Species in The Oz Series

Mangaboos

Also known as the Mangaboo people, the crowd of vegetable people, the people of Mangaboo, the vegetable folks, the heartless Mangaboos, the vegetable folk, those dreadful vegetable people, Dreadful creatures.

The vegetable people native to the Land of the Mangaboos, ruled by a Prince and served by a thorn-covered Sorcerer; they are vegetable rather than made of flesh and blood, are grown/planted from bushes, and are physically similar in form and size to humans.

Appears in 6 chapters, first in chapter 72, last in chapter 77.

This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.

What the story establishes

Cultural norms	When a Sorcerer or similar figure dies, the Mangaboos ritually plant the body so that new Sorcerers may grow upon the resulting bush. (as of ch. 72)
Habitat	An underground realm reached by falling through a crack in the earth, centered on a city of glass buildings including a glass palace and a great public square, with public gardens tied to their vegetable/planting practices. (as of ch. 72)
Innate traits	Composed of vegetable matter rather than flesh, blood, or bone; when cut, the interior resembles a sliced turnip or potato, and they wither and die once cut, requiring planting rather than burial. (as of ch. 72)

Relationships

leader of ← the Royal Princess ch. 74
The Princess becomes the new leader of the Mangaboo people after receiving the Star of Royalty from the deposed Prince.
species of ← Gwig ch. 72
Gwig is a Mangaboo, a vegetable being like the rest of his people, confirmed when the Wizard cuts him open and finds no bones or blood, only a turnip-like interior.
species of ← the Royal Princess ch. 73
The Princess is a Mangaboo, a vegetable being who, like all of her race, grows on a bush and will attain motion and life only once fully ripe and picked.
threatens → underground_traveling_party (ended) ch. 75
The Mangaboo Princess and her people decree that the meat-people party does not belong in the Land of the Mangaboos and must be destroyed — the humans thrown into the Garden of the Twining Vines and the animals cast into the Black Pit.
injures ← Jim (ended) ch. 75
Jim kicks and charges into the crowd of Mangaboos with his iron-shod hooves, smashing a dozen at once and knocking many others down across the field.
imprisoned by ← Jim (ended) ch. 76
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(mangaboos→jim_the_horse)
captures → Jim (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos drove Jim the horse into the dark cave in the glass mountain, along with the kitten and piglets, and sealed the entrance with glass rocks to imprison them.
deceives ← Oz (ended) ch. 75
The Wizard tricks the Mangaboo advisors into stepping into a pool of burning kerosene oil by falsely framing it as a magical test that will only harm those who advised the Princess wrongly.
confronts ← Oz (ended) ch. 76
The Wizard confronted the Mangaboos who were sealing the Black Pit entrance, angrily commanding them to stop and beginning to tear down the glass rocks they had piled up.
defies ← underground_traveling_party (ended) ch. 75
The party resists the Mangaboo death-sentence: the Wizard uses his lantern-and-kerosene fire trick to scorch the Princess's advisors and save the humans, while Jim and Eureka fight back against the thorn-bearing crowd driving them toward the Black Pit.
defies ← underground_traveling_party (ended) ch. 76
Sentenced to be entombed in the Black Pit by the Mangaboos, the reunited fellowship refuses to die there and instead escapes their sealed prison by following the tunnel up through the glass mountain and out of the Mangaboo country.
imprisoned by ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 76
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(mangaboos→dorothy)
captures → Dorothy (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos resealed the Black Pit entrance with glass rocks after Dorothy fled inside to escape their thorns, trapping her within the mountain.
injures ← Eureka (ended) ch. 75
Eureka flies into the faces of the Mangaboos, scratching and biting furiously and ruining many of their vegetable complexions.
defies ← Eureka (ended) ch. 76
Eureka refused to be trapped with the others and leapt through the narrowing gap in the sealed cave entrance to escape and seek help, defying the Mangaboos' attempt to imprison her.
imprisoned by ← Eureka (ended) ch. 76
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(mangaboos→eureka)
banishes → Eureka (ended) ch. 75
Armed with thorn branches, the Mangaboos surround Eureka and drive her out of the House of the Sorcerer toward the Black Pit in the mountain.
captures → Eureka (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos drove Eureka the kitten into the dark cave along with Jim and the piglets and sealed the entrance with glass rocks, though Eureka soon escaped through a remaining gap.
banishes → Jim (ended) ch. 75
Armed with thorn branches, the Mangaboos surround Jim and drive him out of the House of the Sorcerer, through the city and gardens, toward the Black Pit in the mountain.
imprisoned by ← Oz (ended) ch. 76
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(mangaboos→oz_the_wizard)
captures → Oz (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos resealed the Black Pit entrance with glass rocks after the Wizard fled inside to escape their thorns, trapping him within the mountain.
leader of ← the man with the star (ended) ch. 72–74
The man with the star acts as the Prince and leader of the Mangaboo people, addressed as 'my Lord' and 'my Prince', deciding matters like the fate of the Sorcerer and the newcomer Wizard.
captures → the nine tiny piglets (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos drove the nine tiny piglets into the dark cave in the glass mountain, along with Jim and Eureka, and sealed the entrance with glass rocks to imprison them.
imprisoned by ← the nine tiny piglets (ended) ch. 76
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(mangaboos→nine_tiny_piglets)
commands ← the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 75
The Princess commands her reluctant advisors to step into the Wizard's circle of burning oil as a test, and they obey, getting badly scorched.
imprisoned by ← Zeb (ended) ch. 76
[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(mangaboos→zeb)
captures → Zeb (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos resealed the Black Pit entrance with glass rocks after Zeb fled inside to escape their thorns, trapping him within the mountain.
plants → Gwig (ended) ch. 73
Mangaboo attendants dig a hole in the planting-ground, bury the two halves of the slain Sorcerer Gwig, and water the earth so he will sprout into a bush from which future sorcerers can be picked.
injures ← Oz (ended) ch. 75
The Wizard's burning oil test scorches the Mangaboo advisors so badly they smell like baked potatoes and must be dragged from the fire and replanted.
injures → Oz (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos thrust their sharp thorns at the Wizard, who endured a few stabs before retreating into the cave opening.
banishes → the nine tiny piglets (ended) ch. 75
The Mangaboos with thorn branches drive the piglets along with Jim and Eureka out of the House of the Sorcerer toward the Black Pit, forcing them to scamper underfoot to avoid the thorns.
shows respect → the Royal Princess (ended) ch. 74
The Mangaboo people bow low to their new Princess and form a procession to escort her to the palace, acknowledging her as their new ruler.
injures → Zeb (ended) ch. 76
The Mangaboos thrust their sharp thorns at Zeb, wounding him slightly before he retreated into the cave; he was later seen rubbing his wounds.
threatens → Eureka (ended) ch. 76
Several Mangaboos armed with thorns chased after the escaping Eureka through the air in an attempt to stop her.

From the text

"Why, he's vegetable!" cried the Wizard, astonished. "Of course," said the Prince. "We are all vegetable, in this country."Chapter 72

"We are all vegetable, in this country. Are you not vegetable, also?"Chapter 72

"Our people do not acquire their real life until they leave their bushes," said the Prince.Chapter 73

See Mangaboos chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →

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