Carpathian Healing Chants -- Thi

Carpathian Healing Chants -- This is Appendix 1 of Dark Demon, supplemented by audio recordings.

To rightly understand Carpathian healing chants, background is required in several areas:

- The Carpathian view on healing
- The "Lesser Healing Chant" of the Carpathians
- The "Great Healing Chant" of the Carpathians

- Carpathian chanting technique

The Carpathian Language -- This is Appendix 2 of Dark Demon, supplemented by audio recordings.

Like all human languages, the language of the Carpathians contains the richness and nuance that can only come from a long history of use. At best we can only touch on some of the main features of the language in this brief appendix:

- The history of the Carpathian language
- Carpathian grammar and other characteristics of the language
- Examples of the Carpathian language
- The Ritual Words
- A much abridged Carpathian dictionary

Note on the Carpathian language examples. The following organization is used for Carpathian language examples:

- First, the actual written Carpathian will be in bold.
- This is followed by the English translation.
- [Then in square brackets is the literal, word by word translation.]
- Finally, in pink, is a rough English pronunciation. Any sounds that don't have English equivalents will be noted. Note also that the emphasis is always on the first syllable (indicated by the underlining). This is very different from English, which has words like "Car-pa-th-ian", where the second syllable, "pa", is the stressed syllable.

Here is an example, taken from The Lesser Healing Chant:

Kuńasz, nélkül sivdobbanás, nélkül fesztelen löyly. You lie as if asleep, without beat of heart, without airy breath. [Lie-as-if-asleep-you, without heart-beat, without airy breath.] Koo-nyahs, nayl-kül shiv-dob-aw-nahsh, nayl-kül fes-tel-en lüee-eye.

Corrections to the Text -- A couple of Carpathian language errors in the text of Dark Demon are listed here.

The Carpathian view on healing

The Carpathians are a nomadic people whose geographical origins can be traced back to at least as far as the Southern Ural Mountains (near the steppes of modern day Kazakhstan), on the border between Europe and Asia. (For this reason, modern-day linguists call their language, "Proto-Uralic", without knowing that this is the language of the Carpathians.) Unlike most nomadic peoples, the wandering of the Carpathians was not due to the need to find new grazing lands as the seasons and climate shifted, or the search for better trade. Instead, the Carpathians'movements were driven by a great purpose: to find a land that would have the right earth, a soil with the kind of richness that would greatly enhance their rejuvenative powers.

Over the centuries, they migrated westward (some six thousand years ago), until they at last found their perfect homeland - their "susu" - in the Carpathian Mountains, whose long arc cradled the lush plains of the kingdom of Hungary. (The kingdom of Hungary flourished for over a millennium - making Hungarian the dominant language of the Carpathian Basin - until the kingdom's lands were split among several countries after World War I: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, and modern Hungary.)

Other peoples from the Southern Urals (who shared the Carpathian language, but were not Carpathians) migrated in different directions. Some ended up in Finland, which accounts for why the modern Hungarian and Finnish languages are among the contemporary descendents of the ancient Carpathian language. Even though they are tied forever to their chosen Carpathian homeland, the wandering of the Carpathians continues, as they search the world for the answers that will enable them to bear and raise their offspring without difficulty.

Because of their geographical origins, the Carpathian views on healing share much with the larger Eurasian shamanistic tradition. Probably the closest modern representative of that tradition is based in Tuva (and is referred to as "Tuvinian Shamanism") - see the map above.

The Eurasian shamanistic tradition - from the Carpathians to the Siberian shamans - held that illness originated in the human soul, and only later manifested as various physical conditions. Therefore, shamanistic healing, while not neglecting the body, focused on the soul and its healing. The most profound illnesses were understood to be caused by "soul departure", where all or some part of the sick person's soul has wandered away from the body (into the nether realms), or has been captured or possessed by an evil spirit, or both.

The Carpathians belong to this greater Eurasian shamanistic tradition, and shared its viewpoints. While the Carpathians themselves did not succumb to illness, Carpathian healers understood that the most profound wounds were also accompanied by a similar "soul departure".

Upon reaching the diagnosis of "soul departure", the healer-shaman is then be required to make a spiritual journey into the nether worlds, to recover the soul. The shaman may have to overcome tremendous challenges along the way, particularly: fighting the demon or vampire who has possessed his friend's soul."

Soul departure" doesn't require a person to be unconscious (although that certainly can be the case as well). It was understood that a person could still appear to be conscious, even talk and interact with others, and yet be missing a part of their soul. The experienced healer or shaman would instantly see the problem nonetheless, in subtle signs that others might miss: the person's attention wandering every now and then, a lessening in their enthusiasm about life, chronic depression, a diminishment in the brightness of their "aura", and the like.

