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- "The price of crossing my door is blood, Captain."
"That explains why you're not so busy."
"Everyone pays, eventually." - ―Shansa and Hector Barbossa
Shansa was a mysterious and powerful sea witch of the Caribbean. Bald, tattooed, sinister but alluring, a woman of unique beauty, Shansa was active during the Golden Age of Piracy. Shansa practiced black magic, having studied the dark arts, often helping people to find information through spells in exchange for a terrifying payment–blood. By 1751, Shansa was in a tenuous league with Lieutenant John Scarfield of the British Royal Navy and the infamous pirate Captain Hector Barbossa.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Not much was known about Shansa except the fact that she was a sea witch. Over the years, she became popular and nearly legendary because of the rumors about her powers and abilities which allowed her to help pirates and others to know information about individuals about whom they were curious. It is known that Shansa used to say that the price of passing her door was blood and that everyone ended up paying.[2]
War Against Piracy[]
- "The Sparrow, like all great captains, is a small part of the sea. When all these parts are together, perhaps the picture of the sea will become clear, and her greatest treasures revealed."
"Are you saying you can use these memories to find?"
"With the power of the Jewel of Atlantis, the East India Trading Company will rip itself apart. Isn't that what you want?" - ―Shansa and an unknown pirate
Around the time of the War Against Piracy, Shansa resided in a cave on an uncharted island. Shortly after the battle of Calypso's maelstrom, she stole the memories of the notorious pirate Captain Jack Sparrow.
Saved by Barbossa[]
- "Shansa, you and I made a bargain long ago. I saved you from the gallows, remember?"
"And I cursed your enemies. But now you come to me in fear, as the dead have taken command of the sea." - ―Hector Barbossa and Shansa
Sometime before 1751,[3] Shansa was imprisoned by the British and condemned to hang. However, she was saved by the notorious pirate Hector Barbossa, at that time known as the terror of the seas. Even though he couldn't pay her way out of jail, she turned her prison cell in Saint Martin into a sanctorum, where she would devote herself to all kinds of magic. Barbossa would regularly visit her by bribing the guards, and she returned the favor by cursing his enemies.[2]
Quest for the Trident of Poseidon[]
Shansa shows Barbossa the fate of his fleet.
- "The dead are conquering the sea, unable to step on dry land. Maybe you should retire to the country side."
"You mean grass? On a farm? Milking a cow, making cheese? While they sink me treasure?"
" Ask yourself this, Captain. Is this treasure worth dying for?"
"I'm a pirate. Always will be! So how do I save what be mine?" - ―Hector Barbossa and Shansa
Shansa holding Jack Sparrow's compass
After the notorious pirate, Jack Sparrow exchanged his famous compass for a bottle of rum, Shansa managed to obtain it in her cell through unknown means.[2]
As ships of his fleet were destroyed one by one by some mysterious enemy, Captain Barbossa visited Shansa again, hoping that she could solve the mystery for him. Immediately inside the cell, Shansa discovered that he feared that death would seize the sea, when Barbossa asked that he wanted death with him, she explained that they were searching for "a Sparrow" that wants to get the trident with a girl and a "pearl." She warned him that if he wanted to survive, he must retire to the camp, since the dead can not tread the earth. Barbossa found ridiculous the idea of retiring while they were looking for treasure, declaring that he did not mind dying for a treasure, since he would always be a pirate. Despite Shansa's warnings, she gave up and ended up giving Barbossa the compass, not wanting to explain how she got it.[2]
[]
- "The sea has turned to blood. A sailor washed ashore talking about the Trident, he was looking for Jack Sparrow. The same pirate who saved a witch from the gallows."
"She's no witch."
"But you are, and you're going to help us."
"You're afraid, lieutenant. As ships burn in the night you wish to know if you can save your own. If the Trident is real." - ―John Scarfield and Shansa
Shansa when visited by Scarfield
Later, when Lieutenant John Scarfield, moved by wrath towards finding the evildoers who had ruined his public image and his fear of naval ships being decimated as of late, went in search of Shansa, who willingly showed him the route to the Trident of Poseidon, where Henry, Carina, and Jack were headed, in exchange of him sparing her life.[2] Her further fate is unknown.
Personality and traits[]
Bald, tattooed, sinister but alluring, Shansa was a powerful sea witch. Shansa's past was shrouded by mystery, rumored to have amazing supernatural powers and abilities which allowed her to help others find hidden information. She had one, long tattoo in Sanskrit swirling around her body, and wore a large bindi on her forehead, suggesting her to be a Hindu cultist. Shansa was much like the voodoo mystic Tia Dalma, but much more mysterious and darker. Despite her foreboding nature, she was genuinely worried about Hector Barbossa when he said he was willing to die for a treasure.
Equipment and skills[]
- "The witch can rip people's memory right out of their heads and store it in a bottle, like a wee ship."
- ―Joshamee Gibbs to a pirate
Shansa was rumored to be someone who possessed supernatural powers and abilities, which allowed her to find more and more information about other people, no matter if it was missing ones or dead ones.
She may have had vast connections as she was able to get her hands on Jack Sparrow's compass even though he traded it at a bar on the other side of Saint Martin.
Behind the scenes[]
- Shansa was played by Golshifteh Farahani in Dead Men Tell No Tales.
- Shansa is the second witch to appear in the film series, the first being Tia Dalma.
- In early concept work of Jeremy Love, Shansa had multiple designs. The first of them showed her as a woman with black hair and green skin and the breasts exposed but covered with her lush hair. The second one featured her as a woman with gray skin, earrings and hair covered with bones. The third one, nearly resembling the Enchantress from the film Suicide Squad, featured her with gray skin and with knifes in her hair; and the fourth one featured her with very long black hair while wearing gold and silver ornaments.[4]
- It is unknown whether it was on purpose or not, but every character who had had contact with Shansa ended up dead, probably due to her always saying "The price of crossing my door is blood" and "Everyone pays, eventually". Hector Barbossa ended up sacrificing himself in order to kill Armando Salazar and Lieutenant John Scarfield ended up being crushed with the Silent Mary by Salazar.
- In Jeff Nathanson's 2013 early draft of the Dead Men Tell No Tales script the witch's name was Melia. Living in Port Royal, Melia would be captured by Admiral Scarfield of the Royal Navy who would force her to lead him to the Devil's Triangle. Once the British crew was decimated and captured by the ghostly crew of the Silent Mary led by Captain John Brand Melia would make an alliance with Brand, performing a magic ritual that would allow the ghosts to possess the bodies of the living and take the Trident of Poseidon. In the final battle Melia would fight Hector Barbossa before being killed by Henry Maddox.[5]
- It's possible Shansa was based on the Sea Widow, the main villain of Terry Rossio's original script for Dead Men Tell No Tales. A sea witch of great power, the Sea Widow would attempt to find the magical pearls from the broken Trident of Neptune so she could have her revenge on Jack Sparrow, incorrectly believing that he was responsible for the death of her husband and children.[6]
Appearances[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Estimation based on Golshifteh Farahani's age during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and the fact that DMTNT takes place in the 1751.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- ↑ As evidenced by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel, the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales are set in 1751.
- ↑ Selected images from my time on Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales. at JL
- ↑ Dead Men Tell No Tales script by Jeff Nathanson, second draft, 5/6/2013
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES Screenplay by Terry Rossio