The Thuggee or Thuggee Cult are a fictional organization from the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Description[]
The Thuggee are an Indian religious group and secret-society which worships Kali Ma, a form of the Hindu goddess Kali who represents time, death, war, destruction and change. This worship gave certain members of the group supernatural powers which required blood-sacrifice. For centuries, the Thuggee have also operated as assassins.
Members[]
- Chattar Lal:
- Mola Ram:
- Zalim Singh:
History[]
Background[]
The Thuggee are asserted to originate from a Muhammad tribe of Islam which immigrated to India. In the 13th century, the Thuggee were recognized as an official religion though they were contentious for their assassinations by the 18th century. When the British Empire conquered India, they hunted down members of the Thuggee to massacre.
By the 20th century, the Thuggee were believed to be extinct. However, the Thuggee priest Mola Ram secretly lead a Thuggee secret-society beneath the Pankot Palace. This Thuggee sect was dedicated to assembling the mystical Sankara Stones in hopes of materializing Kali Ma to chase the British Empire out of India. They performed this task by running mines underneath of the palace, largely run by child miners.
In 1935, archaeologist Indiana Jones investigated the missing children incident, leading him to Pankot. Here, he found the secret-society where he killed Mola Ram followed by assisting the British in overtaking the palace. The cult's further fate is unknown though it is known many of Ram's followers were persecuted, imprisoned and killed by one Captain Phillip James Blumburtt.
Development history[]
The Thuggee are a fictional religious-group who take their name from, "Thuggee", an Indian term for gangs of criminals. Despite being Hindu, the cult takes elements from Jivaroan Indigenous tribes, Mexica peoples, and Haitian voodoo.
Jungle Cruise appearances[]
Jungle Cruise[]
In the Summer of Hidden Mysteries overlay, Mola Ram's headdress appeared in the Umbala people's tribe along the Nile River. In the backstory for the overlay, it as explained that it was amongst the artifacts accidentally left in Adventurelandby Indiana Jones on one of his adventures.[1]
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar[]
In Trader Sam's bar is Mola Ram's kryta depicting Indiana Jones.[2] It comes with a letter from Short Round explaining that Jones sent it to Sam to be destroyed but is instead kept on display.[3]
Other connections[]
Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye[]
Some Indiana Jones materials identify Jones as having located the Temple of the Forbidden Eye directly after the events of Temple of Doom.
Other appearances[]
Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities[]
Mola Ram's headdress appears within Dok-Ondar's shop in Black Spire Outpost, Batuu. It is also located nearby the Ark of the Covenant.
Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar[]
Mola Ram is indirectly referenced several time in this bar run by Jones' aviator Jock Lindsey. Ram's kryta depicting Indy, Willie and Short Round are on one of the shelves.[4] A map of the world has a piece of fabric depicting the Sankara Stones over India near the Temple of Doom. A travel poster for Pankot province also shows the Temple of Doom and has the lines, "You'll leave your heart in beautiful Pankot".[5] Ram was further referenced with the drink Kali Ma-rgueritas, named for his chant of, "Kali Ma".
Trivia[]
- Kali is the namesake of Kali River Rapids in Disney's Animal Kingdom, an attraction connected to the Wilderness Explorers attraction.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ http://disneylanddiva.blogspot.com/2008/09/indiana-jones-and-summer-of-hidden.html
- ↑ https://geeksofdoom.com/2012/01/29/indiana-jones-voodoo-doll-at-disneys-trader-sams-enchanted-tiki-bar
- ↑ https://www.disneytouristblog.com/trader-sams-backstory-details/
- ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/s6_indianajones/
- ↑ https://www.tripadvisor.in/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g34515-d8666676-i174107298-Jock_Lindsey_s_Hangar_Bar-Orlando_Florida.html