by Robin Furth
KRA KAMMEN: This is the Manni term for the Doorway Cave. Jake thinks it means “house of bells,” but it actually means “house of ghosts.” To the Manni, the KAMMEN (TODASH chimes) are ghost bells. VI:34
MAGS AND BOBS: The magical tools which the Manni use to travel between worlds. For more information, see BRANNI BOB, above, and MANNI, in CHARACTERS. VI:7
MANNI KRA REDPATH-A-STURGIS: The Manni clan that lives in a village near Calla Bryn Sturgis. It is also the name of that village. VI:38
MANNI MANNERISMS: The Manni have many mannerisms which are as unique to their sect as are their blue cloaks, thick beards, and long fingernails. When a Manni covers his face with his hands, it is a gesture of deep religious dread (V:413). When Manni men have lost face, they tug their beards (VI:21). When Manni folk say “The Eld,” they raise their fists in the air with the first and fourth fingers pointed (V:31). Finally, when Manni folk shake their heads, they do so in long, sweeping arcs (V:414).
MANNI REDPATH: Another name for Manni Calla, the Manni village located two hours north of Calla Bryn Sturgis. V:399
NA’AR: The Manni term for Hell. V:408
NAY: No. V:411
OVER, THE: Manni term for the divine force. According to Mia, the Over is identical to the PRIM, or the primordial soup of creation. For page references, see MANNI: OVER, THE, in CHARACTERS
OVER-SAM KAMMEN! CAN-TAH KAMMEN! CAN-KAVAR KAMMEN! OVER-CAN-TAH!: This is the praise-prayer Henchick gives when the Unfound Door opens. We are not given a translation. VI:42
OVER-SAM, OVER-KRA, OVER-CAN-TAH: A Manni prayer. We are not given a translation. VI:26
PASS OVER (TO PASS OVER): To time-travel or to travel between worlds. V:115
REDPATH KRA-TEN: Another term for Manni Calla, or the Manni village. VI:6, VI:7
SEEKING FOLK: Another descriptive term for the Manni. They are called seeking folk, far-seers, and far travelers because they travel between worlds. V:399
SENDERS: The senders are the most powerful of the Manni psychics and travelers. When Henchick and his followers reactivate the magic of the Unfound Door, they use the psychic strength of their strongest senders. VI:7, VI:39
SNIVELMENT (YOUNG SNIVELMENT): This is a Manni insult. Henchick calls Eddie Dean a young snivelment when he questions the power of the BRANNI BOB. See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT. VI:29
TEMPA: The Tempa is the Manni Meeting Hall. VI:6
’TIS A GOOD NAME, AND A FAIR: Henchick says this to Roland. It is a way of saying that his name is good and honorable. V:416
TODASH: See entry in HIGH SPEECH
TODASH TAHKEN: See entry in HIGH SPEECH
WE ARE FAR-SEERS AND FAR TRAVELERS. WE ARE SAILORS ON KA’S WIND: This is how Henchick, the DINH of the Manni, describes his people. VI:38
CALLA BRYN STURGIS DIALECT
A HARD PULL THAT’D BE (THAT’D BE QUITE A PULL): That will be a tough one to pull off. V:224
A MAN WHO CAN’T STAY A BIT SHOULDN’T APPROACH IN THE FIRST PLACE: A man who can’t spend the time to finish a conversation (or a visit) should have the sense not to begin one. V:477
A STONE MIGHT DRINK, IF IT HAD A MOUTH: This statement comes from Rosa Munoz, and is equivalent to “If pigs had wings, they would fly.” VI:8
ADDLED (HE AIN’T HALF-ADDLED): Confused. Addled can also imply senility. V:346
ALL GODS IS ONE WHEN IT COMES TO THANKS: In other words, it doesn’t matter which of Mid-World’s gods you thank, as long as you thank one of them. V:206
AND MAY YOU HAVE TWICE THE NUMBER: See PLEASANT DAYS, AND MAY THEY BE LONG UPON THE EARTH, below. See also MAY YOUR DAYS BE LONG UPON THE EARTH, in MID-WORLD ARGOT
AND WITH THE BLESSING, WHAT AIN’T FINE WILL BE: With God’s blessing, what isn’t right will be put right. V:346
ANT-NOMIC: The people of the CALLA use this word instead of atomic. V:151, V:340
ANY RO’: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
ARC: See GRAND CRESCENT, below
ARMYDILLO: Armadillo. V:578
ASK PARDON: I beg your pardon. V:123
BABBIES: Children. V:611
