ABOUT THIS BOOK
Neither Morengáru’s father’s Masai tribe nor his mother’s Kikuyu tribe accepts him. Banished from both tribes, Morengáru encounters a baboon troop and faces a fight with the simian king.
* “A splendid story about an outcast–the ultimate outsider–who is rejected by his people and finds his humanity in the demanding African plains.”– Starred, Kirkus Reviews
FOR DISCUSSION
A. The Nature of the Beast
1. To what beast is the caption in this first section referring?
2. Discuss the nature of the Kikuyu and Masai tribes. How did the Kikuyu tribe change from the original nature of their ancestors? Why is Mauro willing to return to the ways of his ancestors when the leopard kills the cows?
3. Morengáru is half Kikuyu and half Masai. What about his nature is characteristic of both tribes? Why is it difficult for him to exist in either tribe?
4. Morengáru doesn’t feel that he belongs anywhere. If “home is where the heart is,” discuss whether Morengáru feels more at home with the Masai or the Kikuyu.
5. Discuss the importance of the lion in the initiation of a young Masai. Compare the initiation of the young Masai with that of the young men in the Kikuyu tribe.
6.Mauro calls upon Morengáru to kill the leopard. Morengáru demands two cows, a symbol of wealth among the Kikuyuan people, for his deeds. What is the significance of Morengáru’s demand for two cows of the same color? Why do you think he demands that the cows be both black, and white?
B. The Heart of the Hunter
7. The Kikuyu believe in many evil spirits. How do Kiribai and Bajabi question their tribe’s beliefs? Why do they appear to admire Morengáru? Discuss whether they see him as an outsider or a rebel.
8. Morengáru shows a lack of respect for the Kikuyu beliefs. Discuss where this disrespect comes from. Does it come from not being accepted?
9. Mauro preaches against any form of contact with other tribes. Why do you think he bartered his own daughter to the Masai? How does Mauro betray his own principles?
10. The Masai believe that courage is what makes a man. Discuss Morengáru’s courage. Why was his courage not enough for him to be accepted by the Masai tribe?
11. What does the lion hunt reveal about “The Heart of the Hunter”?
12. What is the significance of Morengáru’s lion hunt dream? Senteu, his Masai grandfather, was the terror of his childhood. Why does the coughing lion remind Morengáru of Senteu?
C. The Wanderer’s Fire
13. Discuss Morengáru’s trial before the elders of the Kikuyu tribe. Why are the elders so concerned about making the trial appear fair?
14. Discuss whether the trial would have had a different outcome if Morengáru had not been half Masai and viewed as an outsider.
15. Morengáru is banished from the Kikuyu tribe forever, now totally alone in the world. How does Morengáru display loneliness from the very beginning of the novel? How does his banishment make him “doomed to a life of loneliness and exile, to a mere barbaric hunter’s existence”? (p. 97)
16. Morengáru knows that “a human was not meant to be alone.” (p. 97) What is the difference between being alone and being lonely? How is Morengáru both alone and lonely?
17. After he is banished from the Kikuyu tribe, Morengáru wanders the plains. He gradually becomes more like the animals, and realizes that it is “just an existence, not a life.” (p. 97) Discuss the ideal life through the eyes of Morengáru.
18. Why is the death of One-horn so devastating to Morengáru?
19. Discuss why Morengáru elects to face the baboon king when he could have killed him in the beginning.
D. The Law of the Tribe
20. “As a hunter, Morengáru was familiar with many codes of behavior in the animal world.” (p. 132) Discuss such codes of behavior. Why is it important to understand these codes in order to survive in the wilderness?
21. Morengáru notes, “A baboon who wanted to get to the top needed the same qualities required for a top rank among the Masai.” (p. 135) Discuss these qualities.
22. How does Morengáru become the baboon king?
23. What does Morengáru mean when he says, “the beast in him had been awakened”? (p. 141) How does he feel that there is “the beast” in all people?
E. The Voice of the King
24. At what point does Morengáru become one with the baboons?
25. How does he know that his time with the baboon troop is coming to an end?
26. Compare and contrast what happens to Morengáru in the baboon troop to what happens to him with the Kikuyu tribe.
F. At the End of the Gorge
27. How do the baboons make it possible for Morengáru to return to humanity?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anton Quintana was born in Amsterdam and grew up in an orphanage with his twin brother. As a young man he roamed the world, and this experience, together with the compelling bonds of twinship, continues to shape his life and work.
