| Kala | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Kala |
|
First Appearance |
Tarzan of the Apes (1912) |
|
Original Publisher |
A. C. McClurg |
|
Created by |
Edgar Rice Burroughs |
Origin[]
Kala holding an infant Tarzan.
Kala was a female mangani from the Tribe of Kerchak who's name meant "Milk-Light". She was also the adoptive mother of Tarzan.
In the novel, Kala is a female in a band of Mangani, a fictional species of great ape intermediate between real life chimpanzees and gorillas. The band of mangani encounter the Claytons, and while Kerchak attacks the father, Kala discovers their baby son. Grieving the death of her own baby, she exchanges her dead infant for the human in the bassinet, and raises him as her own. She defends the infant Tarzan from the murderous fury of Kerchak, the mad leader of the ape band, after the latter kills Tarzan's human father. Kala goes on to rear the human baby as her own while protecting him against Kerchak and her own mate, Tublat. After Tarzan reaches adulthood, Kala is killed by a native African hunter, who is subsequently killed by Tarzan in revenge.
Kala also appears in Jungle Tales of Tarzan, the sixth book of the Tarzan series, which relates episodes from the ape man's youth omitted from Tarzan of the Apes. Chapter 7, "The End of Bukawai," relates an episode in which Tarzan is almost killed when he swings so long on the rope that it frays and parts, dropping him to the ground. Kala runs to the boy's aid and he soon revives.
Public Domain Literacy Appearances[]
- Tarzan of the Apes (1912)
- Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1916–1917)
Public Domain Film Appearances[]
- Tarzan of the Apes (1918 film)