You probably didn’t know it, but ‘Hakuna Matata’, the most iconic phrase from The Lion King, is a Swahili expression meaning “no worries”. It is a combination of the words Hakuna (‘there is not’) and Matata (‘problem’ or ‘worries’).
But the presence of Swahili in this film doesn’t end there. Rafiki and Pumbaa’s names also derive from Swahili! Rafiki, the mandrill, is a Swahili name that means ‘friend’, whereas Pumbaa is a word to refer to someone silly, irresponsible, or careless. It all makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