BABY BANGERS (LITTLE BANGERS): Small fireworks or Reap-crackers set off during festivals or holidays. Children love them. V:227
BAH AND BOLT: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
BARREL-SHOOTERS: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
BEG-MY-EAR?: This phrase is equivalent to “Excuse me?” or “Pardon me?” V:124
BIDE (TO BIDE): To bide is to stay. V:322
BIG-BIG: Very much. It is usually heard in the context of “thankya big-big.” It can also mean “a lot” or “a lot of.” V:312, V:368
BLOODMUCK: Blood poisoning. V:651
BOAT, THE: The boat is a CALLA term for the rear part of a cowboy’s saddle, or the place where bedrolls are tied. V:557
BOLA: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
BOOM-FLURRY: Boom-flurry is the CALLA term for the nasty cacti which live in the desert dividing Calla Bryn Sturgis from Thunderclap. Boom-flurry eat humans. When they get all riled up (usually because a potential meal is passing by), they are said to be FASHED. V:571
BORDERLANDS: Calla Bryn Sturgis and the other CALLAS of the GRAND CRESCENT are located in the area known as the borderlands. The borderlands sit between Mid-World-that-was and End-World. For page references, see entry in MID-WORLD PLACES
BRIGHT OR DIM, THAT’S A LOT OF MEAT IN MOTION: Tian’s da, Luke Jaffords, coined this phrase. He used it to describe his daughter Tia (Tian’s twin), who was taken to Thunderclap by the Wolves and returned ROONT. Like the other roonts, Tia is a giantess, but her mental capabilities are extremely limited. V:8
BROWNIE: Eben Took uses this nasty phrase to describe Susannah Dean. (Granpere Jaffords uses it too, but Susannah doesn’t take offense in Gran-pere’s case, probably because he is so old and ADDLED that she figures he doesn’t know any better.) Although many people in the CALLAS are dark-skinned, the term brownie refers specifically to a person who (in terms of our world’s geography) is of African, or Afro-Caribbean, descent. V:359, V:405
BUCKA WAGGONS: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
BUCKBOARD: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
BUMPER: A bumper is a brimful glass of wine or beer. V:219
BUZZ-BALLS: See SNEETCHES, below
CALLA: According to Susannah Dean, the word calla means street or square. All of the villages in the BORDERLANDS are called callas. For more information, see BORDERLANDS, in MID-WORLD PLACES
CALLUM-KA: A callum-ka is a simple pullover worn by both the men and the women of the BORDERLANDS when the weather turns chilly. It looks like a boatneck. VI:229
CAN-AH, CAN-TAH, ANNAH, ORIZA: See entry in HIGH SPEECH
CAT-OIL: Rosa Munoz makes this arthritis rub. It contains mint and spriggum from the swamp, but its secret ingredient is ROCK CAT bile. It’s potent stuff. V:242–43
CAVE OF VOICES: The Cave of Voices is located high in the arroyo country north of Calla Bryn Sturgis. Its name comes from the deep, noxious-smelling pit it contains—a pit that echoes with horrid, accusatory voices. What voices are heard depends upon who is there to hear them. Essentially, the demon of the cave (or its animating mechanism) taps into a listener’s most guilty memories and then plays back the sobbing or angry voices of all those whom the listener believes he or she has wronged. Once Pere Callahan entered the Calla, the Cave of Voices was renamed Doorway Cave. This renaming came about because the freestanding magical door which Callahan used to enter the Calla (or was forced to use to enter the Calla) became a permanent fixture of the Cave. The door itself is known as the Unfound Door. For more information, see DOORWAY CAVE, in PORTALS
CHARY (YOU CHARY MAN): See entry in HIGH SPEECH
CHRIST AND THE MAN JESUS: The people of the CALLA are a little confused about whether the Man Jesus is the same as Christ. V:6
COMMALA: The Commala is another name for the RICE SONG, which was known and sung throughout Mid-World, In-World, and the BORDERLANDS. On our KA-TET’s first night in Calla Bryn Sturgis,
Roland dances the Commala and wins the hearts (if not the trust) of the Calla FOLKEN.
