MovieChat Forums > Free Willy (1993) Discussion > Whats the chant that the kid says before...

Whats the chant that the kid says before Willy jumps?


i really don't feel like renting this movie to find out what the chant is that the kid says right before Willy jumps over the wall. does anyone know the words to the chant? thank you.

reply

salina Ayoung I ases sounds like its spelt

reply

The Chant is Haida and means, "Give this Animal Strength" (I was told this by August Schellenberg-Randolph from the movie, he frequents many local places in Dallas where he lives, or you can email him through his official website) at the moment the Haida language is falling apart, therefore any dictionary productions have been stopped for lack of interest. However between 1858 and 1942 an explorer began to make a rudimentary dictionary with about 150 words translated from English to Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. I scoured the book to try and find the words of the prayer. The only match I found was the Tsimshian word for animal which is pronounced iets' (the t is blended into the s and the apostrophe makes the double s sound "ses") the vowel i is pronounced "ee" and e is pronounced "ehh" as in most European languages. This matches the saying (roughly): Tsa lina iets'

reply

thank you...wow i didnt know this was an actual language thats pretty crazy. i might just have to rent it and listen for myself haha. thanks again though

reply