This post about Sherlock Holmes taking on the Olde Ones reminds me that it’s time to dust off my old book of Cthulhu carols. On a related note, check out what these Japanese fishermen found.
Meanwhile. Louis Hau makes a bold prediction about the future of newspapers.
10 responses so far ↓
Midian and flames // December 27, 2006 at 7:12 pm |
What’s “Ia Ia Cthulhu Fhtagn!”??
anyworld // December 27, 2006 at 9:37 pm |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu
Clayton, Master of Trivia // January 16, 2007 at 5:39 pm |
For those too lazy to read the entry:
Cthulhu is one of H.P. Lovecraft’s “Old Ones”: Cthulhu himself is a sort of god-priest for other gods, and resurrects them all to serve him (and enslave/destroy/make anew humanity) when he reawakens.
As far as I can tell, Iä (as it’s correctly spelled) has no literal meaning. It’s sort of a cry, like saying “Oh” when praying, except Iä seems to be used to call attention, while Oh is used to show reverence.
fhtagn is the last word in the following quote from Lovecraft’s short story “Call of Cthulhu”:
“Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn”, which the story itself translates to “In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”
So, fhtagn either means “wait” or “dream” in the progressive tense.
So, long post short…
Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn! = Hey! Hey! Cthulhu waits! /Cthulhu dreams!
Kevin // March 6, 2007 at 9:33 am |
I’a means ‘Yes.’
Axel // April 25, 2007 at 12:25 pm |
Ia Ia Cthulhu Fhtagn!
means : yes, yes Cthulhu sleeps (dreams).
It’s a ritual shouting of the masses when the high-priest tells that cthulhu is only sleeping in R’lyeh and waiting to come back.
It’s also used as a greeting for other believers.
Michael Cook // October 24, 2008 at 12:36 pm |
For Axel and Kevin, please post how you determined that “ia” means yes. I am not concerned about honesty, merely answers. For also, IO, in Latin, means “HEY!” Which was mentioned earlier in this post. The word “IO” is a name in Greek mythology as well. If H. P. Lovecraft had any knowledge of Latin (or Aleister Crowley’s poetry) I would be almost certain that “Ia” and “Io” were related in meanings as well as spellings.
Michael
Jared // October 28, 2008 at 1:28 am |
I love lovecraft
William Bancroft // December 26, 2008 at 4:15 pm |
I’m pretty sure the correct translation is “Lord, Lord how I wish I had a real girlfriend.”
Cradle Of Flith // February 21, 2009 at 1:47 pm |
this appears in one of my songs.
Sadus // July 7, 2009 at 9:37 am |
The finnish band Deathchain have also used lots and lots of Lovecraftian texts in their songs.
The Ancient And The Vile, Awaken…Horrors Of This Earth, Valley Of The Corpses, Titans Of Black Earth, Serpent Of The Deep and Incantations Of Shub-Niggurath. Those are the ones I´ve spotted out, and I think they call themselves Lovecraftian Death Metal? Anyone else heard of them?