Characters

1)    Binti (Binti Ekeopara Zuzu Dambu Kaipka of Namib)

A 16 years old girl from Himba who has nine siblings, all older than her except for younger sister and brother. She has very thick hair so her old auntie liked to call it “ododo” because it grew wild and dense like ododo grass. Binti is a girl who has had great difficulties on her shoulders. She passes exams amazingly, which gives her the opportunity to fly to another planet and study the business she dreamed of. On the other hand, her family is categorically against it and even a potential wedding is already under threat. She had become a master harmonizer by the age of twelve. Also, she was born with her mother’s gift of mathematical sight. My mother only used it to protect the family, however she decided to grow that skill at the best university in the galaxy.

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2)    Students in the shuttle

On the way to Oomza Uni Binti met a group of students, all Khoush, who became her friends. Olo, Remi, Kwuga, Nur, Anajama, and Rhoden were among them.

 

 

3)    Heru

Heru is Binti’s crush who met her in the shuttle. They spoke to each other rarely, but they smiled across the table at each other during mealtimes. He was from one of the far cities which seemed like a figment of Binti’s imagination. However, looking at Heru made Binti’s heart beat too fast.

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4)    Dele

Dele is true Himba, always interested in old Himba customs. Binti's best friend of her childhood, now treating her with deliberate irritation. He was proud and felt strong. No matter how hard he tried to forget her when Binti was not at home, he really missed her. However, when she returned from university, Dele expressed his dissatisfaction with her selfishness and told her that he wanted to stop communicating with her.

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5)    Okwu

Okwu was in a group of Meduse that attacked the shuttle and killed all the people on it. However, subsequently, it is Okwu who became the closest friend for Binti, with whom they will go through all the difficulties and even return to Earth together. He was the same age as Binti.

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 6)    Chief of Meduse

The chief was no bigger, no more colorful than other Meduse. It had no more tentacles than the others. And in general, he did not differ in appearance from other Meduse. The Chief’s stinger was stolen because of which an attack was launched on the Third Fish.

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7)    Okpala

Okpala is one of professors in the Oomza Uni who was teaching Binti to edan and developing her math skill. “Everything comes with a sacrifice,” are his favorite words which had a great impact on Binti’s mind.

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8)    Professor Dema

One of the university professors with whom Okwu had a conflict on national grounds. The problem was that Okwu hated its professor and Professor Dema hated Okwu. They almost killed each other, but Binti resolved the situation in time.

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9)    Haifa

Haifa is a doctor in the university. She was wearing a tight green bodysuit made of a material so thin that any could see the bulging muscles on her long graceful arms and legs. She’d told Binti that though she’d always been female, she’d been born physically male. Later, when she was thirteen, she’d had her body transitioned and reassigned to female.

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10)    Saidia Nwanyi

Binti's therapist was named Saidia Nwanyi. She was a short squat Khoush woman who liked to sing to herself when no one was around. Over few months with Dr. Nwanyi, she learned why sleep was so difficult, why her heart was beating so hard for no reason, why she had such a tough time at solar shuttle platforms, and why she couldn’t bear thoughts of boarding a ship.

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11)    Haras

The chief of Oomza Uni.

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12)    Ariya

Ariya is a priestess from Enyi Zinariya who helped Binti to cope with the nerves that were associated with the attack of Meduse on the shuttle, anxiety and mood variability. She made it clear to Binti that it is not her fault and the root of these problems is that her now her DNA contains the genes of Meduse, who are very aggressive creatures.

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13)    Mwinyi 

Mwinyi is a boy who comes from the desert people, a people whom the Himba had thought all their lives to be barbarians. Binti thought so, too, for a while, but then she learned that this is not true, that he is her people, too. He empathizes with Binti, sometimes it is difficult for him to understand her since they are quite different. However, they have more in common he is also a harmonizer like her, he also met in hostile elephants like Binti with jellyfish, his friend the elephant Arevan is a symmetry of Okwu, Mwinyi has the same skin color and resembles Okwu Binti, there are stereotypes and prejudices about him too. 

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14)    Binti’s siblings

Brothers: Bena

Sisters: Suum, Vera, Omaihi, Peraa

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And others...