A manuscript has recently been discovered in (PKhit 4.187c verso) on which an old Klingon drinking song is written, which has now been confirmed to be the source of the modern song “Chad Gadya“. Chad Gadya, which tells the story of a chain of death and destruction that is finally stopped by the intervention of God, is traditionally sung at the end of the Passover seder by Jews, and many theories have been put forth about its origins. However, it is now known that the song is Klingon, which not only makes sense of the seemingly senseless violence but also tells the story of the foundation of the Klingon Empire, through Kahless the Unforgettable’s slaying of the tyrant Molor at the end of the song.
| mach targh wa’, mach targh wa’, | One little targ, one little targ, |
| je’ta’bogh DarSeqmey cha’ vavwIj, | That my father bought for two darseks, |
| mach targh wa’, mach targh wa’. | One little targ, one little targ. |
| vaj tut tI’qa, ’ej targhvatlh Soppu’, | Then came a tika cat, and ate the targ, |
| je’ta’bogh DarSeqmey cha’ vavwIj, | That my father bought for two darseks, |
| mach targh wa’, mach targh wa’. | One little targ, one little targ. |
| vaj tut norgh, ’ej tI’qa’vatlh choppu’, | Then came a norg, and bit the tika cat, |
| targhvatlh Soppu’bogh, | That ate the targ, |
| je’ta’bogh DarSeqmey cha’ vavwIj, | That my father bought for two darseks, |
| mach targh wa’, mach targh wa’. | One little targ, one little targ. |
| vaj tut qeylIs, ’ej molar HoHchu’ta’, | Then came Kahless, and slew Molor, |
| Hur’Iqvatlh HoHpu’bogh, | Who slew the Hur’q, |
| tIghla’vatlh HoHpu’bogh, | Who killed the t’gla, |
| biQvatlh tlhutlhpu’bogh, | That drank the water, |
| qulvatlh roQpu’bogh, | That quenched the fire, |
| yanvatlh meQpu’bogh, | That burnt the sword, |
| norghvatlh qIppu’bogh, | That struck the norg, |
| tI’qa’vatlh choppu’bogh, | That bit the tika cat, |
| targhvatlh Soppu’bogh, | That ate the targ, |
| je’ta’bogh DarSeqmey cha’ vavwIj, | That my father bought for two darseks, |
| mach targh wa’, mach targh wa’. | One little targ, one little targ. |
As reprinted here, the manuscript cuts off writing out all the repeats after the first two verses and skips right to the last verse. Some of the handwriting in the manuscript is difficult to make out; this transcription is as accurate as possible given the limitations of current understanding of Klingon papyrology and manuscript tradition. Errors in spelling or grammar should be put down to thousands of years of transmission—and the fact that this is a drinking song in the first place, designed to scan and sound euphonic.
At any rate, a great mystery of the cosmos can now be put to rest. A zissen Pesach, or as they say throughout the Klingon Empire, veb DIS veng wa’Dich Qo’noSDaq!—”Next year, in the First City of Kronos!
(Edited to add: Yes, this is an original translation of mine.)