The Lesser Healing Chant
of the Carpathians

Kepä Sarna Pus (The "Lesser Healing Chant") is used for wounds that are merely physical in nature. The Carpathian healer leaves his body, and enters the wounded Carpathian's body to heal great mortal wounds from the inside out using pure energy. He proclaims, "I offer freely, my life for your life", as he gives his blood to the injured Carpathian. Because the Carpathians are of the earth and bound to the soil, they are healed by the soil of their homeland. Their saliva is also often used for its rejuvenative powers.

It is also very common for the Carpathian chants (both the lesser and the great one) to be accompanied by the use of healing herbs, aromas from Carpathian candles, and crystals. The crystals (when combined with the Carpathians' empathic, psychic connection to the entire universe) are used to gather positive energy from their surroundings which then is used to accelerate the healing. Caves are sometimes used as the setting for the healing.

The lesser healing chant was used by Vikirnoff Von Shrieder and Colby Jansen to heal Rafael De La Cruz, whose heart had been ripped out by a vampire as described in Dark Secret.

Kepä Sarna Pus (The Lesser Healing Chant)
[pronounced: Keh-paa Sawr-naw Poosh]
MP3

The same chant is used for all physical wounds. "sívadaba" ["into your heart"] would be changed to refer to whatever part of the body is wounded.

The complete chant (1 minute and 54 seconds) is currently available in these formats:

- MP3 -- 1.8MB

Kuńasz, nélkül sivdobbanás, nélkül fesztelen löyly.
You lie as if asleep, without beat of heart, without airy breath.
[Lie-as-if-asleep-you, without heart-beat, without airy breath.]
Koo-nyahs, nayl-kül shiv-dob-aw-nahsh, nayl-kül fes-tel-en lüee-eye.

Ot élidamet andam szabadon élidadért.
I offer freely my life for your life.
[Life-my give-I freely life-your-for.]
Oht ayl-ih-da-met awn-dawm sa-ba-dohn ayl-ih-da-dayrt.

O jelä sielam jŏrem ot ainamet és soŋe ot élidadet.
My spirit of light forgets my body and enters your body.
[The sunlight soul-my forgets the body-my and enters the body-your.]
Oh yea-laa shee-eh-lawm yah-rem oht ayn-aw-met aysh shoh-ngeh oht ayl-ih-da-deht.
[ä as in "hat". ŋ something like English "ng".]

O jelä sielam pukta kinn minden szelemeket belső.
My spirit of light sends all the dark spirits within fleeing without.
[The sunlight-soul-my puts-to-flight outside all ghost-s inside.]
Oh yea-laa shee-eh-lawm pook-taw kinn mihn-den seh-leh-meh-keht behl-sho(n).
[ä as in "hat" . . . ő nasal vowel as in French "on".]

Pajńak o susu hanyet és o nyelv nyálamet sívadaba.
I press the earth of our homeland and the spit of my tongue into your heart.
[Press-I the homeland earth and the tongue spit-my heart-your-into.]
Pawy-nyawk oh shoo-shoo haw-nyeht aysh oh nyehlv nyaa-law-meht shee-vaw-daw-baw.

Vii, o verim soŋe o verid andam.
At last, I give you my blood for your blood.
[At-last, the blood-my to-replace the blood-your give-I.]
Veye-ee, oh veh-rihm shoh-ngeh oh veh-rihd awn-dawm.
[ŋ something like English "ng".]

The Great Healing Chant
of the Carpathians

The most well-known -- and most dramatic -- of the Carpathian healing chants was En Sarna Pus ("The Great Healing Chant"). This chant was reserved for recovering the wounded or unconscious Carpathian's soul.

Typically a group of men would form a circle around the sick Carpathian (to "encircle him with our care and compassion"), and begin the chant. The shaman or healer or leader is the prime actor in this healing ceremony. It is he who will actually make the spiritual journey into the nether world, aided by his clanspeople. Their purpose is to ecstatically dance, sing, drum, and chant, all the while visualizing (through the words of the chant) the journey itself -- every step of it, over and over again -- to the point where the shaman, in trance, leaves his body, and makes that very journey. (Indeed, the word "ecstasy" is from the Latin ex statis, which literally means "out of the body".)

One advantage that the Carpathian healer has over many other shamans, is his telepathic link to his lost brother. Most shamans must wander in the dark of the nether realms, in search of their lost brother. But the Carpathian healer directly "hears" in his mind the voice of his lost brother calling to him, and can thus "zero in" on his soul like a homing beacon. For this reason, Carpathian healing tends to have a higher success rate than most other traditions of this sort.

