What does “binturi” mean in Raya And The Last Dragon? Over the past few years, there’s been a concerted effort at Walt Disney Animation Studios to produce movies that are more culturally diverse than its usual output. Its Pacific island-set adventure Moana, for example, featured Disney’s first-ever Polynesian princess and Encanto – which takes place in Columbia – explores the richness of Latin American culture. Raya And The Last Dragon, meanwhile, draws inspiration from a variety of Southeast Asian cultures alongside boasting the studio’s first Southeast Asian hero.
The animation tells the tale of a warrior princess named Raya (voiced by Kelly Marie Tran) whose fictional homeland Kumandra is divided into five tribes, each of which battle for control of a magical gemstone crafted by a dragon hundreds of years ago. When the gemstone is shattered and its pieces scattered among the tribes, a horde of evil spirits known as Druun descend on Kumandra and turn most of its people – including Raya’s own father – into stone. Raya survives the attack and embarks on a mission to track down Kumandra’s last dragon Sisu (Awkwafina) to help her retrieve the missing gemstone pieces so she can revive her petrified people and restore harmony in her homeland.
As Raya And The Dragon progresses towards its ending, its eponymous character is pursued by her sworn enemy Namaari (Gemma Chan) – a fellow princess from a rival tribe who wants to obtain the fragments for her people. Raya has reason to be wary of Namaari; when the pair were younger Namaari took advantage of Raya’s trust and stole the gemstone from her, which lead to its destruction and the release of the Druun. Raya is often heard referring to Namaari as “binturi”, but what does this mean?
In Raya And The Dragon, “binturi” is an insult that basically means “traitor” – hence why it’s Raya’s preferred term for Namaari. It’s part of the Kumandran dialect which was created specifically for the movie by language creator David J. Peterson who has also invented languages like Dothraki for Game Of Thrones or Nelvayu for Doctor Strange. It’s just one example of the movie’s impressive world-building with Disney’s Raya And The Last Dragon Kumandran language taking inspiration from a range of Southeast Asian cultures including Thai, Vietnamese and Javanese.
Raya And The Last Dragon fans may have noticed a few other unfamiliar words peppered throughout the Disney animation besides “binturi.” There’s “dep la” which means “best friend” in the Kumandran language, for example, and “ba” which means “father.” However, Raya And The Last Dragon’s “binturi” meaning seems to be the word that stuck with viewers the most and the phrase even spawned its own meme in which it’s re-interpreted as family-friendly Disney shorthand for “bitch.”
