Does “Ana Nisi Masa” translate into anything?
Asa nisi masa is actually only one word, encoded in a children’s play language similar to pig Latin. When the second syllable of each word is removed, what is left is the word “Anima.” Fellini, who was interested in the work of the psychoanalyst Carl Jung, would have known that Jung used the word anima to describe the personification of repressed female characteristics in the male (animus describes the personification of repressed male characteristics in the female). Asa nisi masa, then, can be interpreted as a reference to Guido’s confusion about women.
