I know I started another Pratchett thread recently but I’m re-reading Eric and wondered if The Rite of AshkEnte is a reference to any one thing in particular or an amalgam of several references. Can anyone enlighten me?
Hmmm, I don’t think there’s a satisfying theory. One guess it that it’s a pun on “ask-auntie”, but on the audio books they pronounce the name of the rite “ashk ente”, so I doubt it.
By the way, if you want to perform the rite itself, the text below (translated into English for the linguistically challenged) is from the animated movie version of Soul Music. It was written by Martin Jameson, the scriptwriter for that movie. Apart from the incantation, you’ll need one of the following:
a) eight eighth-level wizards, a ceremonial octogram, rams’ skulls, and dribbly candles
b) three small bits of wood and 2cc of mouse blood, or
c) two small bits of wood and a fresh egg.
ORIGINAL TEXT:
Wan Equestrus,
Chiv im Curlus
Homme Qui into
Blotteau Hurlus
Venée Query,
Huree Deeré
Im Circle shimmer,
Sclerotic Zimmer
Ovum Krakus,
Totalé Knackus
Quoil Mortallus,
Exit Softshue
Inanimenté,
Defunct-i-kenté
Query Nicht Dis
Rite AshkEnte
Bucket-ustrum
Jeté Thrustum!
Yokus Nunnus,
Mortis Cummus!!!
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
Pale rider with a
curly blade
Man who hurls us
into oblivion
Come for questions,
hurry deary
Into the shimmering
circle, Bony frame
The egg is broken and
totaly knackered
Mortal coil,
shuffled off,
Inanimate one,
Defunct one,
You can’t argue with this
Rite of AshkEnte
Hey bucket-kicker!
This is no joke,
Come Death!!!
A search of MapQuest reveals that there’s a village called Ash in Kent in England (“The rite of Ash, Kent”?).
Appearantly, they have a lovely village church:
Aha, that sounds plausible
Also, ties into what I was going to say…
Pterry displays quite a bit of knowledge about the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. Somewhere in there is a reference to a Rite (or Book or somesuch) of ClarkAsh, a very faintly veiled Easter Egg referring to Clark Ashton-Smith, another pulp author of HPL’s acquaintance. Funny guy, Lovecraft!
So the whole idea of combining names (of people or places) and the Ash bit could possibly come from HPL
MrDibble
Hmmm, do you suppose Pratchett might have a friend named Kent Ash or something? Pratchett’s early Diskworld book contain a lot of Lovecraft references(the Dungeon Dimensions monsters, the Necrotelecomnicon etc.) so it’s quite possible he knew about this.
A good place to look for Pratchett references is http://www.lspace.org/ and in particular the “Annotated Pratchett Files”.
To quote from http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/ - Mort