Savannah Prides

Rafiki
Meaning: friend (Swahili)
Species: Mandrill

Adult Voice: Robert Guillaume

Nobody knows where the old mandrill Rafiki came from, but his quests in search of the secrets bound up in the land and its plants and animals drew him to the Pride Lands in the days of Ahadi, as told in A Tale of Two Brothers. His role in advising the young Mufasa against mischievous plots by his brother Scar made him a permanent resident of the region, employed as Mufasa's teacher and spiritual guide, and living in a baobab tree within sight of Pride Rock. He is a special guest at the presentation ceremony of the newborn Simba, whom he blesses and shows to the whole assembled population of the Pride Lands; after this, he monitors the young prince's growth and progress with his own mystical arts and the signs he reads in the paintings he makes on the side of his tree.

A ghostly, flitting presence, Rafiki turns up from time to time to dispense wisdom to those in need of it. Timon encounters him at the time of his own exile to be taught of the philosophy of hakuna matata; and later, Rafiki teaches a much different doctrine to the grown Simba, who upon being reunited with Nala must look within himself to discover the meaning of his heritage as the true Lion King and inheritor of Mufasa's throne. Perhaps Rafiki is the only one who truly understands how every creature, in his or her own way, fits into the Circle of Life.