by Robin Furth
: Roland believes that these words, written in High Speech, are the most beautiful in any language. They mean I forgive. W:309
AM: See PRIM, in CHARACTERS
ANRO CON FA; SEY-SEY DESENE FANNO BILLET COBAIR CAN: These words are spoken by Chevin of Chayven, a CHILD OF RODERICK, to Roland of Gilead. The words are never translated. Here is Chevin’s complete statement: “Anro con fa; sey-sey desene fanno billet cobair can. I Chevin devar dan do. Because I felt sad for dem. Can-toi, can-tah, can Discordia, aven la cam mah can. May-mi. Iffin lah vainen eth—” His words are cut short by Roland’s guns. Roland considers this a mercy killing. VII:50–51
AN-TET: The term tet refers to people linked by the same destiny or goals. An-tet implies intimacy of all kinds. To speak an-tet to someone is to be completely honest and open, to share all. It also means to sit in council. Roland and his trailmates are both ka-tet and an-tet. An-tet can also imply sexual intimacy. In Wizard and Glass, Roland refers to the first time he and Susan made love as the first time they were together an-tet. Given the profound link between Roland and Susan (she appears and reappears to him in dreams and visions throughout the Dark Tower series), the term an-tet is appropriate. A mere sexual encounter does not necessarily imply an-tet. IV:439, V:115, V:216, V:394, V:472, VII:22
ANTI-KA: The force that works against one’s ka, or destiny. It is a counterforce which tries to stop a person from fulfilling his or her life-mission. The anti-ka which works against Roland’s ka-tet was set in motion by the Crimson King. VII:266
AVEN KAL: An aven kal is a kind of tidal wave that runs along the path of the Beam. Literally translated, aven kal means “lifted on the wind” or “carried on the wave.” The use of kal rather than the more usual form kas implies a natural force of disastrous proportions. In other words, not a hurricane but a tsunami. VII:20
AVEN-CAR: A hunting term which refers to carrying the kill and preparing to make it into something else. VII:635
BONDSMAN: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
CAM-A-CAM-MAL, PRIA-TOI, GAN DELAH: “White over Red, Thus God Wills Ever.” This is written on the plaque in front of the Garden of the Beam. It also translates as “Good over evil, this is the will of God.” VII:504
CAN CALAH: The can calah are angels. VI:318
CAN-AH, CAN-TAH, ANNAH, ORIZA: “All breath comes from the woman.” This is a saying repeated in Calla Bryn Sturgis, though it is probably used throughout Mid-World. Although mortal woman was made from the breath of mortal man, the first man came from Lady Oriza. V:631
CANDA: The distance (never the same in any two situations) which a pair of outnumbered gunslingers must keep between them to assure they will not be killed by a single shot. VII:25
CAN STEEK-TETE: The Little Needle. Can Steek-Tete (also called Steek-Tete) is a butte located near the DEVAR-TOI. VII:205
CAN-TAH: According to Roland, the tiny scrimshaw turtle which Susannah Dean finds hidden in a pocket of Jake Chambers’s bowling bag is one of the can-tah, or little gods. Constant Readers have met the can-tah before, namely in Stephen King’s novel Desperation. In Desperation, the little can-tah were tiny demonic sculptures depicting the can-toi—coyotes, snakes, etc.—that served Tak the Outsider. (Tak is short for can-tak, which means “big god.”) See also CAN-TAH, in CHARACTERS
CAN-TOI: Can-toi is another term for the low men. The can-toi are rat-headed beings who wear humanoid masks. (The masks are grown and so are made of a living substance.) Unlike the TAHEEN, the can-toi worship the human form and believe that they are slowly transforming into humans themselves. They call this process “becoming.” In the novel Desperation, the can-toi were the coyotes, spiders, snakes, and other dangerous creatures that obeyed the will of Tak the Outsider. (Tak is short for can-tak, which means “big god.”) See also CAN-TOI, in CHARACTERS
CAN-TOI-TETE: Roland uses the term can-toi-tete to refer to the desert dogs of Thunderclap. Can-toi-tete translates roughly as “little can-toi” or “tiny can-toi.” In Stephen King’s novel Desperation, the can-toi were the coyotes, spiders, snakes, and other dangerous creatures that obeyed the will of Tak the Outsider. (Tak is short for can-tak, which means “big god.”) See also CAN-TAH, above. VII:255, VII:261
CHAR: Most words in High Speech have multiple meanings. However, char is an exception to this general rule. Char has one meaning only, and that is death. Char is the root of many Mid-World terms, including Big Charlie Wind and CHARYOU TREE. III:382
