Tia Dalma's shack

General information
Location	Pantano River, Cuba
Notable inhabitants	Tia Dalma Hector Barbossa Jack the Monkey
Behind the scenes
First appearance	Dead Man's Chest
Latest appearance	Pirates of the Caribbean Online

"Just up the road, quick left, and you're at the bayou shack of the beautifully odd Tia Dalma."
"I'm no fool, Jack Sparrow. I know the mystic is not so easy to find."

―Jack Sparrow and Royce

Tia Dalma's shack was a sprawling wooden shack that served as the home to the voodoo priestess, Tia Dalma, perched in a treetop by the mouth of the Pantano River located in Cuba. A damp and gloomy world where nothing is quite what it seems to be, Tia Dalma kept various trinkets and spells inside her shack. The journey to the tumbledown shack was not an easy one, as adventurers had to cautiously paddle up the still water of a steamy bayou, located in a spooky cypress forest, where fireflies flickered in the heavy air. Captain Jack Sparrow visited Tia's shack through most of his many adventures.

History

Tia Dalma's home

"The woman of power...I found her in a strange house on the Pantano River...swamp...so many candles..."

―Taharka to Jack Sparrow

Tia Dalma's shack in the Pantano River bayou.

Not much is known about the shack, except that the voodoo mystic Tia Dalma resided in there at some point after the First Brethren Court. The journey to Tia's shack was not an easy one, as adventurers had to cautiously paddle up the still water of the Pantano River and find their way through a steamy bayou, where fireflies flickered in the heavy air of the spooky cypress forest. Tia Dalma's sprawling shack clings to the branches of a tree in a distant part of the swamp. However, some believe it would be a mistake judging Tia Dalma by her humble home. She had uncanny powers to foretell the future, to summon up demons, and to look deep into men's souls. With a clatter of crab claws on a rough wooden table, the voodoo mystic could see what ordinary mortals cannot by gently throw the claws on the table and "reads" their positions. Tia Dalma used her amazing abilities to help her allies, most notably her old friend Jack Sparrow. Through most of his adventures, Jack Sparrow went to visit the tumbledown shack many times for Tia Dalma's help. His father, Captain Teague, also visited the shack on one occasion.

Search for the Dead Man's Chest

"And the key will spare him that?"
"Now that's the very question Jack wants answered. Bad enough, even, to go visit...her."
"Her?"
"...Aye."

―Will Turner and Joshamee Gibbs

Jack Sparrow before entering Tia's shack.

During the search for the Dead Man's Chest, Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew had to navigate through the Pantano River to reach Tia Dalma's shack, so that the mysterious priestess could help Jack find a key to spare him a fate of servitude under Davy Jones. Though Jack seemed to know where he was going, he kept a tight grip on the rope, and glanced around himself nervously the whole time, as he didn't like the journey through the forest at all. At Tia Dalma's shack, a ladder led up from the water, and Jack climbed to it. "Tia Dalma I go way back," he bragged. "Thick as thieves. Nigh inseparable, we were. I'll handle this." Though he put on a brave face, he wasn't sure of himself, after which Joshamee Gibbs told Jack he'd watch his back. While Gibbs, Will, Pintel and Ragetti, and Cotton's Parrot accompanied Jack, only Cotton was left behind to guard the boat. Although Jack had flattered Tia Dalma, she beamed an inviting smile at Will Turner as soon as he entered the shack.

After being given the undead monkey "Jack" as payment, Tia Dalma told Jack Sparrow what he wanted to know about the key from the drawing Will presented. She briefly told the story about Davy Jones and his love who was said to be "untameable as the sea". Upon revealing that Jack was marked with the Black Spot, Tia Dalma gave a jar of dirt to Jack, so that he would always be near land and safety. She then helped Jack and Will find Jones' ship, the Flying Dutchman, by leading them to an archipelago where a scuttled ship ran aground. During their time in the shack, Jack examined an old black hat and stole an amethyst ring; the crew also saw Jack the Monkey with a pair of boots. When the meeting with Tia Dalma was over, Jack's crew followed him down the shack's ladder and clambers gratefully into their longboats. They had an uncanny feeling that this wouldn't be their last visit to the cypress forest, which was later evidenced by their return to Tia's shack after losing Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl to the Kraken.

Tia Dalma proposing a voyage to World's End.

