| Grass Walls | |
|---|---|
| |
| General information | |
| Type |
Kingdom |
| Fauna | |
| Societal information | |
| Residents |
Bahati (formerly) |
| Notable visitors | |
| “ | Rafiki: Beyond those hills lies Grass Walls. It is a lush place full of wonder and beauty. Simba: It sounds magnificent. I can't wait to see it.
|
” |
Grass Walls is the former home of Rafiki's baboon troop.
Physical Attributes
| “ |
|
” |
Originally, Grass Walls was a lush land, home to many species of animals. But after a fierce drought shakes the land, water holes and food supplies begin diminishing, and the land takes a turn for the worst. It becomes a dry and dusty landscape where trees are as thin as skeletons. The ground begins churning with powdery, red dust and the remaining grass turns dry and brittle. Simba notices that the air is stale and that the land is covered in an eerie silence.
History
The Lion King: Six New Adventures
A Tale of Two Brothers
| “ |
|
” |
Rafiki tells Mufasa that he'd learned how to calm a cobra from an old baboon in Grass Walls.
Follow the Leader
| “ |
|
” |
Rafiki confronting Jelani in Grass Walls
In Follow the Leader, Haraka, a news-spreading ostrich, breathlessly tells Rafiki and Zazu that there's trouble with the baboons. At first, he stumbles over his words and calls their land, "Fast Falls." But Rafiki soon realizes that he's talking about his homeland of Grass Walls. Rafiki prompts the ostrich for information, but Haraka can give him no further input. After the ostrich is gone, Rafiki announces that he must go help the baboons in Grass Walls. Zazu is against this, for Grass Walls is very far away, but Rafiki is determined to help his kin.
Later, when Simba is settling a dispute, Nala tells him that Rafiki is setting off to Grass Walls alone. Nassor, one of the arguing animals, comments that Grass Walls is far away, and Simba grimly sets out after his old friend. When Simba catches up to Rafiki, the old baboon tells him that Grass Walls is a land of wonder and beauty, and Simba is eager to see it for himself. But when they finally reach Grass Walls, they're shocked at what they see.
Instead of a beautiful land, they're met with a barren wasteland. The ground is parched and dusty and the trees remind Simba of skeletons. As they continue further, Rafiki picks up handfuls of dust and lets them sift through his fingers. The grass turns dry and brittle, obviously from lack of water. Rafiki suggests they visit the Great Pond, a central meeting place for the baboons, but Simba is hesitant. The searing-hot ground burns his paws, and the barren landscape fills him with despair.
But when they reach the Great Pond, they find it no more than a giant puddle. The gathered baboons are all thin and weak, barely more than skeletons. Most huddle under the trees, but some gather around the steadily-shrinking pond. As Rafiki comes, his old friends start recognizing him and calling out to him. He soon learns that the baboons have no water and that his cousin, Jelani, has taken lead of Grass Walls after their former leader, Khalfani, was killed by a leopard. Outraged, Rafiki demands to see him.
As he's taken deeper into the dying land, he runs into his cousin, Karibu, who explains that food is scarce as well as water. The animals had left long ago and now the baboons were slowly dying. Rafiki asks Karibu why Jelani hadn't found them a new dwelling place, and learns that Jelani was lazy and refused to take his troop elsewhere. When Rafiki confronts Jelani about this, the younger baboon says that "things happen."
When Jelani refuses to compromise, Rafiki takes charge of the troop and decides that they will set out to find a new dwelling place. The next morning, Rafiki readies the troop and they leave Grass Walls behind in search of a new home. The journey is hard, but the baboons eventually find another home to replace Grass Walls. The journey teaches them all a lesson, even selfish Jelani. After confessing to Rafiki, Jelani helps the baboons find a safer shelter. After seeing Jelani's willingness to help his troop, Rafiki is sure that the young baboon will take good care of his troop in their new home. It is assumed that Jelani remains leader of the baboon troop after Rafiki and Simba leave.
Known Residents
All known residents eventually found another home and no longer live in Grass Walls.