Something of the geography of the "other world" is useful for us to examine, in order to fully understand the words of the Great Carpathian Healing Chant. A reference is made to the "Great Tree" (in Carpathian: En Puwe). Many ancient traditions, including the Carpathian tradition, understood the worlds-- the heaven worlds, our world, and the nether realms -- to be "hung" upon a great pole, or axis, or tree. Here on earth, we are positioned halfway up this tree, on one of its branches. Hence many ancient texts often referred to the material world as "middle earth": midway between heaven and hell. Climbing the tree would lead one to the heaven worlds. Descending the tree to its roots would lead to the nether realms. The shaman was necessarily a master of movement up and down the Great Tree, sometimes moving unaided, and sometimes assisted by (or even mounted upon the back of) an animal spirit guide. In various traditions, this Great Tree was known variously as the axis mundi (Latin: the "axis of the worlds"), Ygddrasil (in Norse mythology), Mount Meru (the sacred world mountain of Tibetan tradition), etc. The Christian cosmos with its "heaven", "purgatory/earth", and hell", is also worth comparing. It is even given a similar topography in Dante's Divine Comedy: Dante is led on a journey first to "hell", at the center of the earth; then upward to "Mount Purgatory" which sits on the earth's surface directly opposite Jerusalem; then further upward first to "Eden", the earthly paradise, at the summit of Mount Purgatory; and then upward at last to "heaven".

In the shamanistic tradition, it was understood that the small always reflects the large; the personal always reflects the cosmic. A movement in the greater dimensions of the cosmos also coincides with an internal movement. For example, the axis mundi of the cosmos also corresponds to the spinal column of the individual. Journeys up and down the axis mundi often coincided with the movement of natural and spiritual energies (sometimes called kundalini or shakti) in the spinal column of the shaman or mystic.

En Sarna Pus ("The Great Healing Chant")
pronounced: Ehn Sawr-naw Poosh
MP3

In this chant, ekä ("brother") would be replaced by "sister", "father", "mother", depending on the person to be healed.

The complete chant (6 minutes and 24 seconds) is currently available in these formats:

- MP3 -- 6.1MB

Ot ekäm ainajanak hany, jama.
My brother's body is a lump of earth, close to death.
[The brother-my body-his-of lump-of-earth, is-near-death.]
Oht eh-kaam eye-naw-yaw-nawk haw-nyuh, yaw-maw.
[ä as in "hat", ai as in "aisle"]