In the borderlands, the term commala has more meanings than anywhere else in Roland’s world. Here is a fairly complete collection of those definitions: 1. A variety of rice grown at the farthermost eastern edge of All-World. 2. Sexual intercourse. 3. Sexual orgasm (Q: Did’ee come commala? A: Aye, say thank ya, commala big-big.) 4. The commencement of a big, joyful feast. 5. A fork. 6. Schmoozing. 7. TO STAND COMMALA: literally speaking, this means to stand belly-to-belly. It is a slang term which translates as “to share secrets.” 8. COME STURGIS COMMALA or COME BRYN COMMALA: literally speaking, to stand belly-to-belly with the entire community. 9. TO WET THE COMMALA: to irrigate the rice in a dry time. It can also mean to masturbate. 10. COMING COMMALA: a man who is losing his hair. 11. DAMP COMMALA: putting animals out to stud. 12. DRY COMMALA: gelded animals. 13. GREEN COMMALA: a virgin. 14. RED COMMALA: a menstruating woman. 15. SOF’ COMMALA: a man who can no longer get an erection. 16. THE COMMALA DRAWS: the rocky arroyos north of Calla Bryn Sturgis. 17. COME-COME-COMMALA: the Rice Dance. 18. LOW COMMALA: see KI’BOX. 18. FUCK-COMMALA: a curse. 19. COMMALA-MOON: to stare aimlessly, or to be inattentive; to moon about. 20. STRONG COMMALA: a hard boy, or potentially dangerous man. V:208, V:230–33, V:325, V:484, V:486–87, V:489, V:587–89 (words for the Commala), V:699, VI:229 (Commala-moon)
COOL EYES SEE CLEAR: A person who has an emotional distance from a situation will be able to see it in a more balanced way. V:323
COSY (A GOOD COSY, I HAVE A COSY FOR HIM): In our world, a cosy is a canopied corner seat for two. When Rosa Munoz says she has a “cosy” where Roland can sleep, she means she has a cot or a bed for him in a corner of her cabin. However, the sexual connotations of this phrase are fairly obvious. V:359, V:467
COWARDLY CUSTARDS: Cowards. V:360, V:362
COZENING BASTARDS: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
CROSS-WAY: A person who holds to the Cross-way is a Christian. In other words, he or she follows the teachings of the crucified God. V:477
CRUSIE-FIX: See JESUS-TREE, below
CRY PARDON (CRY YOUR PARDON): See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
CULLIES: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
DAIRTY: Dirty. V:402
DEEP HAIRCUT (A DEEP HAIRCUT): Margaret Eisenhart’s term for the damage that can be done by an ORIZA. VII:83
DEVIL GRASS: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT; see also DEMONS/SPIRITS/DEVILS: DEVIL GRASS, in CHARACTERS
DINH: See entry in HIGH SPEECH
DIVE DOWN: Like yer bugger, dive down is an exclamation often heard in the Calla. V:223
DO YA (IF IT DOES YA; DO YA, I BEG; MAY IT DO YA): This is one of the CALLAS’ all-purpose terms. It is often used rhetorically. Depending on the circumstances, it can mean “if you want,” “if you know what I mean,” or “Beg pardon?” V:22, V:129, V:209, V:353, V:477
DO YA EITHER WAY: This term translates loosely as “It’s up to you” or “Do whichever you feel like doing.” V:310
DO YA FINE: See MAY IT DO YA FINE, below
DO YA KEN: See KEN, below
DO YA TAKE NO OFFENSE, I BEG: “No offense intended.” It can also mean “please.” V:123, V:139
DO YE, I BEG: This is a polite way to demand what you want. For example, if you are in the Town Gathering Hall and the speaker is saying something with which you strongly disagree, you might demand the OPOPANAX feather by saying, “I’d have the feather, do ye, I beg!” V:22
