Nkima
| Nkima | |
|---|---|
 Tarzan & Nkima (Filmation series) | |
| First appearance | Tarzan and the Lost Empire |
| Created by | Edgar Rice Burroughs |
| Portrayed by |
Jiggs (1935 film) Lou Scheimer (voice) |
| Information | |
| Species | Monkey |
| Gender | Male |
Nkima is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly comics.
Character
An African monkey, Nkima serves as a companion and sidekick to Tarzan, sometimes providing comic relief and at other times conveying messages between Tarzan and his allies, and occasionally leading Tarzan's Waziri warriors and other animal friends to the ape-man's rescue. Overall, Nkima's role in the novels is somewhat similar to that of Cheeta the chimpanzee in the Tarzan movies. He is portrayed as especially close to Jad-bal-ja, the lion who served as Tarzan's other primary animal companion.
In personality Nkima is fearful and paranoid when alone, miserably certain that all other jungle creatures view him as prey. When with Tarzan he is emboldened, becoming proud, boastful and bloodthirsty, constantly urging his protector to kill any strange animal they encounter. However, he is also fiercely loyal, often providing valuable assistance to the ape man at great personal risk. In Tarzan's Quest Nkima's merit was recognized when he was made a recipient of an immortality treatment, along with the human protagonists of the novel.
In the Tarzan novels
Nkima first appeared in the twelfth Tarzan novel, Tarzan and the Lost Empire (1928), reappearing in the fourteenth, Tarzan the Invincible (1930), the eighteenth, Tarzan and the Leopard Men (1932), the nineteenth, Tarzan's Quest (1936), the short story "Tarzan and the Champion" (1939), collected in the twenty-fourth book Tarzan and the Castaways (1965), and the twenty-sixth, Tarzan: the Lost Adventure (1995). Nkima was also mentioned in passing in the twenty-second novel, Tarzan and the Foreign Legion (1947).
In other media
The character of Nkima was also featured in the Tarzan comic strip and comic books, both in adaptations of the original novels and in stories newly written for the medium. He had one film appearance, in the 1935 Tarzan serial The New Adventures of Tarzan (also released in feature film form as Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938), though on film the character was recast from a monkey to a chimpanzee, and portrayed by Jiggs, the same chimp that originated the role of Cheeta in the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films.
Nkima, is also a main character in Filmation's animated series Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976–1981), where he was faithfully depicted as Tarzan's monkey companion. Voice work was by Lou Scheimer.
References
Ullery, David A. The Tarzan Novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs: An Illustrated Reader's Guide. McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC, 2001, pages 199-200.