Me, ot ekäm kuntajanak, pirädak ekäm, gond és irgalom türe.
We, the clan of my brother, encircle him with our care and compassion.
[We, the brother-my clan-his-of, encircle brother-my, care and compassion full.]
Meh,
oht eh-kaam koon-taw-yaw-nawk,
pee-raa-dawk eh-kaam,
gohnd aysh ir-gaw-lohm tü-reh.
[ä as in "hat", ü as in French]
O pus wäkenkek, ot oma śarnank, és ot pus fünk, álnak ekäm ainajanak, pitänak ekäm ainajanak elävä.
Our healing energies, ancient words of magic, and healing herbs bless my brother's body, keep it alive.
[The healing power-our-s, the ancient words-of-magic-our, and the healing herbs-our, bless brother-my body-his-of, keep brother-my body-his-of alive.]
Oh poosh waa-kehn-kehk,
oht oh-maw ssshawr-nawnk,
aysh oht poosh fünk,
aahl-nawk eh-kaam eye-naw-yaw-nawk,
pee-taa-nawk eh-kaam eye-naw-yaw-nawk eh-laa-vaa.
[ ä as in "hat", á between a as in hat and a as in father]
Ot ekäm sielanak pälä. Ot omboće päläja juta alatt o jüti, kinta, és szelemek lamtijaknak.
But my brother's soul is only half. His other half wanders in the nether world.
[The brother-my soul-his-of (is) half. The other half-his wanders through the night, mist, and ghosts lowland-their-of.]
Oht eh-kaam shee-eh-law-nawk paa-laa.
Oht ohm-boh-ccheh paa-laa-yaw yoo-taw aw-lawtt oh yü-tee,
keen-taw,
aysh seh-leh-mehk lawm-tee-yawk-nawk.
[ć soft "ch" as in cheese, ü as in French]
Ot en mekem ŋamaŋ: kulkedak otti ot ekäm omboće päläjanak.
My great deed is this: I travel to find my brother's other half.
[The great deed-my (is) this: travel-I to-find the brother-my other half-his-of.]
Oht ayn meh-kehm ngaw-mawng:
kool-keh-dawk oht-tee eh-kaam ohm-boh-ccheh paa-laa-yaw-nawk.
Rekatüre, saradak, tappadak, odam, kaŋa o numa waram, és avaa owe o lewl mahoz.
We dance, we chant, we dream ecstatically, to call my spirit bird, and to open the door to the other world.
[Ecstasy-full, dance-we, dream-we, to call the god bird-my, and open the door spirit land-to.]
Reh-kaw-tü-reh,
saw-raw-dawk,
tawp-paw-dawk,
oh-dawm,
kaw-ngaw oh noo-maw waw-rawm,
aysh aw-vaw-aw oh-weh oh lehwl maw-hohz
Ntak o numa waram, és mozdulak, jomadak.
I mount my spirit bird and we begin to move, we are underway.
[Mount-I the god bird-my, and begin-to-move-we, are-on-our-way-we.]
Uhntawk oh noo-maw waw-rawm,
aysh mohz-doo-lawk,
yoh-maw-dawk.
Piwtädak ot En Puwe tyvinak, ećidak alatt o jüti, kinta, és szelemek lamtijaknak.
Following the trunk of the Great Tree, we fall into the nether world.
[Follow-we the Great Tree trunk-of, fall-we through the night, mist, and ghosts lowland-their-of.]
Pee-oo-taa-dawk oht Ehn Poo-weh tyuh-vee-nawk,
eh-cchee-dawk aw-lawt oh yü-tee,
keen-taw,
aysh seh-leh-mehk lawm-tee-yawk-nawk.
[ ä as in "hat"]
Fázak, fázak nó o śaro.
It is cold, very cold.
[Feel-cold-I, feel-cold-I like the frozen snow.]
Faah-zawk,
Faah-zawk noh oh sshaw-ro.
[ś is a soft sh.]
Juttadak ot ekäm o akarataban, o sívaban, és o sielaban.
My brother and I are linked in mind, heart, and soul.
[Am-bound-to-I the brother-my the mind-in, the heart-in, and the soul-in.]
Yoo-taw-dawk oht eh-kaam oh aw-kaw-raw-taw-bawn,
oh shee-vaw-bawn,
aysh oh shee-eh-law-bawn.
[ ä as in "hat".]
Ot ekäm sielanak kaŋa engem.
My brother's soul calls to me.
[The brother-my soul-his-of calls-to me.]
Oht eh-kaam shee-eh-lawn-awk kaw-ngaw ehn-gehm.
[ŋ something like English "ng".]
Kuledak és piwtädak ot ekäm.
I hear and follow his track.
[Hear-I and follow-the-trail-of-I the brother-my.]
Koo-leh-dawk aysh pee-ew-taa-dawk oht eh-kaam.
Saγedak és tuledak ot ekäm kulyanak.
Encounter-I the demon who is devouring my brother's soul.
[Arrive-I and meet-I the brother-my demon-who-devours-soul-his-of.]
Saw-geh-dawk aysh too-leh-dawk oht eh-kaam kooee-yaw-nawk.
Nenäm ćoro; o kuly torodak.
In anger, I fight the demon.
[Anger-my flows; the demon-who-devours-souls fight-I.]
Neh-naam cchoh-roh;
oh koo-eeyuh toh-roh-dawk.
O kuly pél engem.
He is afraid of me.
[The demon-who-devours-souls (is) afraid-of me.]
Oh koo-eeyuh payl ehn-gehm.
Lejkkadak o kaŋka salamaval.
I strike his throat with a lightning bolt.
[Strike-I the throat-his bolt-of-lightning-with.]
Lehyk-kaw-dawk oh kawng-kaw saw-law-maw-vawl.
Molodak ot ainaja komakamal.
I break his body with my bare hands.
[Break-I the body-his empty-hand-s-my-with.]
Moh-loh-dawk oht aye-naw-yaw ko-maw-kaw-mawl.
Toja és molanâ.
He is bent over, and falls apart.
[(He)bends and (he)crumbles.]
Toh-yaw aysh moh-law-nuy.
[â is like the u of American cut, followed by a glide (as y in English yet )]
Hän ćaδa.
He runs away.
[He flees.]
Haan cchaw-dthaw.
[δ is between "d" and "dz".]
Manedak ot ekäm sielanak.
I rescue my brother's soul.
[Rescue-I the brother-my soul-his-of.]
Maw-neh-dawk oht eh-kaam shee-eh-law-nawk.
Alədak ot ekäm sielanak o komamban.
I lift my brother's soul in the hollow of my hand.
[Lift-I the brother-my soul-his-of the hollow-of-hand-my-in.]
Awl-uh-dawk oht eh-kaam shee-eh-law-nawk oh koh-mawm-bawn.
Alədam ot ekäm numa waramra.
I lift him onto my spirit bird.
[Lift-I the brother-my god bird-my-onto.]
Awl-uh-dawm oht eh-kaam noo-maw waw-rawm-raw.
Piwtädak ot En Puwe tyvijanak és saγedak jälleen ot elävä ainak majaknak.
Following up the Great Tree, we return to the land of the living.
[Follow-we the Great Tree trunk-its-of, and reach-we again the living bodie-s land-their-of.]
Pee-ew-taa-dawk oht Ehn Poo-weh tyuh-vee-yaw-nawk
aysh saw-geh-dawk yaal-leh-ehn oht eh-laa-vaa eye-nawk maw-yawk-nawk.
Ot ekäm elä jälleen.
My brother lives again.
[The brother-my lives again.]
Oht eh-kaam eh-laa jaal-leh-ehn.
Ot ekäm weńća jälleen.
He is complete again.
[The brother-my (is) complete again.]
Oht eh-kaam weh-nyuh-cchaw jaal-leh-ehn.

