wila

n. a surreptitious note (sent by or between prisoners); a kite. Subjects: Spanglish, Spanish, Mexico, Crime & Prisons, Slang

Editorial Note: Pronounced “WHEE-lah.” Etymological Note: This is an Anglicized or Spanglish spelling of the Mexican Spanish güila or huila, that, according to this 1998 Varilex survey of Spanish speakers, is one of many words for kite, a light-weight paper-covered frame flown in the wind. In the use documented here, güila or huila is a calque of an English slang meaning of “kite” dating to at least as early as 1859, “a note or letter, as sent between prisoners or smuggled out of prison.” The online version of the book Diccionario Breve de Mexicanismos (“Concise Dictionary of Mexicanisms”) states that güila and huila come from güilota or huilota, in turn from the Náhuatl word huilotl ‘dove,’ referring to the species Zenaida macroura or mourning dove. The Dictionnaire de la langue nahuatl classique (“The Dictionary of the Classic Náhuatl Language”) confirms the Náhuatl word.

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Citations: 1996 Press-Enterprise (Riverside, California) (Dec. 16) “Defendants, charges and vocabulary of the trial” p. A4: “Kites” or “wilas,” written messages. 2004 Guillermo Contreras San Antonio Express-News (Tesas) (Aug. 22) “Cracking prison letter codes vital” p. 5B: Of the hundreds of letters that arrive or leave the Bexar County Jail, officers in the mailroom filter them in search of wilas, letters that contain orders regarding gang hits or other criminal acts. 2005 Ty Phillips Modesto Bee (California) (Apr. 17) “Gangs Sear Jail Atmosphere” p. A1: At the county level, gang members use letters on tiny scraps of paper called wilas, a slang term that translates to tiny writing. The wilas are hidden in all sorts of places—shoes, clothing lining, body cavities—and move between facilities as inmates are transferred, ultimately serving as updates that let gang supervisors know what’s happening in the county’s jails. Members who get in trouble with the gang can be required to use wila-style writing to pen essays with topics ranging from gang histories to instructions on how to be a better gang member, Teso said. “Some people snort wilas and keep them in their sinus cavity and hawk it up later when they get where they’re going.” 2005 LawFuel (Sept. 12) “Top five leaders of prison gang sentenced to prison on racketeering charges” (in Calif.): Incarcerated Nuestra Familia members and associates communicated with each other and with those outside of penal institutions via inmates passing into or out of correctional facilities and prison visitors. Coded letters, “micro-writings,” known as “kites” or “wilas,” and messages written on the insides of envelopes known as “ghostwriting” were also used for communication among Nuestra Familia members and associates.

Posted 23 Sep 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

Nahuatl has long vowels, that is some vowels are held for a brief period longer than normal. the word for dove has these. Using the : after the vowel to signify this the word is: hui:lo:tl (Karttunen, F., _An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl_ p. 90) The word was collected in the 16th cen. by Fr. Alonso de Molina in his Vocabulario (1577) and glossed as “paloma” pigeon or dove (f. 157v)

by J. F. Schwaller 15 Feb 08, 0943 GMT