CHARY (YOU CHARY MAN): As we all know, the High Speech term char means “death.” Hence, a chary man is one who courts death, brings death, or deals death. Think of him as the Grim Reaper’s deputy. V:335, V:612
CHARY-KA: This insult is thrown at Roland by one of the Crimson King’s TAHEEN just before Roland kills him. It most likely means somebody who is one of death’s ka-mates, or one whose ka is aligned with death. It may also imply that although the chary-ka is destined to deal death, he is also destined to suffer from death’s nasty sense of humor. VII:135
CHARYOU TREE: Charyou Tree was the ritual bonfire made on the Festival of REAP. In the days of Arthur Eld, people were burned on this fire. By Roland’s day, STUFFY-GUYS were burned instead. The term Charyou-tree means “Come Reap.” IV:447, V:124, V:210 (Reap fair of the Old People), VI:219
CHASSIT (CHUSSIT, CHISSIT, CHASSIT): Chussit, chissit, chassit are the numbers seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen. They are used in the BABY-BUNTING RHYME, one of Mid-World’s childhood rhymes. See entries in MID-WORLD ARGOT and APPENDIX III. VII:22, VII:23, VII:57
CHILDREN OF RODERICK: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
COFFAH: This is another term for Hell. VII:265 See entry in PORTALS
**COMMALA: Commala is a Mid-World term for rice. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, we are told that it is also an alternative name for the festival dance known as the Sowing Night Cotillion. The Commala is the courting rite of New Earth, a festival also known as Sowing and Fresh Commala. See entry in CALLA BRYN STURGIS DIALECT
COMMALA DAN-TETE: The coming of the little god. VII:61
**COTILLION (SOWING NIGHT COTILLION): See COMMALA, above
**DAN-DINH: The term dan-dinh has many meanings. To speak dan-dinh is to open your heart and your mind to another. This term also means Little Leader. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, Roland feels the urge to speak to Jake dan-dinh after his encounter with the Oracle of the Mountains.
In Wolves of the Calla, we learn that the literal interpretation of this term is “May I open my heart to your command.” Roland’s tutor Vannay maintained that the phrase predated Arthur Eld by centuries. To ask your leader a question dan-dinh means to seek your leader’s advice on an emotional problem. However, when you turn to your DINH in this way, you agree to do exactly as the dinh advises, immediately and without question. Men and women usually address their leader dan-dinh about love-affair problems, but in Wolves of the Calla, Jake speaks to Roland dan-dinh about the problem of Susannah/Mia and her chap. V:388
DAN SUR, DAN TUR, DAN ROLAND, DAN GILEAD: We are never given a translation of this phrase. However, since Roland tells Ted Brautigan to say it to one of the mutant CHILDREN OF RODERICK, we know it must refer to the vow of allegiance which that race once swore to the line of Eld. VII:216
DAN-TETE: (The second part of this word is pronounced tee-tee.) Dan-tete means “little savior” or “baby god.” Mordred is End-World’s dan-tete. Roland calls John Cullum his KA-TET’s dan-tete. VI:182, VII:38
DARKLES and TINCTS: In the 1982 edition of The Gunslinger, we were told that Maerlyn (also known as the Ageless Stranger) darkles and tincts. In other words, he lives backward in time and can live simultaneously in all times. In The Dark Tower, we learn that the Crimson King also darkles and tincts. This makes it difficult for the artist Patrick Danville to draw him. At the very end of this seventh book of the Dark Tower series, we learn that Roland also darkles and tincts. Roland will not die but will go on forever, repeating his journey to the Tower over and over, until he learns the lessons
ka wishes him to learn. I:212, VII:789
DASH-DINH: A dash-dinh is a religious leader. Henchick of the Manni is a dash-dinh. V:389
DEATH PRAYER: Roland translates this prayer for us and recites it over Jake’s grave:
Time flies, knells call, life passes, so hear my prayer.
Birth is nothing but death begun, so hear my prayer.
Death is speechless, so hear my speech.
This is Jake, who served his ka and his tet. Say true.
May the forgiving glance of S’mana heal his heart. Say please.
May the arms of Gan raise him from the darkness of the earth. Say please.
Surround him, Gan, with light.
Fill him, Chloe, with strength.
If he is thirsty, give him water in the clearing.
If he is hungry, give him food in the clearing.
May his life on this earth and the pain of his passing become
as a dream to his waking soul, and let his eyes fall upon
every lovely sight; let him find the friends that were lost to him,
and let every one whose name he calls call his in return.