Carpathian Chanting Technique

As with their healing techniques, the actual "chanting technique" of the Carpathians has much in common with the other shamanistic traditions of the Central Asian steppes. The primary mode of chanting was throat chanting using overtones. Modern examples of this manner of singing can still be found in the Mongolian, Tuvan, and Tibetan traditions. Resemblances can be found in the style and instrumentation of Carpathian chanting to all of these chanting traditions, even while at the same time Carpathian chanting also possesses utterly unique features.

Listen to this audio excerpt (of the Gyuto Tibetan Buddhist monks) for comparison:

The audio excerpt (2 minutes and 32 seconds) is currently available in these formats:

- MP3 -- 2.1MB

The beginning part of the Tibetan chant emphasizes synchronizing all the voices around a single tone, aimed at healing a particular "chakra" of the body. This is fairly typical of the Gyuto throat chanting tradition, but it is not a significant part of the Carpathian tradition. Nonetheless, it serves as an interesting contrast.

The part of the Gyuto chanting example that is most similar to the Carpathian style of chanting is the mid-section, where the men are chanting the words together with great force. The purpose here is not to generate a "healing tone" that will affect a particular "chakra", but rather to generate as much power as possible for initiating the "out of body" travel, and for fighting the demonic forces that the healer/traveler must face and overcome.

The history of the Carpathian language

The Carpathian language of today is essentially identical to the Carpathian language of thousands of years ago. A "dead" language like Latin has evolved into a significantly different modern language (Italian) because of countless generations of speakers and great historical fluctuations. In contrast, many of the speakers of Carpathian from thousands of years ago are still alive. Their presence -- coupled with the deliberate isolation of the Carpathians from the other major forces of change in the world -- has acted (and continues to act) as a stabilizing force that has preserved the language over the centuries. Carpathian culture has also acted as a stabilizing force. For instance, the Ritual Words, various healing chants (including The Lesser Healing Chant and The Great Healing Chant, and other cultural artifacts have been passed down the centuries with great fidelity.

One small exception should be noted: the splintering of the Carpathians into separate geographic regions has led to some minor dialectization. However the telepathic links among all Carpathians has ensured that the differences among dialects are relatively superficial (e.g., small numbers of new words, minor differences in pronunciation, etc.), since the deeper, internal language of mind-forms has remained the same because of continuous use across space and time.

The Carpathian language was (and still is) the proto-language for the Uralic (or Finno-Ugrian) family of languages. Today, the Uralic languages are spoken in northern, eastern and central Europe and in Siberia. More than 23 million people in the world speak languages that can trace their ancestry to Carpathian. Magyar or Hungarian (about 14 million speakers), Finnish (about 5 million speakers), and Estonian (about 1 million speakers), are the three major contemporary descendents of this proto-language. The only factor that unites the more than twenty languages in the Uralic family is that their ancestry can be traced back to a common proto-language -- Carpathian -- which split (starting some 6,000 years ago) into the various languages in the Uralic family. In the same way, European languages such as English and French, belong to the better-known Indo-European family and also evolve from a common proto-language ancestor (a different one from Carpathian).

The following table provides a sense for some of the similarities in the language family.

Note: The Finnic/Carpathian "k" shows up often as Hungarian "h". Similarly, the Finnic/Carpathian "p" often corresponds to the Hungarian "f".

Carpathian (proto-Uralic) | Finnish (Suomi) | Hungarian (Magyar)
elä - live | elä - live | él - live
elid - life | elinikä - life | élet - life
pesä - nest | pesä - nest | fészek - nest
kola - die | kuole - die | hal - die
pälä - half, side | pieltä - tilt, tip to the side | fél, fele - fellow human, friend (half; one side of two) feleség - wife
and - give | anta, antaa - give | ad - give
koje - husband, man | koira - dog, the male (of animals) | here - drone, testicle
wäke - power | väki - folks, people, men; force väkevä - powerful, strong | val/-vel - with (instrumental suffix) vele - with him/her/it
wete - water | vesi - water | víz - water

Carpathian grammar and
other characteristics of the language

Idioms. As both an ancient language, and a language of an earth people, Carpathian is more inclined toward use of idioms constructed from concrete, "earthy" terms, rather than abstractions. For instance, our modern abstraction, "to cherish", is expressed more concretely in Carpathian as "to hold in one's heart"; the "nether world" is, in Carpathian, "the land of night, fog, and ghosts"; etc.

