. The related adjective is shalukil.
shahnaji (noun) – In Waterjewel use, this is a technical term from the shamanic lexicon, also appearing in the Healers’ lexicon, which is any injury to the subtle body from an outside source. For example, shaziyn (“magical rape”). The term shahnaji derives from shahn (“subtle body”) and aji (“sharp” or “grievous”). The counterpart is zuyn (“subtle body illness”).
tōpulik ref shakasar (phrase) – In Whispering Sands use, means roughly “heartache times heartbreak,” or more colloquially, “compound fracture of the heart,” in this case a subtle injury so severe that the personality never recovers. The temporary version is topulik ref shakasar. The structure is similar to English “adding insult to injury.”
zuyn (noun) – This is a technical term from the shamanic lexicon, which also appears in the Healers’ lexicon, which is a category of complaints best described as diseases of the subtle body arising from within. For example, one of the nastier risks of a decadent lifestyle is damaging one’s experiencer, so that nothing seems new or interesting anymore; a bit like liver disease caused by alcoholism. This tragic condition is called shaaluk. The counterpart is shahnaji (“subtle body injury”)
Theory Notes: Several patterns from the language appear here. 1) Within cultures, there are some specialized lexicons that not everyone necessarily knows or uses. Two of these are the Healer's lexicon and shamanic lexicon in Waterjewel. 2) One categorical distinction in this language is between "temporary" and "permanent" conditions. Another is between conditions arising "from within" and "from outside." 3) Desertfolk are math mavens, and they use a lot of math metaphors, some of which are encoded into the grammar as well as the vocabulary.
When working with a conlang, pay attention to the boundaries. Languages subdivide into smaller groups of words, and the way those groups are arranged can provide valuable information about the culture. Not everyone sorts things into the same categories, so the boundaries can tell you what distinctions are considered important.
kiljii kiljíl (phrase) – In the Waterjewel Healers’ lexicon, also in the shamans’ lexicon, means something like “broken hero” or “hero bone, broken” and can refer either to the whole person or to that particular organ of the subtle body. It takes a great deal to break either, and that sort of injury rarely heals well, especially without the attention of a Healer or a shaman or both.
kiljiir (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, means something like “songbone,” “poet bone,” “speaking bone,” or “the bard’s bone,” an organ of the subtle body that prods someone to compose music, write poetry, tell stories, etc. It derives from kilji (“something that pokes and prods”) and shiir (“poetry”).
kiljiiri tiqamuk (phrase) – In Whispering Sands use, means “to choke on the poet’s bone,” that is, to have a serious problem with one’s creativity. It most often refers to writer’s block, but can also refer to having written something that gets one into so much trouble that further writing is difficult or impossible. But it can also be contagious, as when someone who tries to censor a poet loses his own voice. The perfective kiljiiri tiqamuuk implies dying for one’s art: either being murdered for writing something too controversial, or else dying of a broken heart after losing one’s talent or being prevented from using it. The milder kiljiiri tiqamek (“to cough because of the poet’s bone”) refers to a more minor problem, causing a stumble rather than a full stop; for example, stage fright, or forgetting one’s lines and looking stupid.
shaaluk (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, means “permanently jaded.” One of the nastier risks of a decadent lifestyle is damaging one’s reshâlu (“experiencer”), so that nothing seems new or interesting anymore; a bit like liver disease caused by alcoholism. Bandits don’t tend to get into this kind of problem, and may not even believe it exists. Decadent folks may scoff at it, or be terrified by the prospect. In Waterjewel it’s considered a tragic result of a bad lifestyle – something that any competent Healer or shaman can usually repair in time, if the sufferer is willing to make the necessary changes in behavior. The related adjective is shaalukil.
shaluk (noun) – In Whispering Sands use, means “the state of feeling tired in one’s experiencer.” The implication is that a person has had such a busy day that the thought of doing anything else interesting is repellent, even if it’s something fun. The body may not be tired, but the part of the spirit that appreciates doing things is and wants to stop now. It’s rather like being too full to eat dessert. The related adjective is shalukil.
shahnaji (noun) – In Waterjewel use, this is a technical term from the shamanic lexicon, also appearing in the Healers’ lexicon, which is any injury to the subtle body from an outside source. For example, shaziyn (“magical rape”). The term shahnaji derives from shahn (“subtle body”) and aji (“sharp” or “grievous”). The counterpart is zuyn (“subtle body illness”).
tōpulik ref shakasar (phrase) – In Whispering Sands use, means roughly “heartache times heartbreak,” or more colloquially, “compound fracture of the heart,” in this case a subtle injury so severe that the personality never recovers. The temporary version is topulik ref shakasar. The structure is similar to English “adding insult to injury.”
zuyn (noun) – This is a technical term from the shamanic lexicon, which also appears in the Healers’ lexicon, which is a category of complaints best described as diseases of the subtle body arising from within. For example, one of the nastier risks of a decadent lifestyle is damaging one’s experiencer, so that nothing seems new or interesting anymore; a bit like liver disease caused by alcoholism. This tragic condition is called shaaluk. The counterpart is shahnaji (“subtle body injury”)
Theory Notes: Several patterns from the language appear here. 1) Within cultures, there are some specialized lexicons that not everyone necessarily knows or uses. Two of these are the Healer's lexicon and shamanic lexicon in Waterjewel. 2) One categorical distinction in this language is between "temporary" and "permanent" conditions. Another is between conditions arising "from within" and "from outside." 3) Desertfolk are math mavens, and they use a lot of math metaphors, some of which are encoded into the grammar as well as the vocabulary.
When working with a conlang, pay attention to the boundaries. Languages subdivide into smaller groups of words, and the way those groups are arranged can provide valuable information about the culture. Not everyone sorts things into the same categories, so the boundaries can tell you what distinctions are considered important.