This is Jake, who lived well, loved his own, and died as ka would have it.
Each man owes a death. This is Jake. Give him peace.
VII:474
DEH: Pronunciation of the letter D in High Speech. V:130
DELAH: Many. V:148, V:598, V:642, VI:268, VI:294, VII:50
DELAH GESTURE: See MID-WORLD GESTURES section.
DEVAR: Prison. VII:142
DEVAR-TETE: Little prison or torture chamber. VII:142
DEVAR-TOI: See entry in END-WORLD TERMS
DINH: A dinh is a leader or a king. It can also mean father, as in “father of his people.” Roland is the dinh of his ka-tet. In Wizard and Glass, Roland asks whether the Wizard of Oz was a great dinh—a baron or king. IV:558, IV:630, V:31, V:203, V:368, VI:252
FAN-GON: The exiled one. This term is used to describe Eddie Dean when he returns to New York via the Unfound Door. VII:515
FIN-GAN: Literally speaking, this means the first word. According to the Manni, the first word, or fin-Gan, was hile. According to their beliefs, the word hile set the world spinning. W:201
GODOSH: See PRIM, in CHARACTERS
GUNNA (GUNNA-GAR): All of one’s worldly possessions. In the case of a traveler, it is what he or she carries. IV:103, V:404, VI:33, VI:73, VII:134
GUNSLINGER LITANY: See GUNSLINGER LITANY, in MID-WORLD ARGOT
HAD HEET ROL-UH, FA HEET GUN, FA HEET HAK, FA-HAD GUN?: This is a phonetic translation of something which Calvin Tower says to Roland. We know that these words are probably in the Tongue, but we never find out what they mean. VI:197
HILE: Hile is one of the few words that is exactly the same in both low and High Speech. It is the one that the Manni called fin-Gan, or the first word; the one that set the world spinning. In low speech, hile is used as a formal greeting. It can also be used to call animals. IV:21, IV:261, V:107, W:201, W:202
HILE, BONDSMEN! I SEE YOU VERY WELL! RISE IN LOVE AND SERVICE: It seems likely that this phrase is translated from High Speech. This is what gunslingers say when people kneel before them and raise their fists to their foreheads. See also MID-WORLD GESTURES. W:202
HODJI: Hodji means both “dim” and “hood.” In the southern provinces of Mid-World, Walter O’Dim was known as Walter Hodji. He was given this nickname for two reasons—first for the hooded cloak he often wore and second for his ability to make himself DIM so that he could move unnoticed. VII:183
HOUKEN: Houken is a descriptive term. If someone comments on your sad houken’s eyes they are talking about your waif eyes, or your melodramatically sad eyes. When Mordred calls Oy a “little furry houken,” he’s calling him a sad little furry waif. VI:753
**HOWKEN: The act (and art) of hypnotizing someone, usually using a bullet as a focusing point. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, Roland twirls a bullet howken to hypnotize Jake.
IRINA: The healing madness that comes after terrible loss. VII:466
JIN-JIN: Quickly. As in “Get me a piece of chalk and do it jin-jin.” VII:149, W:69
KA: Like many words in High Speech, ka has multiple meanings and so is difficult to define precisely. It signifies life force, consciousness, duty, and destiny. In the vulgate, or low speech, it also means a place to which an individual must go. The closest terms in our language are probably fate and destiny, although ka also implies karma, or the accumulated destiny (and accumulated debt) of many existences. We are the servants of ka, but we are also its prisoners. Ka’s one purpose is to turn, and we turn with it, albeit sometimes under different names and in different bodies. In the final volume of the Dark Tower series, ka is compared to a train hurtling forward, one which may not be sane. The ka of our world is NINETEEN. The ka of Roland’s world is ninety-nine. II:178, V:31, V:91, VI:293, VI:341, VII:169, VII:302, VII:307
**KA-BABBIES: Young KA-TET mates. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, Cort warns Roland that if he takes his test of manhood and fails, he may never see his father, mother, or ka-babbies again. See entry in CALLA BRYN STURGIS DIALECT
KA-DINH: Oy believes that Jake is his ka-dinh. VII:92
KA-GAN: Gan himself. Writers and artists are KAS-KA-GAN. VII:458
KA-HUMES: See entry in END-WORLD TERMS
KA-MAI (KA-MAIS): Ka’s fool, or destiny’s fool. Roland uses this term to describe both Eddie Dean and Cuthbert Allgood. The servants of the Crimson King call Jake and Callahan Gilead’s ka-mais. Those who are designated ka-mais are often safe from harm, or at least until ka tires of their antics and swats them out of the world.
