Previous
Albert Mofat (Chief Wimbe)
William’s dog. Khamba originally belonged to William’s Uncle Socrates, but came to live in Wimbe before the famine. Khamba becomes William’s companion and loves to hunt, but grows old and weak during the famine. As William comes to terms with the costs of the famine, he is forced to leave Khamba to die. Khamba’s death marks an end to William’s childhood innocence and a full understanding of the sometimes harsh choices people make to survive.
Get the entire The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind LitChart as a printable PDF.
Khamba Character Timeline in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
The timeline below shows where the character Khamba appears in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...tobacco estate and moves back to the village with his seven daughters and his dog, Khamba. William at first wants nothing to do with Khamba, a tall, skinny dog with black...
(full context)
Soon enough, William stops trying to get rid of Khamba and even enjoys his company. Khamba does his work protecting the chickens of the farm...
(full context)
...how to best trap birds and patiently wait for the moment to kill, skills that Khamba understands by instinct. On hunting trips, William takes a sack full of many tossed out...
(full context)
On a hunting trip, William and Khamba head down to the blue gum trees by Geoffrey’s house to take advantage of their...
(full context)
After setting his trap, William hides behind a tree as Khamba silently stays on alert. Half an hour later, four wild birds swoop in to eat...
(full context)
...that William can take his riches to the mphala. Mizeck allows William in, but forces Khamba to stay outside. William yells at Khamba for show in front of the older boys,...
(full context)
Chapter 4
...game, an important consolation for his lack of skill at physical sports. William never allows Khamba to follow him to the trading center because the older men tease him for allowing...
(full context)
Chapter 5
Khamba too has been slowing down during this hunger season, suffering from old age as well...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...William watches the line of people lugging all their worldly belongings to the market, as Khamba, thinner than ever, sits on a blanket beside him. William eventually follows the line of...
(full context)
...but the boys start to feast on it. William throws some goat skin chunks to Khamba, and is surprised to see Khamba revitalized somewhat by the food. When their jaws are...
(full context)
Chapter 8
Soon after Muluzi denies the famine on the radio, William notices that Khamba truly is starving to death. After the treat of the goat skin at Christmas, William...
(full context)
...begins to daydream about how delicious the meat will taste, and how it might fortify Khamba to live one more month until the harvest is ready. Yet the birds realize it...
(full context)
That night, Khamba falls deeply asleep, waking only when William brings him a small pinch of nsima. Two...
(full context)
The next day, Charity and William take Khamba out to the forest. The day is beautiful, for once, but William can only feel...
(full context)
Uncle Socrates comes to visit Trywell the next day, and asks William where Khamba is. William pretends he doesn’t know, and Socrates guesses that wild dogs got Khamba. Charity...
(full context)
Two weeks after Khamba’s death, a cholera outbreak reaches Wimbe from southern Malawi. Cholera attacks a person’s stomach, causing...
(full context)
