Binti Flashcards
(8 cards)
Binti
Role: Protagonist and narrator.
Description: A 16-year-old Himba girl from Earth, the first of her people to be accepted into Oomza University. Brilliant at mathematics and harmonizing patterns. She leaves her home in secret to pursue education, symbolizing courage, change, and cross-cultural understanding. Uses otjize and carries an edan, both of which become key tools in her survival and transformation.
Arc: Transforms physically and emotionally, becoming a hybrid of human and Meduse, and a symbol of peace.
Okwu
Role: Meduse alien; later Binti’s ally and the first Meduse student at Oomza Uni.
Description: Initially a hostile attacker aboard the ship, Okwu grows to trust Binti after she treats his wounds with otjize. He becomes the primary Meduse representative during the negotiations at the university.
Arc: Represents the potential for inter-species friendship and peace. Complex and capable of both violence and understanding.
The Meduse
Role: Antagonistic alien species at the start of the story.
Description: Jellyfish-like beings with tentacles, stingers, and a deep collective sense of honour. Intelligent but previously unable to communicate with humans. They attack the ship in revenge for the theft of one of their leader’s stingers.
Significance: Represent themes of otherness, colonial exploitation, and misunderstood enemies.
Heru
Role: Human student on the ship.
Description: A Khoush boy and one of the first people Binti talks to on the shuttle. They form a short-lived but warm friendship before he is killed in the Meduse attack.
Symbolism: Represents Binti’s brief connection with the human world outside her own community and the tragedy of inter-group conflict.
Oomza University Staff
Role: Faculty and administrators at the university.
Description: Not individually named in Binti, but they play a crucial role in the climax by listening to Binti’s plea for peace. They represent academic authority, the pursuit of knowledge, and also the blind spots of institutional power (e.g., taking the Meduse stinger without considering its significance).
Significance: Their willingness to negotiate shows openness to change when faced with truth and empathy.
Binti’s family
Role: Her parents and siblings.
Description: Traditional Himba people who expect Binti to follow in their footsteps and remain on Earth. They are disappointed and hurt when she leaves but still love her. Although not deeply described individually in Binti, they are central to her internal conflict.
Symbolism: Represent cultural roots, tradition, and the pain of growth and separation.
The Himba People
Role: Binti’s community.
Description: A culturally rich and tightly-knit group who live in harmony with the land. Known for their use of otjize and connection to tradition. Generally resistant to leaving their homeland or accepting outside influence.
Significance: Represent the tension between cultural preservation and personal ambition.
The Khoush People
Role: Rival human ethnic group.
Description: A more dominant and expansionist culture on Earth. Often see the Himba as backward. The Khoush are responsible for the theft of the Meduse stinger, which incites the attack.
Significance: Represent human arrogance, colonial behavior, and systemic injustice.
