Character guide

Tarzan

major

Also known as Tarzan of the Apes, Lord Greystoke, the young Lord Greystoke, the real Lord Greystoke

Tarzan belongs to Kerchak's ape tribe yet stands apart from it, his smooth skin and white teeth a constant reminder that he is something other than his brothers. Watching Teeka, he feels desire for the first time, and with it a shame at his own hairless body that no ape would ever understand. His restless intelligence and his rope—plaything turned weapon—make him the story's engine, driving the early tales of courtship, rivalry, and mischief that reveal how much of a man lives inside the beast-raised boy.

Teeka

major

Also known as the Balu Teeka, the gentle Teeka

Teeka is Tarzan's childhood playmate, the one companion who never grew surly as the other young apes did, and her beauty strikes him like a sudden wound. When she takes a mate and bears a child, she becomes a creature of bared fangs and menacing growls, refusing to trust even the friend who once chased her through the lower terraces. Her shift from playfellow to mother and beloved is the quiet hinge on which Tarzan's first experience of adult desire and jealousy turns.

Taug

supporting

Also known as great Taug, mighty Taug, savage Taug

Taug is the tribe's great bull, a creature of instinctive pride who measures his worth in deeds performed before an audience. He remembers his past defeat at Tarzan's hands, yet the urge to protect his offspring and mate drives him to charge anyway, half from duty and half from the vast jungle egotism that craves a female's admiration. His rage and humiliation at being roped and hung head-downward thirty feet above the ground show how Tarzan's man-made cunning unsettles the old ape order.

Bukawai

supporting

Also known as old Bukawai

Old Bukawai moves through the story as a figure of suspicion and hidden malice, a man whose power rests on superstition and the willingness of others to believe in his magic. His schemes set him against Tarzan and the village, and his presence introduces a human wickedness that the jungle's honest predators never quite match. He matters because he forces Tarzan to reckon with a foe who fights with lies and ritual rather than fang and claw.

Numa

supporting

Also known as the Lion Numa, ferocious Numa, devil-faced Numa

Numa stalks the same trails Tarzan swings above, a constant threat whose hatred for the ape-man is personal and patient. He glares up at his tormentor with round, burning eyes and low growls, but past experience has taught him the futility of long-distance argument, so he turns away into the tangled vegetation. As the jungle's most feared killer, he gives the early tales their edge of real danger and a worthy foil for Tarzan's taunts and rope.

Momaya

supporting

Momaya belongs to the village at the jungle's edge, a mother whose world narrows to the safety of her son Tibo. When the boy vanishes into the wild, her grief and determination push her toward the witch doctor Bukawai and whatever dark bargain might bring her child back. Her story runs alongside Tarzan's as a human counterpoint, showing that the jungle's cruelties are felt most sharply by those who love.

Tibo

supporting

Also known as little black Tibo, Little Tibo

A small boy of the village whose path keeps crossing Tarzan's, making him both a pawn and a rare human thread in the ape-man's solitary life.

Tantor

supporting

The great bull elephant whose thunderous presence can turn the jungle into either a crushing enemy or a towering, unlikely friend.

Sheeta

minor

The leopard, a stealthy predator in the jungle.

Mbonga

supporting

The village's proud chief, whose authority and superstitions collide with the unseen ape-man prowling the trees above his people.

Toog

minor

Also known as the sullen Toog

A sullen ape who challenges Tarzan's authority.

Witch Doctor

supporting

Also known as the witch-doctor, the tribal witch-doctor

The tribe's cunning medicine man, whose fear of Tarzan curdles into schemes that make the jungle itself feel like a trap.

Rabba Kega

minor

Also known as Rabba

A minor ape character in the jungle community.

Gazan

minor

Also known as little Gazan, Little Gazan

A young ape, child of Teeka and Taug.

Goro

minor

The moon, personified in jungle mythology.

Gomangani

minor

Also known as the Gomangani, the old Gomangani, the little Gomangani

A term for black humans, used as a collective character.

Gunto

minor

A minor ape character in the tribe.

Bolgani

minor

Also known as this Bolgani

A gorilla, a powerful jungle creature.

Mumga

minor

Also known as poor old Mumga

An old, blind ape who searches for grubworms.

Kerchak

minor

The former king of the apes, killed by Tarzan.

Tublat

minor

A fierce ape, former mate of Kala and antagonist to Tarzan.

Sabor

minor

The lioness, a dangerous predator in the jungle.

Manu

minor

Also known as little Manu

The monkey, a trickster figure in the jungle.

Histah

minor

The snake, a venomous jungle threat.

Bulabantu

minor

A black warrior from a neighboring tribe.

Kala

minor

Also known as fierce Kala, savage Kala

Tarzan's ape mother, who raised him after his human parents died.

Dango

minor

Also known as despised Dango

The hyena, a scavenger in the jungle.

Horta

minor

The boar, a wild pig hunted in the jungle.

Buto

minor

A minor ape character.

Go-bu-balu

minor

Also known as little Go-bu-balu, Little Go-bu-balu

A young ape, child of Teeka and Taug.

Bara

minor

The deer, a prey animal in the jungle.

Numgo

minor

A minor ape character.

Kudu

minor

A minor ape character.

Pacco

minor

A minor ape character.

Mangani

minor

Also known as the Mangani, a Mangani

The great apes, Tarzan's tribe.

Ibeto

minor

A black boy from the village.

Tarmangani

minor

Also known as the Tarmangani

A term for white humans, used as a collective.

Mamka

minor

A female ape, mother of Go-bu-balu.

Kulonga

minor

A black warrior, son of Mbonga.