Tia Dalma is a major character in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. She is the human guise of Calypso, trapped forever in her human form by the Brethren Court and Davy Jones.
Thousands of years ago, Tia Dalma was the goddess Calypso, born to the intimidating Titan Atlas. She was a very powerful and wrathful yet mysterious goddess of the seas and oceans, was as harsh as untamable as the sea. One day she fell in love with the mortal sailor Davy Jones, who reciprocated his feelings for her. Enticed by her boyfriend's love of the sea, Calypso made him the ferryman of those who were lost at sea and guide them to the afterlife. She gave Jones a ship called the Flying Dutchman and supported him with the condition that he can go on land every ten years so they could be together. To symbolize their love for each other, Calypso and Jones wore a pair of matching musical lockets. During the 10 years at sea, Jones kept to his duties and when it was time for him and Calypso to be together again, she never appeared due to not being in her nature to wait. Enraged by her "betrayal," Jones made a deal with the First Brethren Court in showing them a spell that would bind Calypso in human form and give the rule of the oceans to man. Led by the original King of the Brethren Court, they collected nine pieces of eight and let Jones guide them through the ritual. The goddess found herself trapped in a mortal body, unaware of what her former lover had done. With the seven seas no longer under Calypso's control, the oceans were at rest and pieces used to trap her were divided among the Pirate Lords for safekeeping, giving them an equal rule over the Seven Seas.
Dealing with heartbreak and guilt over what he had done to Calypso, Davy Jones carved out his own heart and placed it within the Dead Man's Chest, burying it on an island so no one would be able to find it. He soon began to ignore his duties and instead began recruiting lost souls into his crew for, at least, a hundred years. Heartbroken, Calypso went into a self-imposed exile as Tia Dalma, a voodoo queen, healer, and mystic. During her time as a human, she also had many encounters with the young pirate Jack Sparrow.