What does “Tikna Mora O Beng” mean? Why does Ruby’s vision worry Tommy so much?

What is the meaning of Tikna Mora O Beng? That’s a question everyone is asking after watching the first episode of the most awaited show Peaky Blinders. Jam packed with revelations, season 6 episode 1 was the most elusive with its gypsy phrase “Tikna Mora O Beng”.

We know that “Tikna” means little girl or daughter, “beng” is a supernatural being, and sometimes the Devil himself while “Mora” is translated by the Romani glossary as either “friend” or “death”. Put together, it could mean “little girl befriends the devil”.

In the catastrophic Peaky Blinders season 6 opening episode, Tommy is faced with the likelihood that daughter Ruby is severely ill. Soon after, Lizzie explains how her fever manifested in supposed rambling and visions of a green-eyed man.

What do Ruby’s Romani words mean? What’s the importance of the green-eyed man in her vision? Why Tommy is so concerned of what Lizzie tells him?

While interpreting Romani language is a prospect made tough by the nomadic nature of traveller culture and vast differences across various gypsy groups, some of what Lizzie says Ruby said can be vaguely translated.

“Tikna” means little girl or daughter, while “beng” is a supernatural being, and sometimes the Devil himself. “Mora” is the hardest word to translate, given that the only existing Romani glossary to list it translates it as “friend”, but that could be a worry with Lizzie’s understanding of what Ruby said.

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, when asked about what does “Tikna Mora O Beng” mean Steven Knight the director of the series said: “It’s difficult to translate from the Romani, but it means ‘devil’. It means a bit more than that, but yeah. So it’s not good. It’s not a good thing.”

Either way, the combination of the words daughter, friend, and Devil is clearly threatening, and would explain Tommy’s reaction. So too would the fact that “mora” seems to derive from the Latin “mors”, which is linked to death, and which would explain why he demands Johnny Dog’s wife put a black madonna around Ruby’s neck.

The interesting thing about Ruby’s vision is Tommy’s specific instruction that Ruby stay away from horses and from the river, and that Curly stay behind with her horses to watch them. This indicates that he believes Ruby’s visions and her fever has disclosed a dangerous sickness linked to horses and water.

Though the transmission of the illness between horses and humans is rare (albeit possible) and one disease that matches both the issue over water and Ruby’s feverish state is Glanders, which, sadly, is mostly lethal if not treated correctly.

Ruby’s insight in Peaky Blinders season 6 includes the glimpse of a green-eyed man, which also seems to trouble Tommy Shelby. This is not believed to be connected to the cause of her sickness, but rather seems to be Tommy’s hopefulness that she has the second sight that Polly was gifted with.

Green-eyes have one supreme association in symbolism – jealousy – and Tommy could see Ruby’s vision of a green-eyed man as further evidence of his own insights of black cats. Now it would be his belief, after all, that Michael and Gina’s hunger to take over the Shelby company was borne out of resentment.

The BBC series is already out on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on February 27. It will make its debut on Netflix later this year but the first 5 seasons are available to stream there. Till then have a look at the season 6 trailer.

About Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is a British period crime drama television series created by Steven Knight. Set in Birmingham, England, the series follows the exploits of the Shelby crime family and their leader Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) in the direct aftermath of the First World War.

The fictional family is loosely based on a real urban youth gang of the same name, active in the city from the 1890s to the early 20th century. It stars Cillian Murphy, Sam Claflin, Aidan Gillen, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Finn Cole, and Tom Hardy

Netflix, under a deal with Weinstein Company and Endemol, acquired the rights to release the show in the United States and around the world. In January 2021, it was announced that the sixth series would be the last, followed by a spin-off film. The final series was broadcast in 2022.

New Source – Screenrant