As Rafiki in Disney's "The Lion King," Gugwana Dlamini opens the megamusical with the African chant of "Circle of Life," heralding a mass assembly of spectacular animal characters who move through the audience.

The tuneful proclamation goes like this:

"Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba," she sings. (Translation: "Here comes a lion, father.")

"SITHI UHM INGONYAMA." ("YES, IT'S A LION.")

It's flashback time for the seasoned actress, an audience favorite, who grew up amid spiritual figures such as Rafiki.

"Rafiki goes back to my roots," said Dlamini, who was born in Durban, South Africa. "I am portraying what we have back home. Traditional healers. A shaman.

"And it's not that hard for me to put Rafiki on stage. Mostly, I see my mother. That's how my mother is, when she's angry or giving advice. It's from my personal life."

The opening sequence is rendered in Zulu, said Dlamini, who first appeared as Rafiki in the London production of "The Lion King" in 1999, two years after the show's Broadway debut.

"The language is authentic," she said. "And so is the spirit of Africa in the show."

Sitting in her dressing room backstage at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, awaiting her turn in the makeup chair, Dlamini is mild-mannered and pleasant. She speaks in animated, accented English, with a ready laugh.

Without her painted face and funky fingers and head and body gear, Dlamini shows no hint of Rafiki's eccentric, mystical manner. But later, all dressed up at the show, she delivers her initial lines to a roar of cheers and applause.

Rafiki means "friend" in Swahili, said Dlamini, and there are human Rafikis aplenty in her native South Africa, so she's very knowledgeable about who the character represents and what she does.

"There are men and women who are healers, who travel the villages," dispensing advice and counsel, she said. "They throw bones; they see your future."

And they are somewhat mysterious.

Dlamini envisions the character — a stylized baboon, the lone character in the production which doesn't don a mask — to be about 60 years old. "So I'm playing way under age," she said jokingly, while declining to reveal her vintage.

RAFIKI'S DISTINCT LOOK

Rafiki's makeup, applied by Brenda O'Brien, one of three traveling staff makeup artists augmented by local hires, is noticeably different from that of the other "animals" in the production. Her hues are primary colors — red, blue, yellow — and her look resembles some Asian masks.

Dlamini's face is painted with water-based pigments, unlike the oil-based colors applied to other actors. Yellow dominates the space around her eyes and brows, with white on her eyelids; yellow and red surround her nose, with more red in the center of her face. Her cheeks are a bright, luminous blue, streaked with white.

"It's cold," she sighs as paints meet skin.

As O'Brien brushes a dark shade on Dlamini's lips, Dlamini giggles: "I do like to taste things."

On tour in America since 2005, Dlamini is accustomed to the eight-shows-a-week performance schedule and the daily ritual of face-painting before getting into her funky costume, which includes spindly fingers of bamboo and dangles galore on her body, which she jiggles in one moment of the show, much to the delight of the audience.

"Some of my friends say I'm funny," she said. "That I say things without knowing that make them laugh."

Clowning, it turns out, simply is one aspect of her varied career.

Before joining "The Lion King," she appeared in a stage version of "Sarafina," then the movie; her theater credits also include "Godspell," "Township Fever" and "Magic at 4 a.m."

Her voice is heard on a "Lion King" soundtrack. She also has performed in a Lucky Dube video and appeared on stage with reggae and African musicians Dube, Lebo M, Vusi Mahlasela, Jimmy Dludlu and Johnny Clegg & Juluka.

Dlamini said being part of the touring Cheetah Company has raised her awareness of the world.

"It's exciting to see the world, seeing different cities and different cultures — and coming to Hawai'i," said Dlamini.

Hawai'i, in particular, has touched her — and her African-American colleagues who feel a kinship with the locals.

Before the show's official bow last September, the visiting cast and crew participated in a good-luck blessing to launch the run, when a keiki halau performed for the company.

"That's what we do back home; that's how we pay respect to God, our past, to communicate with the ancestors," said Dlamini. "It really took me back home. I had goose pimples ... I had chicken skin, definitely, when we had the blessing on stage."

MISSES HER FAMILY

Dlamini still has family in Africa who have never seen her portray Rafiki, though Disney has a touring company back home.

"I read the reviews — the show's doing well," she said. "I bought tickets for my parents; I would love to do (Rafiki) for them."

In Africa, the production has been adapted slightly to suit the cast and setting. "There's different choreography for the 'One by One' song," she said.

Elements that ring true to her culture, according to Dlamini: the way the lions assemble to greet their chosen king, the ritual of mourning a loved one (though employed with echoes of Greek tragedy).

What's not so realistic: animals in the savanna. "In Africa, particular with the villages, you don't wake up and see the giraffes. You have to go to the (animal) parks."

And yes, she dearly misses home. "I'm always homesick," she said.

She particularly misses her 5-year-old son, Daniel, who's seen her many times in London.

"He likes Rafiki, but he loves Scar," Dlamini said.

"And he wants to play (Young) Simba. But he'd better hurry up! He's very talented; he can sing, which is great, and he knows the music."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.