Word order. The order of words in a sentence is determined not by syntactic roles (like subject, verb, and object) but rather by pragmatic, discourse-driven factors. Examples: "Tied vagyok." ("Yours am I."); "Sívamet andam." ("My heart I give you.")

Agglutination. The Carpathian language is agglutinative; that is, longer words are constructed from smaller components. An agglutinating language uses suffixes or prefixes whose meaning is generally unique, and which are concatenated one after another without overlap. In Carpathian, words typically consist of a stem that is followed by one or more suffixes. For example, "sívambam" derives from the stem "sív" ("heart") followed by "am" ("my", making it "my heart"), followed by "bam" ("in", making it "in my heart"). As you might imagine, agglutination in Carpathian can sometimes produce very long words, or words that are very difficult to pronounce. Vowels often get inserted between suffixes, to prevent too many consonants from appearing in a row (which can make the word unpronounceable).

Noun cases. Like all languages, Carpathian has many noun cases; the same noun will be "spelled" differently depending on its role in the sentence. Some of the noun cases include: nominative (when the noun is the subject of the sentence), accusative (when the noun is a direct object of the verb), dative (indirect object), genitive (or possessive), instrumental, final, supressive, inessive, elative, terminative, and delative.

We will use the possessive (or genitive) case as an example, to illustrate how all noun cases in Carpathian involve adding standard suffixes to the noun stems. Thus expressing possession in Carpathian - "my lifemate", "your lifemate", "his lifemate", "her lifemate", etc. - involves adding a particular suffix (such as "-am") to the noun stem ("päläfertiil"), to produce the possessive ("päläfertiilam" - "my lifemate"). Which suffix to use depends upon which person ("my", "your", "his", etc.) and whether the noun ends in a consonant or vowel. The following table shows the suffixes for singular nouns only (not plural), and also shows the similarity to the suffixes used in contemporary Hungarian. (Hungarian is actually a little more complex, in that it also requires "vowel rhyming": which suffix to use also depends on the last vowel in the noun; hence the multiple choices in the cells below, where Carpathian only has a single choice.)

person | noun ends in vowel | noun ends in consonant | noun ends in vowel | noun ends in consonant
1st singular (my) | -m | -am | -m | -om, -em, -öm
2nd singular (your) | -d | -ad | -d | -od, -ed, -öd
3rd singular (his,her,its) | -ja | -a | -ja/-je | -a, -e
1st plural (our) | -nk | -ank | -nk | -unk, -ünk
2nd plural (your) | -tak | -atak | -tok, -tek, -tök | -otok,-etek, -ötök
3rd plural (their) | -jak | -ak | -juk, -jük | -uk, -ük

Note: As mentioned earlier, vowels often get inserted between the word and its suffix so as to prevent too many consonants from appearing in a row (which would produce unpronounceable words). For example, in the table above, all nouns that end in a consonant are followed by suffixes beginning with "a".

Verb conjugation. Like its modern descendents (such as Finnish and Hungarian), Carpathian has many verb tenses, far too many to describe here. We will just focus on the conjugation of the present tense. Again, we will place contemporary Hungarian side by side with the Carpathian, because of the marked similarity of the two.

As with the possessive case for nouns, the conjugation of verbs is done by adding a suffix onto the verb stem:

person | Carpathian (proto-Uralic) | contemporary Hungarian
1st (I give) | -am (andam), -ak | -ok, -ek, -ök
2nd singular (you give) | -sz (andsz) | -sz
3rd singular (he/she/it gives) | -- (and) | --
1st plural (we give) | -ak (andak) | -unk, -ünk
2nd plural (you give) | -tak (andtak) | -tok, -tek, -tök
3rd plural (they give) | -nak (andnak) | -nak, -nek

As with all languages, there are many "irregular verbs" in Carpathian that don't exactly fit this pattern. But the above table is still a useful guideline for most verbs.

Examples of the Carpathian language

Here are some brief examples of conversational Carpathian, used in the Dark books. We include the literal translation in square brackets. It is often interestingly different from the most appropriate English translation.

