Nkima is a fictional monkey

Monkey

A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...

 character in Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...

's Tarzan

Tarzan

Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...

novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly comics.

Character

Nkima serves as a companion and sidekick to Tarzan, sometimes providing comic relief and at other times conveying messages between Tarzan and his allies, and occasionally leading Tarzan's Waziri warriors and other animal friends to the ape-man's rescue. Overall, Nkima's role in the novels is somewhat similar to that of Cheeta

Cheeta

Cheeta is a chimpanzee character appearing in numerous Hollywood Tarzan movies of the 1930s–1960s as well as the 1966–1968 television series, as the ape sidekick of the title character, Tarzan...

 the chimpanzee in the Tarzan movies. He is portrayed as especially close to Jad-bal-ja

Jad-bal-ja

Jad-bal-ja, the Golden Lion is a fictional lion character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan novels, and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly comics.-Character:...

, the lion who served as Tarzan's other primary animal companion.

In personality Nkima is fearful and paranoid when alone, miserably certain that all other jungle creatures view him as prey. When with Tarzan he is emboldened, becoming proud, boastful and bloodthirsty, constantly urging his protector to kill any strange animal they encounter. However, he is also fiercely loyal, often providing valuable assistance to the ape man at great personal risk. In Tarzan's Quest Nkima's merit was recognized when he was made a recipient of an immortality treatment, along with the human protagonists of the novel.

In the Tarzan novels

Nkima first appeared in the twelfth Tarzan novel, Tarzan and the Lost Empire

Tarzan and the Lost Empire

Tarzan and the Lost Empire is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the twelfth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. It was first published as a serial in Blue Book Magazine from October 1928 through February 1929; it first appeared in book form in a hardcover edition from...

(1928), reappearing in the fourteenth, Tarzan the Invincible

Tarzan the Invincible

Tarzan the Invincible is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the fourteenth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Blue Book from October, 1930 through April, 1931 as "Tarzan, Guard of the Jungle."-Plot summary:Tarzan, his...

(1930), the eighteenth, Tarzan and the Leopard Men

Tarzan and the Leopard Men

Tarzan and the Leopard Men is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the eighteenth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan...

(1932), the nineteenth, Tarzan's Quest

Tarzan's Quest

Tarzan's Quest is a 1936 novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the nineteenth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan.-Plot:...

(1936), the short story "Tarzan and the Champion" (1939), collected in the twenty-fourth book Tarzan and the Castaways

Tarzan and the Castaways

Tarzan and the Castaways is a collection of stories written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the twenty-fourth in his series of books about the title character Tarzan. In addition to the title novella, it includes two Tarzan short stories. Of the three pieces, "Tarzan and the Jungle Murders" was written...

(1965), and the twenty-sixth, Tarzan: the Lost Adventure

Tarzan: the Lost Adventure

Tarzan: the Lost Adventure is a novel written by Joe R. Lansdale based on an incomplete fragment of a Tarzan novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs but left unfinished at his death...

(1995). Nkima was also mentioned in passing in the twenty-second novel, Tarzan and the Foreign Legion

Tarzan and the Foreign Legion

Tarzan and the Foreign Legion is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the twenty-second in his series of books about the title character Tarzan...

(1947).

In other media

The character of Nkima was also featured in the Tarzan comic strip and comic books, both in adaptations of the original novels and in stories newly written for the medium. He had one film appearance, in the 1935 Tarzan serial The New Adventures of Tarzan

The New Adventures of Tarzan

The New Adventures of Tarzan is a 1935 American film serial in 12 chapters. It is a more authentic version of the character than most other adaptations, with Tarzan as a cultured and well educated gentleman as in the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. It was filmed during the same period as the...

(also released in feature film form as Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938), though on film the character was recast from a monkey to a chimpanzee, and portrayed by Jiggs

Jiggs (chimpanzee)

Jiggs was a male chimpanzee and animal actor who originated the character of Cheeta in the 1930s Hollywood Tarzan movies. He was owned and trained by Tony and Jacqueline Gentry.-Career:...

, the same chimp that originated the role of Cheeta in the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films.

Nkima, is also a main character in Filmation

Filmation

Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...

's animated series Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle is an animated series created by the Filmation studio for CBS. There are a total of 36 episodes produced over the first four seasons....

(1976–1981), where he was faithfully depicted as Tarzan's monkey companion. Voice work was by Lou Scheimer

Lou Scheimer

Louis Scheimer is an Emmy and Grammy Award–winning American producer, one of the original founders of Filmation, an animation company, and also an executive producer of many of its cartoons .-Career:Early in Filmation's history, Scheimer also contributed...

.