DO’EE: “Do you.” V:154
DO’EE FOLLER?: Do you follow what I’m saying? V:360
DON’T HURT A BOY TO SEE A WOMAN DO WELL: It’s good for a boy to see a woman succeed. V:332
DOORWAY CAVE: See CAVE OF VOICES, above
DROTTA STICK: Dowsing stick. V:368
DRY-TWIST: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
DUSTER: A duster is a kind of coat or rain-poncho. V:557
EARTHSHAKE: An earthquake. V:22
’EE (TO TELL ’EE): You (to tell you). V:417
EVEN HAND/ODD HAND: This is a way to take turns. For example, when Jake and Benny share Benny’s room, Jake gets the bed on “odd hand” nights and Benny gets it on “even hand” nights. V:554
FAR-SEER: A telescope. V:573
FASHED: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
FER GOOD OR NIS (FOR GOOD OR DIS): For good or ill. V:603
FOLKEN: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
FOR GOOD OR DIS: See FER GOOD OR NIS, above
FOR THAT WE ALL SAY THANKYA: For that we are all grateful. V:350
FUCK-COMMALA: See COMMALA, above
FULL EARTH: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
GALOOT: We have this word in our world too. It means a clumsy person. V:703
GARN (GARN, THEN): Go on. V:319, V:325, V:344
GET: When a man speaks of his get, he is referring to his begotten children. V:21
GITS: This word is used in our world too, especially in Britain. It translates loosely as “jerk.” Neil Faraday calls Roland, his tet, and the townies who support them “numb gits” for thinking that they can defeat the WOLVES. V:612
GIVE YOU EVERY JOY OF THEM: May you enjoy them. V:173
GONE WORLD, THE: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
GOODISH WANDER: Andy the Robot’s term for a long walk. V:3
GRAF: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
GRAND CRESCENT: The Grand Crescent (also known as the Arc, the Middle Crescent, and the Rim) is a mild arc of land located in the BORDERLANDS. It stretches for approximately six thousand miles and contains seventy CALLAS, or towns. Many of the Callas of the Crescent suffer from the predations of the WOLVES. Calla Bryn Sturgis, setting for Wolves of the Calla, is located about one-third of the way down from the Arc’s northern tip. See BORDERLANDS: GRAND CRESCENT, in MID-WORLD PLACES
GRAN-PERE: Grandfather. V:251
GREEN CORN A-DAYO, THE: A popular song often sung in the CALLA. It has twenty or thirty verses. V:5
GUT-TOSSERS: Doctors. V:630
HE NEVER HAD NO SHORTAGE OF THORN AND BARK: He never had a shortage of guts. V:348
HEAR ME, I BEG (HEAR, I BEG; HEAR ME WELL, DO YA, I BEG): If you’re staying in the CALLA and want people to listen to what you’re about to say, or to contemplate what you’ve just said, then use this phrase. It can loosely be translated as “Hey” or “Listen up.” The stock response (whether your listeners agree with you or not) is “We say thankee-sai.” V:15, V:111, V:113, V:131, V:213, V:229
HOT-LUNG: This disease killed Benny Slightman’s twin sister. Jake thinks hot-lung is similar to pneumonia. V:385
HOW FROM HEAD TO FEET, DO YA, I BEG?: This is the CALLA way of saying “How are you doing?” The stock response is “I do fine, no rust, tell the gods thankee-sai.” V:113
HOWGAN: Hogan or home. V:612
HUNTRESS MOON: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
