Talk:Rafiki (The Lion King)

Baboon
I personally would not call Rafiki anthropomorphised. Besides the ability to talk (and his habit of walking with a stick), he is really just a baboon. -- Supermorff 19:41, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't call Rafiki or any of the characters in the Lion King, Brother Bear, or Jungle Book anthropomorphised. The only human characteristics they have are behavior, animals depicted as walking upright and such, like Baloo and Rafiki, actually can walk upright in real life. Further more there was no mysticism in Rafiki's discovery that Simba was alive. He is an animal, he simply smelled something that had been in contact with Simba detected his scent and deduced that he must still be alive.Rayfire 18:11, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
 * I think it is only "behaviour" that is necessary for anthropomorphization. The definition of this term is "the attribution of human characteristics and qualities to non-human beings, objects, natural, or supernatural phenomena." Are you denying that Rafiki has human characteristics and qualities? I'd say he is also quite shamanistic with his mystical fruit and sayings. -- Rmrfstar 00:20, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Possible Symbolism
"Rafiki in many ways resembles a crazy wisdom Zen master" isn't a very professional introduction and the whole section is tenuous and uncited.

Rafiki's words
The section on the stage adaptation currently says:

"In this when Rafiki confronts the adult Simba, instead of singing "Squash Banana, Swish Banana" as he does in the movie, she now chants in African words."

In the movie, Rafiki does not say "Squash banana, swish banana". What he says is, "Asante sana, squash banana, we we nugu, mi mi apana!" Except for "squash banana" this is Swahili (it means, "Thank you very much, squash banana, you are a baboon, and I am not!"). This was taken from a chant that a guide repeatedly recited when some of the Lion King story people took a trip to Africa. One of them wrote it down and they ended up using it in the movie.

So Rafiki already "chants in African words".


 * I have added this to the main page as i think it is a pretty important elemant to the character of Rafiki, after all, everybody knows him as the crazy guy jumping around singing about bananas!! Thanks for the translation and the heads up! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.108.73.47 (talk) 08:48, 25 January 2008 (UTC)