This choice: Embodiment of the queen's ideals • Go Back... The customary period of mourning for a dead king had ended; Mufasa had loved his father dearly and already missed him sorely. The young lion was little more than an adolescent, scrawny and inexperienced in the art of hunting and ruling. Mufasa had just begun to observe his father rule when the good king had died suddenly and without any sign of malaise which usually preceded death. The surgeon-priest Rafiki hitherto had not diagnosed any problems with the older lion's health. "Everything looks acceptable. Perhaps the ancestors were angry with him for some wicked decision he has made."
Mufasa found that explanation horribly lacking. This sort of death was not unheard of, and it happened to both the just and the unjust. Perhaps it was just some law of the savanna that this should happen. But Mufasa didn't want to start a fight with Rafiki over something that both were merely speculating about, so he kept quiet and nodded along as Rafiki gave his explanation to the assembled entourage of guests, who gasped at the cause of the old king's death. Sarabi, Mufasa's mate, turned to him and whispered, "Is Rafiki insane? We really ought to get rid of him."
Mufasa pondered for a moment before he spoke aloud, loud enough for everyone to hear, in a shaky, nasally, adolescent way with voice-cracks and all, "Rafiki, I ask you--for I do not claim that you are wrong yet--but I ask you: what wrongdoing has my father committed that caused the ancestors to be angry?"
Rafiki had stopped, looked up, and addressed Mufasa, "Your majesty, if you please, I was getting to that. But as I was saying, we do not know what evil the good king has committed that our next sovereign, King Mufasa, must contend with; but I do know that there is some evil we must fight. Therefore, your majesty, you must call a council of all your subjects, a delegation of every beast in this land to Pride Rock to hear their grievances against the pride of lions. So do I advise his highness King Mufasa to ordain." And here, Rafiki took a less formal tone, "Speaking of ordaining, your majesty, we must anoint you as king of the savanna."
Mufasa nodded nervously and stepped forward, but Rafiki moved to dismiss all the other animals from the crypt of pride rock before he would ordain Mufasa king. But Mufasa called Rafiki to stop, "Rafiki, please, let them stay, let them see their king anointed in all his splendor."
But Rafiki protested, "Your majesty, with all respect, this process is sacrosanct. We can't have these other animals looking at us while I anoint you."
But Mufasa stood firm: "Rafiki, if you refuse my command, I will ask you to step down and let someone else take your place." Here Rafiki balked between obeying the king's orders and respecting the will of the ancestors, but eventually he obeyed the crowned prince, "As you like it, majesty."
Thus Rafiki, having all the necessary ingredients for the ceremony, called Mufasa to a raised bed of rock that served as a platform for all to see. "King Mufasa," Rafiki began, "you must honestly swear to all of the following things: do you swear to uphold the good of the kingdom?"
"I do."
"Do you swear to obey the will of the ancestors?"
"I do."
And so went a litany of vows that Mufasa made before a mixture of what appeared to be the blood of his father and various herbs mixed into a paste was imprinted upon his forehead. The gathered multitude of animals cheered, but before they had left, Mufasa turned to them: "My subjects, in seven nights after tonight, counting tonight, we shall have a great council for as long as need be until I should hear all of your grievances. Tell all the members of each of your races and any races not represented here today that there will be such a meeting. Gather all of your grievances and send a delegation of the finest of your races to come to me and submit them; and I will do all that is reasonable to correct them." Thus Mufasa decreed and all the animals present heard him and obeyed.
The arrangements necessary for the great assembly overwhelmed Mufasa immediately. There was resistance form Taka, Mufasa's brother, who claimed that the animals would all demand that the lions stop hunting them but that no other grievance would or even could be aired. Sarabi immediately protested that to call an assembly such as Mufasa had done was a sign of disunity and a lack of prosperity, which would cause scandal and attract rogues. "Perhaps if you would help me arrange and stop complaining," Mufasa spat at his mate, "we wouldn't appear to be in such a mess." And Mufasa only ignored Taka, who liked to criticize without proposing solutions to fix problems that arose, in other words, he like to whine.
Mufasa slept little in the days leading up to the assembly because he was restless and nervous about the assembly. He was young and inexperienced; and despite his advisers Zazu and Rafiki, he would have to speak and moderate extensively in debates and prevent misunderstanding between the lions' faction and the other animals. Sarabi was especially nervous and called secretly upon Rafiki a couple of days before the assembly to get a sleeping agent for her mate and to rub it into his food. Rafiki at first balked, but seeing Sarabi's pleading glances decided that such a request would not be wisely denied.
And so it was done, and Mufasa never learned of it, but awoke in time for the first meeting of the assembly.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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