(no subject)

[bluflamingo]

If you were looking for a word with the same feeling as 'jeez,' as in 'jeez, McKay, inappropriate much?' but couldn't use it because the person saying it doesn't come from a culture that has Jesus, and hence can't have jeez, what word would you use instead?

(It's not Teyla, despite the icon, but it is someone who was raised in Pegasus, and hence has the Ancients as Gods thing)

It's driving me nuts, to the point of wanting to leave it in, except that now I've noticed, I can't *un-notice* it and it'll bug me every time I look at the story from now on.

My sanity thanks you for any suggestions :o)

Comments

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

'Ants': short for 'Ancestors' in the way that 'jeez' is short for 'Jesus' :)

OK, not really. Um, 'gods' would probably be okay...

[bluflamingo.livejournal.com]

'Ants': short for 'Ancestors' in the way that 'jeez' is short for 'Jesus' :)

I actually really like that, though, yes, I agree that no-one but you and me would get it.

And I so want to write someone cursing by saying 'ancestors preserve us.'

[scrollgirl.livejournal.com]

Hee! In the Little Mermaid fusion I'm (not) writing, I have John saying things like, "Ancestors, Elizabeth's going to kill me!" I also have Teyla saying something similar to "ancestors preserve us".

[scrollgirl.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'd argue *against* using "gods" to refer to the Ancestors, because while the Ancestors are revered, and possibly worshipped, nobody's ever used the word "god" in relation to them.

[10pmpacifictime.livejournal.com]

I agree. I think they occupy a place somewhere between angels/spirits and ancestor worship.

[scrollgirl.livejournal.com]

Agree completely. I think those of us who've grown up in a western/Christian culture don't realise that there are plenty of religions that don't have God or (Egyptian/Roman/Norse as per SG-1 canon) gods at the centre of their "worship".

What I hate is that SGA had this opportunity to explore ancestor veneration, a rich non-"god" religion/way of life, and all we get are prayers around the dinner table that could be from any household in America minus the word "Ancestor". (Not that I don't still cling to whatever scraps of Pegasus culture we get, but oh, I mourn the lost storytelling opportunities.)

[10pmpacifictime.livejournal.com]

And even those religions that do have central deities, of ten have lesser beings with powers. Think of nymphs, satyrs, saints, nature spirits.

I think part of SGA's problem was that they didn't have a regular character, like Daniel, who's purpose is to explore both the differences and the similarities between the various cultures. Elizabeth was the closest they got, but she didn't get the opportunity very often and then they killed her. *is still bitter*

[scrollgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, good point about the absence of an anthropologist on SGA. But why couldn't we have had a bit of dialogue in which Teyla or Ronon explain what exactly it is they believe about the Ancestors? Or how their two cultures maybe differed. (Because I actually see Ronon having more belief in the Ancestors than Teyla as per "The Return", which is interesting considering Halling's faith.)

*is bitter too*

[bluflamingo.livejournal.com]

Wow, I go to bed for a few hours and the two of you have had a whole theological debate about the whole thing :o)

The end result of which I can now steal.