cmaz504@ut-ngp.UUCP (07/29/83)
Copied (in part and without permission) from the San Francisco Chronicle When "Return of the Jedi" opens in Nairobi on August 19, Kenyan audiences are in for a surprise-an alien in the film speaks the language of Kenya's dominant Kikuyu tribe. "Atiriri. Inyui muri hau ukai na haha," mutters a heavy-jowled reptilian creature with bulging black eyes, co-pilot of the Millenium Falcon, as the rebel starship zeros in for an attack on the evil Empire's death star. The phrase, which translates roughly as "Attention, you over there, come this way," has no meaning in the context of the film. But it evoked surprise and bewilderment and laughter among Kenyans who saw a preview Sunday of the latest film in George Lucas' "Star Wars" trilogy. "It was pure Kikuyu," said secretary Joyace Mbao, a Kikuyu who saw the preview. "Everybody, including my children, wondered what was going on. Then they realized the voice was in the film."