Sarafina

**Sarafina** is a minor character from *The Lion King*. She is the mother of Nala, And the mate of an unnamed male lion.

## Appearance

Almost identical to her daughter in appearance, Sarafina is long-bodied and lithe with strong limbs and a groomed pelt. Her fur is tawny, while her muzzle, paws, and underbelly are all paler in color. The tip of her nose appears to be a shade paler than her main pelt, with both her upper and lower eye shades being light in color. Her paws are colorless, and her eyes are apple-green.

## Personality

Though Sarafina's personality is not explored in the film, she is an important character in an inspired book series, which reveals her to be a protective mother with a good amount of sense and resourcefulness. She can be pretty easygoing with her daughter when times are good, but when danger runs rampant, Sarafina is sure to be guiding Nala to safety.

## Information

### Backstory

Sarafina was most likely born sometime during Ahadi's reign. It is known that she killed and ate the father of Banzai. When Nala and Simba were infants, she came to an agreement with Mufasa and Sarabi that her daughter would be betrothed to the prince.

## Appearances

### *The Lion King*

Sarafina is first seen sleeping with the other lionesses inside Pride Rock with Nala in her arms as Simba arrives to wake up Mufasa. She is then seen later that day bathing Nala, while visiting Sarabi. When Nala asks to accompany Simba to the watering hole, she asks Sarabi for her opinion. When Sarabi gives the okay, Sarafina agrees and allows the two cubs to go. The rest of her appearances are cameos. She appears along with the rest of the pride as they mourn the deaths of Simba and Mufasa. Presumably, she would also appear alongside the rest of the pride during the final battle against Simba's uncle Scar and the hyenas. She also realizes it was Scar who was actually the killer of Mufasa and Simba was being framed and deceived all along, prompting her to attack the hyenas and expel them from Pride Rock, alongside Sarabi and her now-adult daughter, before witnessing Simba ascend to the throne and echoing his roar with her own.

### *The Lion King: Six New Adventures*

Sarafina makes an appearance in the book *Nala's Dare*, which is part of *The Lion King: Six New Adventures* series. In the book, she along with a young rogue lion named Ni, rescue Nala and her friends Kula and Chumvi from hyenas. She later introduces Ni, who had been driven from his pride, to the rest of the Pride Land lions.

### *Simba's Big Secret*

After Nala goes missing, a worried Sarafina asks Simba if he has seen her. Not wanting to give away Nala's secret, Simba replies that he hasn't seen her.

However after some coaxing from Sarabi, Simba tells Sarafina that Nala went to a secret cave near the red cliffs. Sarafina, Simba, Sarabi and the rest of the pride goes to search for Nala and discover her trapped inside the cave. After being rescued, Nala goes to Sarafina and promises not to go anywhere without telling someone again.

## **Family**

* **Nala's Father** (husband)
* **Nala** (daughter)
* **Simba** (son-in-law)
* **Kiara** (granddaughter)
* **Kion** (grandsons)
* **Kovu** (grandson-in-law)

## **Friends**

* **Nala**
* **Sarabi**
* **Mufasa**
* **Simba**
* **Kiara**
* **Zazu**
* **Rafiki**
* **Pridelanders**

## **Enemies**

* **Scar**
* **Hyena Clan**

## Trivia

* In the Broadway show in "Chow Down" Shenzi tells Banzai that Nala's mom (Sarafina) ate Banzai's dad.
* In early drafts to *The Lion King*, Sarafina (besides having Nala) had a son named Mheetu.