The Marvel Cinematic Universe episode “What If… Kahhori Reshape the World?” has been broadcast on the Disney+ platform since December. Its originality is that it was written in Kanien'kéha (Mohawk language) and depicts an indigenous character called Kahhori.
The translation of the protagonist's name and other terms in an episode of the Marvel series What If…? recently sparked an online debate about preserving the authenticity of the indigenous language.
People [disent] online that “Kahhori” is gibberish. That doesn't mean anything. Yes, of course it means something, replies Jeremy White, the interpreter of the character Atahrak in the episode in question, in an interview.
Just because it's not written the way you would, doesn't mean it's wrong, he adds.
Jeremy White was born and raised in Kahnawake, a Mohawk community (kanienkehà:ka) south of Montreal. The one, who attended a Mohawk immersion school through sixth grade, was raised by his grandparents, both of whom are fluent in the indigenous language.
Mr. White explains that he was recruited by Deluxe, Disney's dubbing studio, as a linguistic supervisor to work on the Mohawk voice project.
Years of work
Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, also from Kahnawake, plays the voice of the famous Kahhori, whose name means she moves the forest. According to Jeremy White, the actress worked closely with a language teacher.
The episode is about what would happen if the power-granting Tesseract fell to Earth before the colonization of North America and landed in the territory of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
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Devery Jacobs (center) plays the superhero Kahhori, whose name means “She Moves the Forest.” Jeremy White (right) plays the Atahraks and Ryan Little wrote the episode.
Photo: Jeremy White
Mr White said the episode was years in the making and Disney writer Ryan Little put a lot of love, care and respect into the production.
The latter explains in a statement emailed to CBC Indigenous that it is important to highlight the Mohawk people and that presenting the episode in Kanien'kéha is important to support the work of preserving the language in Haudenosaunee communities to appreciate and support.
Mr. Little points out that cultural consultants took the names Kahhori and Atahrak directly from a comprehensive list of indigenous names compiled by Charles Cooke, a famous Mohawk scholar. The manuscript was published in 1952.
For his part, Mr. White asserts that the names appearing in the manuscript were written phonetically without the diacritics now used in the Mohawk language.
He points out that it made sense for the characters in What If…? to use the same phonetic spelling. so that the general public can know how to pronounce them.
Language and culture continue to evolve, which is why the Mohawks transitioned from an oral language to a written language, White says. According to him, Atahraks is a real name of the Turtle Clan, meaning it eats the earth.
He sees his job as encouraging others and helping them to develop. In the episode, he is the one who welcomes newcomers to Skyworld. It helps them adjust to their new life, Mr White said.
Although Mohawk is not spoken with the same intonation as English – there is generally no ebb and flow in the speech of native speakers – Mr. White says he wanted to embody the enthusiasm of the Atahraks to bring his fictional character to life.
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Cecelia King, 74, of Akwesasne, translated the episode.
Photo: Jeremy White
Compliance with naming conventions
For the Mohawks, the naming convention allows the use of only one traditional name at a time. When the owner of this name dies, the name becomes available.
Mr White explains that to his knowledge the traditional names used for the characters are not currently in use, a fact which he said has been confirmed by cultural consultants.
Cecelia King, 74, originally from Akwesasne, a Mohawk community on the Canada-U.S. border about 75 kilometers southeast of Ottawa, translated the episode. She grew up speaking the indigenous language but was discouraged from speaking it when she went to school as a teenager.
She said it was the first time she had translated something for television, although she had taught Mohawk for 26 years. I'm hearing good reactions from some members of the community. Your young children really enjoyed it as I think it could help them learn the language.
Ms King understands that some people have expressed concerns about the use of traditional names and that she wanted to respect their concerns by not reflecting a child's name.
We're talking about entertainment here. This is not a documentary. We're not trying to change the world. We're trying to change the way Indigenous and Indigenous people are portrayed in mainstream entertainment.
Based on a text by Candace Maracle, CBC