Susu.
I am home.
["home/birthplace". "I am" is understood, as is often the case in Carpathian.]
Shoo-shoo
MP3

Möért?
What-for?
Mö-ayrt?
[ö as in German]
MP3

csitri
little one
["little slip of a thing", "little slip of a girl"]
chee-tree
MP3

ainaak enyém
forever mine
eye-naw-awk ehn-yaym
MP3

ainaak sívamet jutta
forever mine (another form)
["forever to-my-heart connected/fixed"]
eye-naw-awk shee-vaw-meht yoot-taw]
MP3

sívamet
my love
["of-my-heart"," to-my-heart"]
shee-vaw-meht
MP3

Sarna Rituaali
(The Ritual Words)

Sarna Rituaali, "The Ritual Words" (pronounced "Shawr-naw Ree-too-aa-lee") is a longer example of Carpathian, and an example of chanted rather than conversational Carpathian. Note the recurring use of "andam" ("I give"), to give the chant musicality and force through repetition. Note also that Carpathian chanting does not require the words to be "sung" -- though all the chants have associated melodies, and can be sung as well.

The complete chant (2 minutes and 58 seconds) is currently available in these formats:

- MP3 -- 2.5MB

Te avio päläfertiilam.
You are my lifemate.
[You wedded wife-my.
"are" is understood, as is generally the case in Carpathian when one thing is equated with another: "You = my lifemate".]
Teh aw-vee-oh paa-laa-fehr-tee-ee-lawm.

Éntölam kuulua, avio päläfertiilam.
I claim you as my lifemate.
[To-me belong-you, wedded wife-my.]
Ayn-tö-lawm koo-oo-loo-aw, aw-vee-oh paa-laa-fehr-tee-ee-lawm.

Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed.
I belong to you.
[To-you belong-I, lover-your, man/husband/drone-your.]
Tehd koo-oo-loo-awk, kaw-tsawd, koh-yehd.

Élidamet andam.
I offer my life for you.
[Life-my give-I. "you" is understood.]
Ayl-ih-da-met awn-dawm.

Pesämet andam.
I give you my protection.
[Nest-my give-I.]
Peh-saa-meht awn-dawm.

Uskolfertiilamet andam.
I give you my allegiance.
[Fidelity-my give-I.]
Oo-shkohl-fehr-tee-ee-law-meht awn-dawm.

Sívamet andam.
I give you my heart.
[Heart-my give-I.]
Shee-vaw-meht awn-dawm.

Sielamet andam.
I give you my soul.
[Soul-my give-I.]
Shee-ehl-aw-meht awn-dawm.

Ainamet andam.
I give you my body.
[Body-my give-I.]
Eye-naw-meht awn-dawm.

Sívamet kuuluak kaik että a ted.
I take into my keeping the same that is yours.
[To-my-heart hold-I all that-is yours.]
Shee-vaw-meht koo-oo-loo-awk keye-eek eht-taa aw tehd.

Ainaak olenszal sívambin.
Your life will be cherished by me for all my time.
[Forever will-be-you in-my-heart.]
Eye-naw-awk oh-lehn-sawl shee-vawm-been.

Te élidet ainaak pide minan.
Your life will be placed above my own for all time.
[Your life forever above mine.]
Teh ay-lee-deht eye-naw-awk pee-deh mee-nawn.

Te avio päläfertiilam.
You are my lifemate.
[You wedded wife-my.]
Teh aw-vee-oh paa-laa-fehr-tee-ee-lawm.

Ainaak sívamet jutta oleny.
You are bound to me for all eternity.
[Forever to-my-heart connected are-you.]
Eye-naw-awk shee-vaw-meht yoot-taw oh-leh-nyuh.

Ainaak terád vigyázak.
You are always in my care.
[Forever you I-take-care-of.]
Eye-naw-awk teh-raad vee-jyaa-awk

A much abridged Carpathian dictionary

This very much abridged Carpathian dictionary contains most of the Carpathian words used in these Dark books. Of course, a full Carpathian dictionary would be as large as the usual dictionary for an entire language.

Note: The Carpathian nouns and verbs below are word stems. They generally do not appear in their isolated, "stem" form, as below. Instead, they usually appear with suffixes (e.g., "andam" - "I give", rather than just the root, "and").

