Tia Dalma
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Tia Dalma is a character from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, played by Naomie Harris. She seems to be a practitioner of Vodou, and is an associate of both Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).
[edit] Character history
Tia Dalma traded Captain Jack Sparrow his compass seven years prior, though what he gave as payment has been left unrevealed. It is no ordinary compass; it points to what the holder most desires. In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Tia provides the adventurers with information about Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman's location. In exchange, Jack gives her Barbossa's cursed monkey, Jack, which quickly scurries to the back room when Tia releases it from the cage. Unknown to Jack and the others, Captain Barbossa is recuperating there. Only his boots can be seen through the doorway.
It's hinted that Tia Dalma and Jack Sparrow were once romantically involved ("I thought I knew you!" exclaims Jack), although the exact nature of their relationship is unknown. When Jack and the crew travel upriver to seek her help, he is clearly apprehensive over their impending reunion. Tia, however, is apparently pleased to see him and offers her assistance—for a price, the price here being Jack the monkey.
At the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Tia reveals there is hope of returning Jack Sparrow to the living world after the Kraken apparently swallowed him whole, but they must sail to "World's End" to find him. Will, Elizabeth and the grieving crew realize that losing Captain Jack Sparrow is too great a sorrow to bear and agree to try and bring him back. Tia Dalma tells them they will need a captain who is familiar with those waters; fortunately, she has just the right man—Captain Sparrow's old nemesis, Barbossa.
In an interview by FilmFocus, Naomie Harris reveals that Tia Dalma will journey with the Black Pearl's crew to the World's End. She is, "...not really who she says she is. She is a lot more powerful."
[edit] Trivia
- While Jack Sparrow reaches for a ring on Tia Dalma's table, a heart-shaped locket is noticed lying. An apparently identical locket is seen on Davy Jones' organ. This suggests a connection between the two.
- Tia Dalma's name is an anagram of Dalmatia. The Dalmatian Coast was a historical haven for pirates - once known as the Roman province of Illyricum and before that the kingdom of Illyria. Illyria was a pirate kingdom - plundering Roman and Greek vessels in the Adriatic - ruled by the pirate queen, Queen Teuta.
- Tia Dalma's firefly-surrounded dwelling resembles a small shack seen at the beginning of the famous Disneyland ride.
- It is highly probable that Tia Dalma is actually the sea nymph Calypso, whose reputation in Homer's The Odyssey is known to be that of a seductress. This sentiment is alluded to in one of the names proposed for the third movie: "Calypso's Revenge."
- Another hint towards their connection is in both characters' musical themes. The melody from Davy Jones' music box is incorporated into Tia Dalma's score at a slower rhythm.
- Jack the monkey's sudden good behaviour in Tia Dalma’s house may be taken as foreshadowing Captain Barbossa's presence.
- In the young Jack Sparrow books, she is mentioned to have turned a girl named Constance into a cat. It is also revealed that Jack has known her since he was a child. However, in the movies, she appears younger than Sparrow (although not as young as Will and Elizabeth), this might be further evidence to her as-of-yet-unknown powers- not ageing, or simply delaying the process.
- In an interview with Naomie Harris, it is revealed that Jack Sparrow and Tia Dalma were former lovers.[1] Some dialogue between the two characters ("I thought I knew you") confirms this.
[edit] External links
- Keep to the code - official fan site
