Njsnavlin in Essil

(original title: "ete tas Essilev" = "Light's traveller")

Essil on
Essil on erifet al
Essil on
Essil on eriftel al
Essil on
(Pronunciation: ee-sile on [long "i," as in "hi" and long "o" as in "throw"], er
-o-fet all)
Literal Translation:
I travelled through light
I travelled through light; I am not afraid
(repeat)
Explanation:
In Essilian mythology, light was the source of everything. People were born of l
ight and remained immortal as long as they upheld nature and light. The preferre
d communication of scholars and monks was thought and telepathy, which they unde
rstood as the pathway of light that bound the minds of all. But for the sake of
posterity, they recorded their thoughts in Essil, the language named for light i
tself.
Their belief was that water preserved light, and from this preservation of light
they came into being. This song, "ete tas Essilev," is an account of their sort
of birth... instead of reproduction and natural child-birth, the people of this
culture claimed to come into existence from the water and light. The verb "essi
l" is a concept of both birth and thought. The speaker is talking about swimming
in the water before birth, a collection of light and souls (or, arguably, a sin
gle soul shared by all). The form "E(e)ssil on" is a first person perfect form o
f the verb. Our understanding of the perfect form has changed over time. Instead
of a single action in the past, the perfect tense here is understood to mean a
continuous action... this soul was floating and travelling from the beginning of
time, and is still a part of their "essil."
The alternate line's "erifet al" is a first person negative present of the verb
"rifet," which means not simply to fear, but to be incredibly fearful, to be ter
rified. Why would one consider birth fearful in the first place? Surely with suc
h a languid tone and the lazy repetition of phrases and lines, this is not a son
g of fear, nor is it a song of the abscence of fear... it speaks of a peaceful i
gnorance. The present here, too, is not to be taken in its true form. Rather, it
means the person was not afraid at birth, nor are they now. The explanation of
this is the Essilian culture considered coming into existence and existence as t
he same thing, a continuing and never-ending process. So where does fear come in
? The Essilians are doing two things: first, they are praising light, Essil, for
its comfort and power, but secondly, the speaker is asserting his belief in Ess
il... therefore he is speaking of his trust that he will continue existence and
not be revoked his life (a thought expressed in the noun/infinitive "ocente").
Taking all this in mind, a poetic translation becomes more possible. But, for th
e sake of the original scheme, it is necessary that its simple repetition and id
eology be preserved. Thus the poetic translation:
In this lake of souls
In this lake of souls, I lose all fear