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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

la paix des ancêtres

English translation:

the ancestors\' peace

Added to glossary by Richardson Lisa
Mar 23, 2010 17:40
14 yrs ago
French term

la paix des ancêtres

French to English Social Sciences Anthropology
Hi all, it's the 'des' in this sentence that's bothering me. Any ideas?
TIA
Lisa

'La femme du chef, son rôle principal consiste à donner la paix des ancêtres.'
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 the ancestors' peace
2 +4 ancestral peace
3 +1 [passing on] the peace of (the tribe's) ancestors
References
My translated version...
Change log

Mar 23, 2010 18:05: Stéphanie Soudais changed "Term asked" from "la paix des ancêtres (in this context)" to "la paix des ancêtres " , "Field (write-in)" from "la paix des ancêtres(in this context)" to "(none)"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (2): Chris Hall, Catharine Cellier-Smart

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Discussion

Richardson Lisa (asker) Mar 23, 2010:
Hi Gilla
Yes, this is about an ethnic group called the Kongo from the Congo. It describes their rituals, beliefs etc. The sentence stands alone in a list that describes people in the hierarchical structure of this society.
I agree that the peace is coming from the ancestors, but without an object the translation sounds unfinished. I imagine that her role is to transmit the ancestors' peace to the community, but I think it sounds slightly odd.
writeaway Mar 23, 2010:
it's virtually impossible to give anything more than a standard, literal translation with so little context. Please explain why the obvious translation(s) don't work in the (con)text? What is the context, when was this written, what's the target audience etc etc?
Evans (X) Mar 23, 2010:
equally her role could be that of dispensing blessings from the ancestors...
Evans (X) Mar 23, 2010:
Can you give us some idea of where the people in question are from? The translation of "chef" and the answer to your question will depend very much on the particular context. I would guess that it means that the main role of the headman/chief's wife would be to ensure that the ancestors were at peace by enacting certain rituals, but without more information it is hard to be certain.

Proposed translations

+4
13 mins
French term (edited): la paix des ancêtres (in this context)
Selected

the ancestors' peace

It's a figurative or symbolic sentence. "Des" is qualitative.
Peer comment(s):
agree Chris Hall : Spot on.
0 min
agree philgoddard
2 hrs
agree Catharine Cellier-Smart
11 hrs
agree mimi 254
14 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "thanks"
+1
19 mins
French term (edited): la paix des ancêtres (in this context)

[passing on] the peace of (the tribe's) ancestors

It seems that African women have a special relationship with ancestors. See p. 34 of the reference below, "Les femmes et la paix en Afrique", UNESCO: "Elles transmettent aux hommes la
volonté de paix des ancêtres avec qui elles sont en relation, mais aussi les exigences d'harmonie de la nature avec qui elles communient."

IMO "give" is a bit weak for "donner" and "the tribe's" may be necessary to make it clear which ancestors, unless the surrounding context is enough.

Reference:

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001332/133274f.pdf

Peer comment(s):
agree Chris Hall : the peace of the ancestors (maybe even "from the ancestors"?)
1 min
Thanks Chris
Something went wrong...
+4
21 mins
French term (edited): la paix des ancêtres (in this context)

ancestral peace

try to recreate the ancestral peace in which brave Africans happily lived the uneventful lives of villagers who followed the rhythm of seasons ...
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3818697
Peer comment(s):
agree Chris Hall
1 min
Thank you, Chris; it is only slightly different from the others.
agree Liliane Hatem
11 mins
Thank you, Liliane!
agree Isabelle17
2 hrs
Thank you, Isabelle17.
agree B D Finch
3 hrs
Thanks, B D Finch.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

12 mins
Reference:

My translated version...

"The chief's / leader's wife, her main role consists of giving out the peace FROM the anecestors"

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Note added at 15 mins (2010-03-23 17:56:01 GMT)
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- peace from the ancestors
- the ancestors' peace

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2010-03-23 18:02:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

- peace of the ancestors
Something went wrong...