In West Africa In
The Return of Tarzan, Tarzan returns from
civilization to his beloved jungle. But he has changed. Previously his relationship with natives was violent and antagonistic, colored by the death of his ape foster mother
Kala at the hands of a native hunter, but he has experienced humanity in all its varieties since then. So now, when he meets a black warrior, instead of killing him he saves him from
Numa, the
lion. The warrior, Busuli, is a member of the Waziri tribe. Tarzan discovers they are cultured and despise cannibals like the tribe he had intermittently warred against in his youth. Tarzan is accepted as a member of the tribe after teaching them a new practical way of hunting elephants. These two hunts are the only recorded instances of his killing "
Tantor", the elephant. When Arab
ivory traders and their
cannibal slaves attack the Waziri village, causing the death of the old chief (also named Waziri) and many others, Tarzan takes the lead, preventing the burning of the village and defeating the Arabs with effective
guerrilla-tactics by killing them one at a time. Tarzan then becomes the new chief of the tribe and from then on these noble black warriors share his fate. The Waziri take him to their secret treasure-trove, the lost city of
Opar, which they first discovered in the days of the deceased former chief Chowambi, Waziri's father. Tarzan leaves Africa and the Waziri for England at the end of
The Return of Tarzan, seemingly forever. But by the time of the next book in which he appears, the non-Tarzan novel
The Eternal Lover, he has established a plantation in Uziri, the land of the Waziri, on which he and his wife Jane reside part-time, and where they entertain guests. According to the map that shows Africa as Burroughs imagined it, the Waziri village was somewhere in Angola. The Waziri are mentioned but do not appear in the next Tarzan book,
The Beasts of Tarzan. However, during the adventure Tarzan meets a native warrior, Mugambi, chief of the Wagambi of Ugambi, whom he invites to join the Waziri at the conclusion. He is subsequently shown to have done so. In
The Son of Tarzan the Waziri appear as mostly anonymous native followers of Tarzan, and are not named as a tribe. One of their number, Muviri, is presumably the same character as the
Muviro of later books.
In transition While Burroughs does not recount the event, it is evident that at some point between
The Beasts of Tarzan (in which the Waziri country of Uziri is last mentioned), and
Tarzan the Untamed the tribe moves with Tarzan to a new plantation located east of
Lake Victoria in
British East Africa (now known as
Kenya). The relocation likely takes place between the intervening books,
The Son of Tarzan and
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar. As the protagonist of
Son enters Africa near the west coast, "a little below the equator," the plantation shown therein is presumably the original one. In
Jewels, the plantation's proximity to the
Belgian Congo is compatible with either location, but the intervention of
Abyssinian soldiers from the north appears to indicate an east African setting. The prominent presence in both books of Arab raiders from the east African coast does not fix the setting, as historically these ranged widely through south central Africa, and indeed attack the Waziri in their original country as early as
The Return of Tarzan.
In East Africa By the time of
Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar, Basuli (presumably the Busuli of
Return) is chieftain of the tribe under Tarzan, with Mugambi from
Beasts shown as a prominent warrior. The organization of the Waziri has changed from
tribal to a more
feudal system. They live with Tarzan and Jane in their
plantation, with members taking care of cooking and cleaning, and even Jane's rose garden. They no longer call Tarzan "King of Waziri," but rather "Big
Bwana," while he calls them his "children":
"...and were the heart of the Big Bwana not filled with love for his black children". The Waziri suffer a major reverse in
Jewels when a large number of their young men accompany Tarzan on an expedition to recover more wealth from Opar; in their absence, most of the warriors left behind to protect the estate are slaughtered in an Arab raid, and the plantation burned. A few of those on the expedition also perish. The plantation is reconstructed at the end of the book. By the time of
Tarzan the Untamed the estate and the Waziri are definitely in East Africa, and once again the former is destroyed and the latter slaughtered, this time by German-led raiders from
Tanganyika in the opening days of
World War I. Among the Waziri perishing in the raid is the warrior Wasimbu, son of Muviro, who is crucified, and presumably also Basuli and Mugambi, as they are absent from this and all later novels. By the time of
Tarzan and the Golden Lion the survivors of the Waziri under "Old Muviro" have reconstructed the main bungalow and other buildings destroyed in the war. Another survivor is Usula, who is revealed to have gone to London in his boyhood as a servant to Tarzan; he has learned fluent English as a result. Usula reappears in the following novel,
Tarzan and the Ant Men. In later novels, beginning with
Tarzan and the Lost Empire,
Muviro is portrayed as sub-chief of the Waziri under Tarzan. He and his warriors feature sporadically in subsequent books. They accompany Tarzan to the subterranean realm of Pellucidar in ''
Tarzan at the Earth's Core, and appear in its non-Tarzan sequel, Back to the Stone Age. They also turn up in Tarzan the Invincible, Tarzan Triumphant, and Tarzan's Quest'', in which Muviro's search for his lost daughter Buira forms an important sub-plot to the main action, as well as
Tarzan the Magnificent, in which another warrior, Waranji, is named, and the short story "Tarzan and the Champion," which forms part of the collection
Tarzan and the Castaways.
Waziri named in the novels •
Buira, a Waziri woman, daughter of Muviro, who went missing and was searched for by her father. •
Busuli, a Waziri warrior who introduces Tarzan to the tribe. Later subchief under Tarzan, assuming he is the same as "Basuli," who appears in that role. Basuli presumably died in the German raid on the Greystoke plantation during World War I. •
Chowambi, chief of the tribe before Waziri, his son. •
Mugambi, originally chief of the Wagambi of Ugambi tribe; on Tarzan's invitation he joined the Waziri as a warrior. Mugambi presumably died in the German raid on the Greystoke plantation during World War I. •
Muviro, an aged Waziri warrior who knew Tarzan "in the old days," assuming he is the same as "Muviri," who is introduced in that role. Later subchief under Tarzan in succession to Basuli. Father of Wasimbu and Buira. •
Tarzan, chief of the tribe in succession to Waziri after the latter's decease. Also known initially as Waziri. •
Usula, a Waziri who went to London in his youth as a servant to Tarzan, who as a result learned fluent English. Later returned to Africa and served on the Greystoke plantation. •
Waranji, a Waziri warrior. •
Wasimbu, a Waziri warrior who was crucified to death by the Germans who raided the Greystoke plantation during World War I. Son of Muviro. •
Waziri, chief of the tribe in succession to Chowambi, his father. Evidently each chief takes the name of the tribe as his own. (Tarzan, Waziri's successor, is also initially called "Waziri" by his tribesmen.) Presumably the title is used only for the
current chief, previous chiefs, like Chowambi, being referred to by their original personal names on decease. The personal name of this "Waziri" is not given in the novels. ==The Waziri in other media==