To lament the apparent death of Jack Sparrow, the swamp people held candlelight while leading a spooky procession as Jack's crew arrived in the bayou to find refuge in Tia's shack. Joshamee Gibbs, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, and several other members of Jack's crew mourned their loss until Tia Dalma stated there was a way to save Jack, by a journey to World's End. It was then that Hector Barbossa revealed himself, having been resurrected by Tia Dalma, as the one who would lead the crew in their venture. The fate of the shack following the Fourth Brethren Court, where Calypso was released from Tia Dalma's body is unknown.

Layout

Tia Dalma in her shack.

Perched in a treetop by the mouth of the Pantano River, this shack belonged to the voodoo mystic, Tia Dalma. It was a damp and gloomy world where nothing is quite what it seems to be. However, it was believed that judging Tia Dalma by her humble home was a mistake, as she had uncanny abilities. The tumbledown shack clung to the branches of a tree in a distant part of the swamp. Though it glows brightly, the hut seems to suck the light out of the surrounding forest. Every kind of lumber was used in its construction making up the walls and roof. In between the forest logs are nailed planks from coffins, and parts of discarded canoes patch the roof. A ladder led up from a small jetty onto the shack's porch.

The inside of Tia's shack was teeming with a clutter of mysterious and magical objects; jars of herbs and spices, caged animals, bones, and mummified bats. Among her other possessions, Tia Dalma had dried plants that were ground down to make potions, swamp toad spawn used to heal many ailments, a preserved sea snake, and vials filled with spider venom. She also had at least one jar known to hold a lock of sirens' hair, while another, iron-bound jar was filled with dozens of staring eyeballs, which in particular had Ragetti transfixed. Tia Dalma had a small, rough wooden table situated in the center of the room, on which the mystic used the divined power of her crab claws to see what ordinary mortals cannot. Calypso's locket was also commonly found here. Further into the shack, Tia Dalma kept the Sword of Cortés, held for safe-keeping following the defeat of the spirit of Hernán Cortés, and a jar of dirt, which she would give to Jack Sparrow as protection against Davy Jones so that he'll always be near land and safety.

Behind the scenes

Art by Nathan Schroeder.

Art by James Carson.

Tia Dalma's shack first appeared in various tie-in material to the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, including the reference book Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide, and Irene Trimble's junior novelization. Although the shack was described as being located in the bayou in the Pantano River, the location being in the island of Cuba wasn't mentioned until the video game Pirates of the Caribbean Online, as well as the 2010 update of the official website. Concept art of the Pantano River and Tia Dalma's shack were made by Nathan Schroeder and James Carson.

For filming Dead Man's Chest, directed by Gore Verbinski, Tia Dalma's shack was part of the Pantano River bayou set constructed on Stage 2 at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank. The shack was lined from end to end and top to bottom with the bric-a-brac of Tia Dalma's artful profession. Set decorator Cheryl Carasik laughed, "I've never done a hoodoo voodoo, scary 1720s-ish bayou interior before. Gore wanted a lot of texture hung from the ceiling, so we prepped bottles encrusted with jewels, along with dried herbs. Inside of the bottles were spiders, eyeballs and mushrooms which actually started growing over a period of time. And a lot of taxidermy all over the place." The combined work of production designer Rick Heinrichs, art director John Dexter and Carasik was inspirational to the actors as well, including Johnny Depp. "I think one of the nicest compliments I ever received was from Johnny when he walked into Tia Dalma's and told me that he didn't really know what he was going to do in there, but there was so much great stuff to play with that he was like a kid in a candy store. You know, Johnny can take a simple little trinket from a desk and turn it into the most amazing prop."

Tia Dalma's shack appeared in various Pirates media. Book appearances include The Sword of Cortés by Rob Kidd, as well as reference books Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean and The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean Video game appearances include the Dead Man's Chest video game, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game. Tia Dalma's shack was meant to appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned, but since the game was cancelled, it is unknown if its appearance is canon or not. Tia Dalma's shack appears in the non-canon video game Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life, where it was located in the Whispering Bayou in the Sea of the Damned.

Appearances

• Jack Sparrow: The Siren Song (Mentioned only)
• Jack Sparrow: The Sword of Cortés
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned
• The Price of Freedom (Mentioned only)
• The Dark Skull
• The Compass of Destiny!
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (junior novelization) (First appearance)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: The Movie Storybook
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (comic)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (video game)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game) (Possible appearance)
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
• Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• DisneyPirates.com
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Visual Guide (First identified as Tia Dalma's Shack)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• Bring Me That Horizon: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean
• The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean