I was rejected from the day I was born. 

Let’s go back to day one. 

The Tree of Life stood tall and prosperous in the pride lands. As the dry, hot wind grazed brittle yellow grass, giraffes were sipping water from a tranquil pond. Antelopes and zebras were grazing in a nearby field. Elephants were nurturing their young. Hyenas were laughing while catching fish and lizards. Our world was interconnected, in harmony.  

My mother, Imani, realized she was going into labor. She had hidden her pregnancy ensure she and her cubs would survive. Since food was scarce, she risked other young lions drinking her milk and not leaving enough for Mufasa and me. My father, Tau, the king of our pride, anxiously awaited the arrival of his next son.  Enduring the labor pains, she snuck away to a secret lair she prepared for herself for the birthing process.  She birthed just two cubs that day – Mufasa, my brother, and me.

Imani gasped when she saw me. Instead of golden fur, I was nearly completely black. In the lion world, black symbolized evil, fear, and grief. Though she thought I was perfect just as I was, she knew I wouldn’t be accepted by our pride. Despite our differences, she loved both Mufasa and I equally. She named me Sani, which means gift. She knew if Tau saw me, he would consider me a reject and kill me immediately. Therefore, she decided to only present Mufasa to Tau and secretly keep me in her lair until I was old enough to survive on my own. Mufasa was aware of my existence, and many times, helped my mother bring food to the lair. When she determined me capable of survival, she and Mufasa betrayed me.  

Just a two-year-old cub, I wasn’t sure how to navigate the wild. I was not trained in hunting and had no success pouncing and killing prey. I spent the next several days eating edible plants but felt very weak. I couldn’t walk any longer and lay down in the grass to rest. Hiba, a young female hyena, spotted me. She grew concerned immediately and took me back to her cackle to replenish my health. I was forever thankful. 

As time passed, we continued to foster a quid pro quo relationship. The hyenas taught me how to effectively hunt, and I helped feed the cackle. One day, I found myself hunting close to the pride of my mother and Mufasa. I felt hurt and angered to see my father teaching Mufasa to pounce and hunt, and them experiencing good times together. If my fur wasn’t so dark, could I have been included in these experiences? 

I indignantly continued to search for food when I suddenly experienced a horrible sensation. Another species of hyenas from a different region had migrated to our land in search of food. My mother was napping under a tree while being watched by the foreign hyenas. As one prepared to pounce her, I thought quickly and intervened. The sharp claws of the hyena slashed through my face. I passed out from the loss of blood. The foreign hyenas continued to kill my mother for prey. I woke up my cackle of hyenas in full battle. The foreign hyenas were outnumbered and left our land quickly. Hiba and her family nursed me back to health, but my scar would be a constant reminder of my mother’s death.  

Years went on, and eventually, my father died of old age, and Mufasa became the new king of the pride. Still harboring the grief of our mother’s passing, the first action Mufasa took was to portray hyenas as backward and uncivilized, a species that was beneath lions. He slowly removed their rights and declared they were no longer citizens of the kingdom. Several of them were forced to be slaves to the lions, with given names that resembled the master family in which they served. He removed their right to an education. Anger stemmed in the oppressed social class of the hyenas, and they retaliated and protested. Other than a small group of his supporters, lions were saddened and troubled with his actions. They didn’t do anything to stop him though, as they were privileged. Mufasa’s decisions didn’t impact them in any way. I felt so helpless. Since my close friends were hyenas, I could directly witness the cruelty they were facing. As a reject, I didn’t have any power to make an impact on Mufasa’s decisions. More years passed, and Mufasa continued to cut any support. He claimed the land and banished them to live in an elephant graveyard, where they did not even have access to clean water. This was when his son, Simba, was born. While the lions celebrated the birth, I hated the cub. He referred to me as his uncle, but I had no desire to foster that relationship due to Mufasa’s values, even though I knew Simba was innocent.  

Continuing to see hyena’s ongoing suffering, I couldn’t just wait around for change to happen. I needed to be the change and start a revolution. But how? Mufasa was stubborn. Nothing anyone could say could persuade him to liberate the hyenas and revive them rights. I came to the decision he had to die. As our next action of protest, I organized a run with the hyenas. I would fool Simba into believing I had a surprise for him, so he would be caught in the stampede. Mufasa would come to save his son, and I would let him die.  

Written by Kimberly O’Hanlon
Essay for WGSS325: Disney: Gender, Race, and Empire
Instructor: Kryn Freehling-Burton
July 15th, 2018