Avendoraldera[]
Does someone know what Avendoraldera means in the Old Tongue? Asha'man Leyrann Gaidin 15:59, June 15, 2011 (UTC)
- Avendesora means "Tree of Life" and Avendoraldera means "sapling of the Tree of Life." From what I can find, avende means "tree" and sora means "life." I can't find the suffix for Avendoraldera, but putting together what little I know of the Old Tongue, a longer name or word usually signifies additional meaning. ---- Willie - HtS 17:20, June 15, 2011 (UTC)
Looking at the RJWOT citations[]
The first big complaint someone is going to make is my claim that avendesora is the Aiel name for chora. Here's what Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time (RJWOT) has to say (The Age of Legends chapter, sidebar on page 31):
"...very few of those constructs survived the Breaking or its aftermath. Also known by the Aiel name Avendesora the tree is now extremely rare and highly prized...."
Parse that snippet and either the writer didn't do a very good job (possible) or chora means Avendesora (very few constructs survive. ...the tree is extremely rare and highly prized...these are not words/phrases used to talk about a single object, but a set as a whole).
I am troubled by the capitalization of the word "Avendesora" but the context (go and read the whole thing if you doubt me) screams "avendesora means chora." I tried with all my might to convince myself it does not, but I cannot. Still, wiser and more scholarly heads than mine are welcome to correct me if the correction is gently made, because the offer of this change is honestly made after some protracted thought and examination of other references in RJWOT.
Second quote: From RJWOT: The World of the Wheel (page 184) in a description of Rhuidean, the book says:
"The last surviving chora tree, called Avendesora by wetlanders was planted in the central square."
If it is the Aiel name for the single tree, then why is the book attributing the name to wetlanders? I admit that this is a small thing, but if the wetlanders (read non-Aiel) named it Avendesora, then the Aiel did not and it is plausible that it earned the name among wetlanders because they heard the Aiel calling it avendesora (note the lower case).
I will admit that the continual capitalization of the word "Avendesora" is not a good sign, but even so, consider that we capitalize the word "Celt" when referring to that race, or "Latino" if we refer to that race.
So in the end, I found myself in an ambiguous place and I made the best call I could because I was certain of one thing; the way it was, was inaccurate.
Finally, the discussion of the date when Cairhien received the shoot Avendoraldera. I suspect that in the novels the figure of 566 comes up somewhere, but in RJWOT, chapter 14 (page 119), the text reads:
"In 509 NE, the Aiel, known only as a mysterious and deadly people who kept to themselves, granted to the nation of Cairhien the right to cross the Aiel Waste...They gave the Cairhienin a sapling called Avendoraldera, an offshoot of the fabled Avendesora..."
There is no indication that these are two events separated by fifty-seven years.
Finally, the least important point, but I could find no place where it said that the nym caused the growth of the chora, but only that they stimulated the growth of the chora, among other vegetation. As a matter of fact, Avendesora in Rhuidean grows without a nym, so we know that statement at least needs to be tightened up...but I could find nothing definite in RJWOT, which is why I only added a FACT template to it.
That was me[]
Sorry guys. I forgot to add my signature. Chalk it up to a senior moment. Pedantic 01:58, November 12, 2011 (UTC)
Return close to original meaning[]
Okay, after a night of thought, and considering that the Aiel fought a war over the destruction of its sapling, I convinced myself that I was wrong about the Aiel meaning of Avendesora. I have removed the phrase "the Aiel word in general." The current passage, I believe, now reflects the true sense of how the Aiel saw Avendesora. Pedantic 11:06, November 12, 2011 (UTC)