Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Do Mothra's Priestesses Sing in Tagalog?


I was watching one of my all-time favorite movies this morning, 'Mosura tai Gojira' (1964), or 'Mothra against Godzilla'. If you're a fan of Japanese monster movies, and in particular Toho's Godzilla series, you will no doubt have heard of this movie, as it is a classic amongst fans. Many cite the Mosu-Goji suit (aka, the rubber Godzilla suit) to be among the most evil looking of the lot, with its slithering, serpent-like quality and soulless eyes.

The plot is simple enough to follow: a freak storm uncovers a gigantic egg buried underneath layers of soil in a distant island, which then washes onto a Japanese shoreline. It is then bought by the Maritomo Company, which intends to put it on display. Meanwhile, ace reporter Sakai and his oviparous girlfriend Junko, who try to wrest the giant egg from the evil industrialists, are surprised by the appearance of the Shobijin: twin fairy priestess barely a foot tall.

The Shobijin claim that the giant egg is Mothra's, and that if it isn't returned soon, they shall have to face the moth goddess's wrath. But suddenly, Godzilla arises after years of slumber, and he's madder than ever! The radioactive dinosaur, hungry for breakfast, heads for the giant egg; while in a last ditch attempt to save the people of Japan, Sakai, Junko and Professor Miura head to a desolate and seemingly God-forsaken island to beg Mothra's assistance in the oncoming fight.

I won't spoil the rest, but let it be known that this movie ranks among the best in the Showa Eiga Godzilla movies, or those movies produced in the years 1954 to 1975. This was the first Godzilla film from the Showa era that I had seen, and it easily remains one of my favorites.

I was a bit surprised, though, when the Shobijin began singing in a language eerily similar to my own, Tagalog. I know that Mothra's island (called Infant Island in the movie) is supposedly near Indonesia, but I didn't realize I would also hear my tongue in that movie. True enough, I did a quick search on the internet and came up with this.

The Sacred Fountain

Verse 1:
Na intindihan mo ba
Na intindihan mo ba
Mairoun doan
Maganda baron
Punta ka lang dito
Ka lang dito
Harika tu marupo
Harika tu marupo

Verse 2:
Na intindihan mo ba
Na intindihan mo ba
Mairoun doan
Maganda baron
Punta ka lang dito
Ka lang dito
Harika tu marupo
Harika tu marupo
Ru, ru, ru, ru, ru, ru
Ru, ru, ru, ru, ru, ru

The song 'The Sacred Fountain' is sung when the Shobijin implore Mothra's help. Granted, it's a very crude form of Tagalog; but here is my translation anyway:

Do you understand?
Do you understand?
(Mairoun doan)
Is it beautiful there?
Hasten to us
To us
Come now (no idea what 'tu marupo' is)
Ru, ru, ru, ru, ru, ru
Ru, ru, ru, ru, ru, ru

The words in parentheses are either wrongly transliterated, or they may be in another language. I feel like such a geek now. Hahaha.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

How exceedingly cool! Geeks rock!

Archistrategos said...

Yes they do Drusilla! Hahahah! :D

Andrew said...

Haha... is the Mothra the chipmunk looking fellow on the cover? I can just imagine it getting it on with Godzilla... I stand corrected, no, I can't imagine it =)

BTW, I challenge you to duel of nerdiness....

Check out the blog for details... let's see how nerdy u really are.

Archistrategos said...

Mothra is the fuzzy one who always wins because she is a girl. LOL.

Is that a challenge?!?!? Hahahaha! I'm up for it! I am not a Trekkie or DnD-er or Star Wars-er, though. (I'm not really nerdy, just had a fun childhood! :D)

Andrew said...

Well, my nerdy score was rather low on the really nerdy stuff, except history and literature which I took in high school... though as an engineer, I should have been a bigger maths nerd... hmmm

So I think you can out nerd me, but the question is, are u uber cool? Haha... we'll see

Archistrategos said...

Me? I'm the king of cool... My fanny pack speaks for itself! Mwahahaha! j/k

(In Spongebob Squarepants voice)

"Goodbye pals!"