- aina - body.
- ainaak - forever.
- akarat - mind; will.
- ál - bless, attach to.
- alatt - through.
- alə - to lift; to raise.
- and - to give.
- avaa - to open.
- avio - wedded.
- avio päläfertiil - lifemate.
- belső - within; inside.
- ćaδa - to flee; to run; to escape.
- ćoro - to flow; to run like rain.
- csitri - little one (female).
- ekä - brother.
- elä - to live.
- elävä - alive.
- elävä ainak majaknak - land of the living.
- elid - life.
- én - I.
- en - great, many, big.
- En Puwe - The Great Tree. Related to the legends of Ygddrasil, the axis mundi, Mount Meru, heaven and hell, etc.
- engem - me.
- eći - to fall.
- ek - suffix added after a noun ending in a consonant to make it plural.
- és - and.
- että - that.
- fáz - to feel cold or chilly.
- fertiil - fertile one.
- fesztelen - airy.
- fü - herbs; grass.
- gond - care; worry (noun).
- hän - he; she; it.
- hany - clod; lump of earth.
- irgalom - compassion; pity; mercy.
- jälleen - again.
- jama - to be sick, wounded, or dying; to be near death (verb).
- jelä - sunlight; day, sun; light.
- joma - to be underway; to go.
- jŏrem - to forget; to lose one's way; to make a mistake.
- juta - to go; to wander.
- jüti - night; evening.
- jutta - connected; fixed (adj.). to connect; to fix; to bind (verb).
- k - suffix added after a noun ending in a vowel to make it plural.
- kaca - male lover.
- kaik - all (noun).
- kaŋa - to call; to invite; to request; to beg.
- kaŋk - windpipe; adam's apple; throat.
- Karpatii - Carpathian.
- käsi - hand.
- kepä - lesser, small, easy, few.
- kinn - out; outdoors; outside; without.
- kinta - fog, mist, smoke.
- koje - man; husband; drone.
- kola - to die.
- koma - empty hand; bare hand; palm of the hand; hollow of the hand.
- kont - warrior.
- kule - hear.
- kuly - intestinal worm; tapeworm; demon who possesses and devours souls.
- kulke - to go or to travel (on land or water).
- kuńa - to lie as if asleep; to close or cover the eyes in a game of hide-and-seek; to die.
- kunta - band, clan, tribe, family.
- kuulua - to belong; to hold.
- lamti - lowland; meadow.
- lamti ból jüti, kinta, ja szelem - the nether world (literally: the meadow of night, mists, and ghosts).
- lejkka - crack, fissure, split (noun). To cut; to hit; to strike forcefully (verb).
- lewl - spirit.
- lewl ma - the other world (literally: spirit land). Lewl ma includes lamti ból jüti, kinta, ja szelem: the nether world, but also includes the worlds higher up En Puwe, the Great Tree.
- löyly - breath; steam. (related to lewl: spirit).
- ma - land; forest.
- mäne - rescue; save.
- me - we.
- meke - deed; work (noun). To do; to make; to work (verb).
- minan - mine.
- minden - every, all (adj.).
- möért? - what for? (exclamation).
- molo - to crush; to break into bits.
- molanâ - to crumble; to fall apart.
- mozdul - to begin to move, to enter into movement.
- nä - for.
- ŋamaŋ - this; this one here.
- nélkül - without.
- nenä - anger.
- nó - like; in the same way as; as.
- numa - god; sky; top; upper part; highest (related to the English word: numinous).
- nyelv - tongue.
- nyál - saliva; spit (noun). (related to nyelv: tongue).
- odam - dream; sleep (verb).
- oma - old; ancient.
- omboće - other; second (adj.).
- o - the (used before a noun beginning with a consonant).
- ot - the (used before a noun beginning with a vowel).
- otti - to look; to see; to find.
- owe - door.
- pajna - to press.
- pälä - half; side.
- päläfertiil - mate or wife.
- pél - to be afraid; to be scared of.
- pesä - nest (literal); protection (figurative).
- pide - above.
- pirä - circle; ring (noun). To surround; to enclose (verb).
- pitä - keep, hold.
- piwtä - to follow; to follow the track of game.
- pukta - to drive away; to persecute; to put to flight.
- pusm - to be restored to health.
- pus - healthy; healing.
- puwe - tree; wood.
- reka - ecstasy; trance.
- rituaali - ritual.
- saγe - to arrive; to come; to reach.
- salama - lightning; lightning bolt.
- sarna - words; speech; magic incantation (noun). To chant; to sing; to celebrate (verb).
- śaro - frozen snow.
- siel - soul.
- sisar - sister.
- sív - heart.
- sívdobbanás - heartbeat.
- soŋe - to enter; to penetrate; to compensate; to replace.
- susu - home; birthplace (noun). at home (adv.).
- szabadon - freely.
- szelem - ghost.
- tappa - to dance; to stamp with the feet (verb).
- te - you.
- ted - yours.
- toja - to bend; to bow; to break.
- toro - to fight; to quarrel.
- tule - to meet; to come.
- türe - full, satiated, accomplished.
- tyvi - stem; base; trunk.
- uskol - faithful.
- uskolfertiil - allegiance.
- veri - blood.
- vigyáz - to care for; to take care of.
- vii - last; at last; finally.
- wäke - power.
- wara - bird; crow.
- weńća - complete; whole.
- wete - water.

Corrections to the Text

As you can imagine, it isn't every day that fiction book publishers receive a new language from one of their authors! So not too surprisingly, a couple of errors crept into the text of the appendices in Dark Demon:

- p. 503: refers to a map that do not actually appear in the appendix. You can view this map in the The Carpathian View on Healing section.
- p. 517: displays a "language tree". "Urgic" should actually be "Ugric". The corrected tree can be seen in The History of the Carpathian Language.