RABBA KEGA
RABBA KEGA
Real Name: Rabba Kega
Identity/Class: Human;
African
early 20th
century (presumably late
19th century)
Occupation: Witch doctor
Group Membership: Mbonga tribe
Affiliations: Mbonga,
Enemies: Tarzan
(aka John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke), unidentified lion/numa;
possibly Bukawai and to a
lesser degree Momaya and Tibo;
most of his tribe feared and did not like him
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: The Witch-Doctor;
possibly "God" (by Tarzan)
Base of Operations: Tribal village near the Atlantic coast of Africa
First Appearance: (Unidentified/unconfirmed) "The
God of Tarzan" from Jungle Tales of Tarzan in
Blue Book magazine by
Edgar Rice Burroughs (December, 1916);
(identified/confirmed) "The Witch Doctor Seeks Vengeance" from Jungle Tales of Tarzan
in Blue Book magazine (February, 2017);
(Marvel, unidentified/unconfirmed;
see comments) Tarzan#9 (February, 1978)
(Marvel, identified/confirmed) Tarzan#12 (May,
1978)
Powers/Abilities: Rabba Kega was well-versed in using dramatic means -- often including a mask made from the head of a buffalo and/or using the tail of a zebra -- to feign mystic knowledge and power; regardless, his ability to convince others of enhanced abilities granted warriors the courage to overcome challenges and/or opponents and to accomplish their goals.
Rabba Kega was experienced with survival in the jungle. He and his people lived in a village surrounded with a wooden fence.
Rabba Kega and his people were cannibals.
Far from weak by normal human standards, Rabba Kega was "like a child"
compared to the great ape-raised Tarzan.
Height: Unrevealed (he
was significantly smaller than Tarzan, who is around 6' tall, so perhaps
5'6" to 5'8")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 140-150 lbs.)
Eyes: Dark (presumably brown)
Hair: Bald (presumably shaved)
History:
(Tarzan#9 / "The God of
Tarzan" (fb) - BTS) - Although not fully believing in witch-doctors,
Mbonga, chief of the Mbonga tribe)
enjoyed sharing the spoils attained via his tribe's witch doctor
(possibly Rabba Kega, or his predecessor).
(Tarzan#9 (fb) - BTS) - For months, the people of the Mbonga lived in fear of the strange "jungle god" / "white demon" (Tarzan) who had stolen their arrows and slain their boldest warriors.
(Tarzan#9) - The witch-doctor conducted a ritual in which he invited the painted young men of the tribe to step forward to receive their war-spears as a token of ther manhood, which would begin the Ritual of Blood Brotherhood.
(Tarzan#9 - BTS) - Curious about the nature of God after reading the name in his father's texts, Tarzan secretly watched the Mbonga rituals from the trees above. He considered that only "God" could inspire such awe from the hearts of the Gomangani (see comments).
(Tarzan#9) - The witch-doctor called forth the three youths who had earned the right to become warriors of the tribe of Mbonga, telling them that when the zebra's tail had dipped into the sacred cauldron and they had been anointed with its holy waters, they would become invulnerable to their enemies' attacks and fearless in the face of danger. However, when the roar of a nearby lion led even the witch-doctor to pause, as he wondered how best he might take advantage of the timely intervention. However, Tarzan then dropped to the ground amidst the"blood-ceremony"; as he wordlessly approached the witch-doctor, the other tribesmen to flee.
"More than half self-hypnotized into believing his own charlatanry," the witch-doctor stood his ground and futilely attempted to intimidate Tarzan with dancing and crying out. Drawing a line on the ground with the zebra-tail, the witch doctor warned Tarzan that he would fall dead on the spot if he touched the line; not understanding the witch-doctor's words, Tarzan crossed the line, at which point the witch-doctor lost his courage and fled. Tarzan swiftly caught up to the witch-doctor and, ignoring his orders and pleas to let him go, tore off his headdress. When the witch-doctor clawed at his face, Tarzan punched him in the face and then challenged him. Ultimately, Tarzan dropped the terrified witch-doctor, concluding that if the witch-doctor was God, then Tarzan was greater than God.
(Tarzan#9 - BTS) - As Tarzan walked through the village, Chief Mbonga -- seeking to counteract Tarzan's humiliation of the witch-doctor -- ambushed and attempted to kill Tarzan but was swiftly over-powered; Tarzan ultimately pitied the elderly chieftain and spared him.
("The Witch Doctor Seeks Vengeance") - see comments
(Tarzan#12 / "The Lion")
- Tarzan watched the Mbonga from the trees as the witch doctor Rabba
Kega, wearing the head of Gorgo, the buffalo, performed his curious
rites.
(Tarzan#12 - BTS) - Seeking to play a prank on the Mangani (apes) of whose tribe he was affiliated, Tarzan stealthily entered the Mbonga village and stole a fresh lion hide hanging from Mbonga's hut.
(Tarzan#13 / "A Jungle Joke") - After the Mbonga tribe set a trap using a young male goat to catch a lion so they could torture it to death later, Tarzan took the goat for his own food. Tarzan then returned to watch the Mbonga tribe from the trees above, and he was pleased to see Rabba Kega -- whom he hated more than any of the Gomangani (native/black tribesmen; see comments) -- lagging behind. As they approached the Mbonga village, Rabba Kega felt safe and sat down against a fallen tree to take a rest. Tarzan then ambushed and overpowered Rabba Kega and then bound him with the same rope that had bound the goat.