The term ka-mai has other connotations as well. As has already been stated, it implies a constant joker (the kind Roland is obviously drawn to and easily angered by), yet the addition of ka adds another dimension to this term. One must remember that in Shakespeare’s plays, it is often the fool who speaks the most profound truths. Sometimes jest is serious, or cuts to the heart of a matter which otherwise could not be addressed at all. Cuthbert and Eddie, both referred to as ka-mai, often have insights that Roland would neither grasp nor face on his own. It is Eddie, alone among the ka-tet traveling to the Tower, who realizes that Roland’s potential for treachery and betrayal still exists. He jokes about it, yet he states it clearly enough, and directly to Roland. The gift of ka-mai is a necessary one on the road to the Tower. It is as necessary as the gift of the touch. IV:42, IV:282, V:527 (opposite of ka-me), VI:358, VII:6, VII:427
**KA’S BOOK: The Book of Destiny. Roland mentions this book when he meets his lover Alice in the 2003 version of The Gunslinger.
KA-MATES: Your ka-mates are those people whose fates (or destinies) are entwinedwith your own. It is another term for the members of your KA-TET. V:405
KA-ME: Wisely. It is the opposite of KA-MAI, which means foolishly. V:527
KAMMEN: The TODASH chimes, or the bells that you hear when you travel todash. This word has special significance for the Manni, since they travel between worlds so frequently. See TODASH: KAMMEN, in PORTALS
KA-SHUME: This rue-laden term does not have an exact translation. It describes the dark emotion one feels when a break in one’s KA-TET looms. Ka-tets can only be broken by death or betrayal. Some argue, however, that these things are also aspects of KA. If this is the case, then ka-shume implies a sense of approaching disaster involving the members of a ka-tet. Ka-shume is the price paid for attempting to change or divert ka. VII:247, VII:250, VII:259, VII:307
KAS-KA GAN: Prophets of Gan or singers of Gan. All artists—whether they are writers, painters, sculptors, poets, or composers—are kas-ka Gan. VII:458
KA-TEL: A ka-tel is a class of apprentice gunslingers. Roland was the youngest of his ka-tel, yet he was the first to win his guns. IV:106
KA-TET: Ka-tet means “one made from many.”Ka refers to destiny;tet refers to a group of people with the same interests or goals. Ka-tet is the place where men’s lives are joined by fate. Ka-tet cannot b
e changed or bent to any individual’s will, but it can be seen, known, and understood. The philosophers of Gilead stated that the bonds of ka-tet could be broken only by death or treachery. However, Roland’s teacher Cort maintained that neither death nor treachery is strong enough to break the bonds of ka-tet, since these events are also tied to ka, or fate. Each member of a ka-tet is a piece of a puzzle. Each individual piece is a mystery, but when put together, the collective pieces form a greater picture. It takes many interwoven ka-tets to weave an historical tapestry. Ka-tets overlap, often sharing members. Individuals can also be partial members of a ka-tet, as Roland states when he pursues Jake through the underground mazes of Lud. Unlike the billy-bumbler Oy, who follows Jake by instinct as much as by sense of smell (members of the same ka-tet are drawn to one another), Roland believes he is not a complete member of Jake’s destiny-bound group. He can share thoughts, but his destiny is slightly different from those of his companions. This may be because Roland is from a different world, but this explanation is not complete. After all, Oy is also from a different world, and is part of a different species.
A ka-tet is not always bound by love, affection, or friendship. Enemies are also ka-tet. Although usually referred to as positive or at least inevitable, the forces of ka and ka-tet can cast a sinister shadow over our lives. As Roland says to his friends when the shadow of KA-SHUME falls over their lives, “We are ka-tet . . . we are one from many. We have shared our water as we have shared our lives and our quest. If one should fall, that one will not be lost, for we are one and will not forget, even in death” (VII:260). For Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Roland, the ka-tet holding them together also binds them to the Dark Tower and the Vacant Lot on Forty-sixth Street and Second Avenue. This place, where Tom and Jerry’s Artistic Deli once stood, is the “secret heart” of their ka-tet. III:259, III:264, V:108, V:149, VI:341
KES: Pronounced like kiss. A person’s kes is linked to his or her vitality. Even the Beams have kes. VII:334
KHEF: Literally speaking, khef means “the sharing of water.” It also implies birth, life force, and all that is essential to existence. Khef can only be shared by those whom destiny has welded together for good or ill—in other words, by those who are KA-TET.
