| Bandar-log | |
|---|---|
 Mowgli made leader of the Bandar Log by John Charles Dollman, 1903 | |
|
Real Name |
Unknown |
|
First Appearance |
Kaa’s Hunting |
|
Created by |
Rudyard Kipling |
Origin[]
The Bandar-log are monkeys of the Seeonee jungle. In Hindi, Bandar means "monkey" and log means "people" – hence the term simply refers to "monkey people". They feature most prominently in the story "Kaa's Hunting", where their scatterbrained anarchy causes them to be treated as pariahs by the rest of the jungle. Their foolish and chattering ways are illustrated by their slogan: We are great. We are free. We are wonderful. We are the most wonderful people in all the jungle! We all say so, and so it must be true. Bandar-log communicate almost entirely through the repetition of other animals' speech.
The Road-Song of the Bandar-log is a companion poem to 'Kaa's Hunting', and demonstrates Kipling's strong adherence to poetic form.
It was revealed that Mowgli had been playing the Bandar Log and was told not to by Bagheera and Baloo. However, shortly afterward, Mowgli is abducted by the Bandar Log. The Bandar Log then take their prisoner to their hideout, the Cold Lairs. After a long battle with Bagheera and Baloo, they are hypnotized and defeated by Kaa.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of the Bandar-log from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Appearances[]
- The Jungle Book:
- Kaa’s Hunting
Notes[]
- It is stated repeatedly in the Kipling story that the Bandar-log "have no king", but the Disney film version gave them one: King Louie. He is an orangutan, but in reality, orangutans are not found in India.
- In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston refers to the gossips and storytellers on the porch of Joe Starks' store as the bander log (Hurston's spelling). The novel's protagonist, Janie, passes the store on her way back into town after a long absence. In her autobiography, Dust Tracks on the Road, Hurston mentions Kipling's Jungle Book as among her favorite to read as a child, saying, "I loved his talking snakes as much as I did the hero".