Now 75 years old, Harrison Ford isn’t confined to outer space for wild adventures. He’s been in some tight situations here on Earth that make Han Solo’s Jabba-the-Hut confrontation look tame. The first Indiana Jones film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” is set in the late 1930s, when countries were on the brink of World War II. And now TheWrap has examined the Oscar-winning Steven Spielberg film against its historical backdrop.
Are the Hovito people real?
At the beginning of the movie, Indiana Jones is seeking a fertility idol in the Peruvian jungle. When he gets out of the booby-trapped temple with the infamous boulder, he’s pursued by the Hovitos, descendants of the Chachapoyas.
While the Hovitos and their language are fictional, the Chachapoyas are real — at least, they were. Known as the “Warriors of the Clouds,” they lived high in the Andes Mountains.
Do they speak Spanish in Peru?
While in the temple on the hunt for the idol, Indy’s guide tricks him, thinking he’s leaving Indy behind. He leaves with an “Adios, amigo.”
Yes, the principal language in Peru is Spanish. Aymara and Quechua are other languages spoken in the South American country.
Is Tanis a real place?
Indy ends up in Tanis, where the Nazis are searching for the Ark of the Covenant. It’s in Tanis that the professor eventually finds the Ark.
Yes, Tanis is a real place. The ancient Egyptian city was located in Northeastern Egypt on the delta of the Nile River, and eventually became the capital. In 1939, royal tombs were discovered. Jewelry, precious stones, gold and pharaoh masks were all found — but no Ark.
Is the Ark of the Covenant real?
The whole point of the movie is finding the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis. Indy and his pals cross the globe to get to it first.
If you believe the Old Testament, then yes. The Ark of the Covenant is part of the story of Moses, and serves as the symbol of God’s divine presence. Still, a physical ark has yet to be discovered.
Was Hitler really obsessed with the occult?
The movie hinges on Hitler’s obsession with the occult, and his desire to collect old religious artifacts that might bring him more power.
There have been books and documentaries about Hitler’s connections with the occult, mostly due to the shared belief that there is such a thing as a superior race.
