Character
Tia Dalma is a fictional character from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, making her debut in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. She is a voodoo and hoodoo pra…
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Tia Dalma is a fictional character from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, making her debut in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. She is a voodoo and hoodoo practitioner who once was in love with the pirate Davy Jones, and ultimately cursed him after his betrayal toward her and abandonment of his duties.
Tia Dalma is a fictional character from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, making her debut in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. She is a voodoo and hoodoo practitioner who once was in love with the pirate Davy Jones, and ultimately cursed him after his betrayal toward her and abandonment of his duties. In the third film, Tia Dalma is revealed to be the mortal guise of Calypso, the goddess of the sea.
Tia Dalma is a prominent character in Disney media, appearing prominently in printed media and crossover video games. The character continues to hold a likable reception, with Naomie Harris receiving positive reviews from critics for her performance as Tia Dalma.
The character was introduced as the mystic Tia Dalma, though later revealed to be the mortal guise of Calypso, the daughter of Atlas and the sea goddess that sailors both loved and feared. As Tia Dalma, she is a voodoo priestess with black teeth and blue lips, and she has her hair in dreadlocks; she speaks in Jamaican Patois. Harris's mother, a Jamaican immigrant, was her accent coach for the films. In personality terms, she is described as flirtatious, "coquettish, sensual, pleasure-loving, and extravagant", alluding to the belief that Calypso was a seductress. Tia Dalma is depicted barefoot in the movie-based comics in Pirati dei Caraibi Magazine. The Kingdom Keepers book series also described her as perpetually barefoot, which was a plot point in The Insider.
Tia Dalma is portrayed as an ally to Jack Sparrow, trading with him, aiding in his rescue, and occasionally flirting. It is implied they shared a romantic history.
As the series progresses, it is revealed that as Calypso, she became romantically involved with Davy Jones, and their mutual betrayal is what led to both of their transformations. Calypso had charged Davy Jones with ferrying souls of the dead, promising to meet with him again in ten years. However, when the time came, she was nowhere to be found. In retaliation, he revealed to the First Brethren Court of pirates how to imprison her in mortal form, then carved his own heart out, and locked it in the Dead Man's Chest. While still hiding herself as Tia Dalma, she recounts the story to Sparrow and his crew, describing Calypso as "changing, harsh and untamable as the sea".
When the events of Dead Man's Chest begin, Jack Sparrow returns to see Tia Dalma after many years, in need of her assistance. Pursued across the Caribbean by Davy Jones's Kraken, he plans to find the Dead Man's Chest. This chest contains Jones's heart, and offers the only means to kill him. A series of trades takes place, leaving Jack with the location of the Flying Dutchman and a jar of dirt to protect him from Jones, while Tia Dalma gains possession of the undead monkey belonging to the late Captain Barbossa.
Jack's crew returns to Tia Dalma's shack after Jack is dragged to Davy Jones's Locker by the Kraken. Tia Dalma has apparently foreseen this eventuality, and informs the mourning crew that there is a chance to save Jack. She reveals that she has resurrected Barbossa, who will help lead the rescue mission.
Tia Dalma makes a major and pivotal appearance in the film. She joins Barbossa, Will, Elizabeth, and the rest of the Black Pearl's crew as they travel to Singapore. There, they infiltrate Sao Feng's headquarters to acquire the navigational chart needed to sail to World's End and Davy Jones' Locker, barely escaping the clutches of the East India Trading Company. On the journey, she explains to Pintel and Ragetti that Jack Sparrow cannot be resurrected the same way Barbossa was because Sparrow was "taken" by the Kraken while Barbossa died from normal, earthly causes. When rescuing Jack from the Locker, Tia Dalma flirts with him and references their past romantic relationship. As the group searches for an escape route back to the mortal world, they encounter numerous souls adrift in the water. Tia Dalma tells the group the story of Davy Jones and Calypso, but does not reveal her identity. While caressing her locket, she reminisces that Davy Jones was once human.
Later, it is revealed that Tia Dalma is Calypso, bound into human form. Her true motives for resurrecting Barbossa and Jack are unveiled when it is learned that both are Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court. Each has their respective "Pieces of Eight", the talismans necessary to free Calypso. She resurrected Barbossa to obtain his piece, and rescued Jack because his Piece went with him to Davy Jones' Locker. Upon arrival at Shipwreck Cove, she reminds Barbossa of her powers by gripping his hand and temporarily rendering it skeletal (a subtle reference to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl). She warns him that it was only by her power that he is alive again and that he must fulfill their agreement to release her. If he failed, she would kill him. Tia Dalma and her estranged lover, Davy Jones, briefly reunite while she is locked in the brig of the ship. Calypso says she still feels deeply for Jones. She responds to his anger by saying that Davy Jones never would have loved her if not for her uncontrollable and unpredictable nature. Calypso also chastises him for abandoning his duty to ferry souls to the other world. It was because he neglected his charges that Davy Jones became a monster. Calypso is also furious that the Pirate Lords trapped her in her human form. Thus, her true motives are revealed: she plans to use her powers against the current court in revenge for the original act of turning her into a human. She will also fully give her love to Jones, and it appears they reconcile. When she touches Jones, he momentarily transforms back into the man he once was. Jones's parting words betray that his heart will always belong to her.
As the battle between the East India Trading Company and the pirates looms, Barbossa and Ragetti release from her human form. Before Calypso could change into another shape, Will tells her that it was Davy Jones wh
Source: Tia Dalma (CC BY-SA)
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