What type of primate is Rafiki?

Rafiki is a mandrill, a large Old World monkey native to parts of equatorial Africa. In The Lion King, he serves as the spiritual adviser and shaman of the Pride Lands and performs the ceremony presenting newborn Simba to the animals.

Mandrills are recognizable for their vivid blue-and-red facial markings, elongated muzzle, and colorful rump. Rafiki’s design draws on those features, although his unusually long tail resembles a baboon’s. That visual borrowing is why viewers sometimes identify him as a baboon, one of the listed alternatives.

Rafiki lives in a baobab tree and is associated with wisdom, ritual, and the continuity of the royal family. His name means “friend” in Swahili. He later helps Simba understand that Mufasa’s memory and guidance remain part of him, encouraging Simba to return to the Pride Lands and challenge Scar.

The character differs across adaptations. In the original animated film, Rafiki is male and voiced by Robert Guillaume. For the stage musical, director Julie Taymor changed Rafiki into a female mandrill who also functions as the story’s narrator. The 2019 film again depicts Rafiki as a male mandrill.