I BEG: I beg is a term which, in the CALLA, is often tacked on to the end of sentences. See DO YA (DO YA, I BEG), above
I DO FINE, NO RUST, TELL THE GODS THANKEE-SAI: See HOW FROM HEAD TO FEET, DO YA, I BEG?, above
I SET MY WATCH AND WARRANT ON IT: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
I WISH YOU JOY OF HIM: “I hope you enjoy dealing with him.” Although this statement sounds pleasant enough, it is usually used sarcastically. In other words, “I hope you like dealing with the old bastard more than I do.” V:347
I’D DO THAT MUCH, GODS HELP ME, AND SAY THANKEE: I’d do that much. V:128
IF IT DO YA FINE: This is another rhetorical statement. It can be used to mean “if that’s all right by you,” “if you want to,” etc. V:127
IN THE END THE GROUND CURES ALL: In the end, death puts an end to all suffering. V:630
IT SPLIT THROG: It split three ways. V:359
IT’S TRIG AS A COMPASS: It sure is clever. V:130
JESUS-TREE: A Jesus-tree is a crucifix. Pere Callahan makes crucifixes (or “crusie-fixes”) for the Christian converts of the CALLA. V:2
JILLY: See entry in MID-WORLD A
RGOT
KA-BABY (KA-BABBY, KA-BABBIES): This term can be used for little brothers and sisters or for young KA-TET mates. It can also be used to insult a person who appears to be too young for the title he or she holds. For example, George Telford refuses to acknowledge Jake as a gunslinger. Instead, he refers to him as Eddie’s ka-babby. V:9, V:223
KAFFIN TWINS: See entry in MID-WORLD ARGOT
KEN (AS YE KEN, DO YE KEN, DO YA KENNIT, I KEN, I DON’T KENNIT, YE KEN): To ken is to know. “Do ye ken?” is the equivalent of both “Do you know?” and “You know what I mean?” V:23, V:131, V:158, V:347, V:659
KI’BOX: Tian Jaffords explains human motivation to Eddie Dean in terms of a man’s (or a woman’s) body parts. Tian states that a human being consists of three boxes—a HEADBOX (also called a thoughtbox), a TITBOX (also called a heartbox), and a SHITBOX (also known as a ki’box). A person strives highest when he or she is motivated by the head or the heart. Nastiness, selfishness, lust, etc., all come from the ki’box. Actions motivated by the ki’box are LOW COMMALA, or base actions born of base desires. V:630–31
KI’COME: Jake Chambers learned this term from his CALLA friend Benny Slightman. Ki’come means “utter nonsense.” It is probably related to KI’BOX. VII:396
KILLIN (YE FOOLISH KILLIN): Gran-pere Jaffords calls his grandson Tian a “foolish killin” for proposing that the men of the CALLA stand up and fight the WOLVES. (According to Gran-pere, drunken men will stand up and fight, but sober men are cowards.) Although we are not given a literal translation of killin, we know that Gran-pere thinks Tian’s idea is admirable but unfeasible. Stephen King tells us that killin is a harsh word, but it can obviously be used in sadness as well. V:13
LADY OF THE PLATE: The Lady of the Plate is no other than Lady ORIZA, the rice goddess. Although the story of Lady Oriza was known throughout Mid-World-that-was, the tale of her confrontation with the harrier Gray Dick has special significance in the BORDERLANDS. In honor of Lady Oriza’s clever revenge against her father’s murderer, many of the CALLA’s women practice throwing sharpened plates. Their deadly aim helps Roland’s KA-TET win their battle against the WOLVES. See ORIZA, LADY and ORIZA, SISTERS OF, both in CHARACTERS