Seeing Conan's face, Rabba Kega begged for mercy, promising to do
anything. Not understanding his words, Tarzan forced Rabba Kega back to
the lion trap. Realizing that he was meant to be the bait, Rabba Kega
began to beg anew, but Tarzan stuffed Rabba Kega's mouth with grass,
shoved a stick into his mouth (and, at least in the original story,
used Rabba Kega's loin-cloth to tie the stick in place), and left him
in the lion
trap.(Tarzan#13) - After returning to the village, a tribesman reported Rabba Kega's absence to Mbonga; the chieftain considered that while it was not good for a tribe to lose their witch man, it was also nearly night and the leopards would be prowling outside their village's walls. Mbonga resolved that they would wait until morning to search for Rabba Kega, noting that a witch-man with strong medicine had nothing to fear from one night in the jungle.
(Tarzan#12
(fb) - BTS) - Rabba Kega was devoured by the lion that entered and was
caught within the trap.
(Tarzan#13) - The next morning, Mbonga led some of his greatest warriors to search for Rabba Kega and to see if their lion trap had bagged its prize. They rejoiced to see the captured lion until they got close enough to see Rabba Kega's mutilated corpse within the trap. Tribesman Tuboto correctly blamed Tarzan -- the "white devil-god" -- for having done this, and Mbonga also correctly considered that Tarzan could be watching them even now, and that they must hurry back to their village.
(Tarzan#13 - BTS) - Rabba Kega's lifeless corpse was disposed of.
(Tarzan#13)
- Leading his warriors to carry the caged lion to his tribal village,
Mbonga then announced that Rabba Kega was no more and that Tubuto was
now the witch doctor. He then noted they would celebrate that night
with a lion ceremony.
Comments: Created by
Edgar Rice Burroughs.
adapted to Marvel by Roy
Thomas, John Buscema, and Alfredo Alcala.
While I own the Tarzan stories, the only ones I had read prior to this profile were the ones involving Abdul Alhazred and Mbonga (some of the latter of which overlap with Rabba Kega's appearances). If you're aware of more appearances, let me know, and I'll get to them at some point.
Witch-Doctor....Rabba Kega
or not?
The headdress worn by Rabba Kega in
Tarzan#12 perfectly matches that worn by the witch-doctor in
Tarzan#9.
The general outfit, appearance, and behavior are all very similar. Obviously any witch doctor could have inherited the garb of his predecessor and would have likely used similar mannerisms and showmanship, so we don't know for sure whether the witch doctor in Tarzan#9 is the same as Rabba Kega in Tarzan#12-13. The unmasked Rabba Kega from Tarzan#13 also looks very similar to unmasked witch-doctor from Tarzan#9. Compare the lower image on the right to this image. *
It is also likely that the witch doctor from
#9 was
disgraced after being humbled by Tarzan. I included the information in history and clarified that we weren't sure who the character was. |
I believe Gomangani is the name for the black tribesmen, with Tarmangani referring to white/Caucasian people like Tarzan, and Mangani the name for the great apes who raised Tarzan. Mbonga seemed to be both the name of the chieftain and his tribe.
In an online version of "the Jungle Joke" by Burroughs, after Tarzan takes custody of Rabba Kega, the witch doctor hopes Tarzan will have mercy on him as he had held Tibo in his power for days and had also spared Tibo's mother, Momaya, when he might easily have slain her.
Further, in that version, when the Mbonga returned to their village and noted Kega's absence, it was detailed that most of the tribe hoped that whatever had befallen Rabba Kega was fatal, as most feared rather than loved him. Nonetheless, Mbonga dutifully sent out a search party before returning to his hut to sleep. However, the tribesmen were distracted by a honey bird, which they followed to a delicious honey store; they collected this and returned to their village, and Mbonga was pleased enough with this to accept it for the night and wait until morning to seek out Rabba Kega with another search party. Meanwhile, Tuboto already performed rituals in hopes of replacing Rabba Kega.
Rabba Kega also appeared in Jungle
Tales of Tarzan Chapter VI: The Witch Doctor Seeks Vengeance,
but there it was the witch doctor of a rival tribe, Bukawai, who had
held Tibo hostage....Mbonga had Rabba Kega challenge Bukawai with feats
of magic, and Rabba Kega upstaged Bukawai with his showmanship (both
were frauds without real magic), but ultimately Tarzan rescued and
returned Tibo, and Momaya chastised both Bukawai and Rabba Kega for
their lies.
It is presumed that the same is true
for Rabba Kega-616, but as AFAIK that story wasn't covered in the
Tarzan comic, I'm leaving it to the comics.
This profile was completed on 11/31/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary's celebratory event to represent
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Rabba Kega should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
Tarzan#9
"The God of Tarzan" (February,
1978) - Roy Thomas (adapted from "The God of Tarzan," Chapter IV from
Jungle Tales of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs); John Buscema
(penciler), Alfredo Alcala (inker), Archie Goodwin (consulting editor)
"The Witch Doctor Seeks Vengeance" as part of Jungle
Tales of Tarzan in Blue Book magazine (February, 2017);
Tarzan#12 "Fangs of Death" (May, 1978) - David Anthony Kraft
(adapted from "The Lion," Chapter VIII from Jungle Tales of Tarzan by
Edgar Rice Burroughs; editor); John Buscema (penciler), Rudy Messina
(inker), Roy Thomas (additional dialogue; editor)
Tarzan#13 "A Jungle Joke" (June, 1978) - Roy Thomas (adapted from "A Jungle Joke,"
Chapter XI from Jungle Tales of Tarzan by
Edgar Rice Burroughs; editor); John Buscema (penciler), Rudy Messina
(inker)
First posted: 09/18/2026
Last updated: 11/31/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
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