Species in The Oz Series
Winged Monkeys
Also known as a crowd of monkeys, these strange creatures, our band, the band of Winged Monkeys, his band, the entire band.
A band of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on his shoulders, led by one much bigger than the others; bound to serve whoever owns the Golden Cap, obeying any order three times before their service passes. They fly with great chattering and laughing, seize and carry off victims, but dare not harm one protected by the Power of Good.
Appears in 8 chapters, first in chapter 12, last in chapter 34.
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 | Bound by the charm of the Golden Cap to obey any three commands of whoever owns it; and bound to the Land of Oz alone — they belong to this country only and cannot leave it or cross the surrounding desert, so no Winged Monkey has ever been beyond it. (as of ch. 18) |
| Habitat | Once a free people of the great forest, flying from tree to tree and living on nuts and fruit; the band in Gayelette's tale lived in the forest near her ruby palace. (as of ch. 14) |
| Innate traits | Each has a pair of immense, powerful wings and long, hairy arms with long fingers; strong enough to lift and carry a person, a tin man, or a bound lion through the air; noisy, given to chattering and laughing. (as of ch. 12) |
Relationships
- provides service → Dorothy ch. 14Having once carried Dorothy and her whole party to the Emerald City on the Cap's charm, the Winged Monkeys are summoned a second time and bow before her, but their service is now shown to be bounded: they belong to this country alone and cannot leave it or cross the desert, so they refuse to fly her to Kansas and depart.
- provides service → Dorothy's Traveling Party ch. 22The Winged Monkeys catch up the four travelers and Toto and fly them safely over the Hammer-Heads' hill, setting them down in the Quadling country — then bid Dorothy a final farewell, the charm now spent.
- leader of ← leader of the Winged Monkeys ch. 12One monkey, much bigger than the others, is the leader of the Winged Monkeys; he speaks for the band to the Witch, directs the others in seizing the party, and forbids them to touch Dorothy.
- enslaves → Winkies ch. 14When the Golden Cap fell into the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West, she used its charm to make the Winged Monkeys enslave the Winkies.
- provides service ← Cowardly Lion ch. 14The Winged Monkeys seize and carry the Cowardly Lion through the air to the Emerald City along with the rest of the party.
- provides service ← Scarecrow ch. 14The Winged Monkeys carry the Scarecrow through the air to the Emerald City; frightened at first from their past treatment, he sees no harm is meant and rides cheerfully.
- provides service ← Tin Woodman ch. 14The Winged Monkeys carry the Tin Woodman through the air to the Emerald City; wary at first from their past treatment, he rides on cheerfully once he sees no harm is meant.
- provides service ← Toto ch. 14One little Monkey seizes Toto and flies after the others to the Emerald City, though the dog tries hard to bite him.
- commands ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 14When the Winged Monkeys arrive and the King asks her command, Dorothy orders them to carry the party to the Emerald City, since they are lost; the Monkeys obey at once.
- bound to → Golden Cap (ended) ch. 14–22The Winged Monkeys are magically bound by Gayelette's ancient charm to obey the owner of the Golden Cap three times. The binding is exercised a second time this chapter — the Monkey King notes 'This is the second time you have called us' — but the summons is wasted 'to no purpose' since they cannot cross the desert, leaving only a single command remaining before the charm is spent.
- imprisoned by ← Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 12[CASCADE] Created by CAPTURES(winged_monkeys→cowardly_lion)
- captures → Cowardly Lion (ended) ch. 12The Winged Monkeys throw stout rope around the Lion and wind many coils about his body, head, and legs until he cannot struggle, then fly him to the Witch's castle and set him in a small high-fenced yard from which he cannot escape.
- commands ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 22Dorothy commands the summoned Winged Monkeys to carry the party over the hill to the country of the Quadlings — the last of her three Cap-commands.
- enchants ← Gayelette (ended) ch. 14In punishment for ducking Quelala, Gayelette lays an enduring binding-charm on the Winged Monkeys: they must ever after do three times the bidding of the owner of the Golden Cap.
- destroys → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 12The Winged Monkeys pull all the straw out of the Scarecrow's clothes and head, bundle his hat, boots, and clothes together, and throw the bundle into the top branches of a tall tree, undoing him completely.
- injures → Scarecrow (ended) ch. 12The Winged Monkeys pull all the straw out of the Scarecrow's clothes and head and throw the bundle of his clothes into a tall tree, unmaking him; the harm is undone later when his friends restuff him.
- injures → Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 12The Winged Monkeys seize the Tin Woodman, carry him over a country of sharp rocks, and drop him a great distance so that he lies so battered and dented he can neither move nor groan; a grave injury, though not death.
- commands ← Wicked Witch of the West (ended) ch. 12Having summoned the Winged Monkeys with the Golden Cap for the third and last time, the Witch commands them to destroy all the strangers except the Lion and to bring the Lion to her; their leader answers that her commands shall be obeyed.
- commands ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 18Dorothy commands the summoned Winged Monkeys to fly her over the desert to Kansas, but they cannot obey.
- protects → Dorothy (ended) ch. 12Though ordered to destroy the strangers, the Winged Monkeys refuse to harm Dorothy because they see the mark of the Good Witch's kiss on her forehead; recognizing she is protected by the Power of Good, they carry her gently to the castle and leave her unharmed.
- punishes ← Gayelette (ended) ch. 14Angry that the Monkeys ducked Quelala and ruined his wedding clothes, Gayelette first threatens to have them tied and drowned, then — pleaded with by her grandfather-King and Quelala — spares them but binds them to serve the Golden Cap's owner forever.
- fears ← Oz (ended) ch. 15The threat of the Winged Monkeys so frightens Oz — who had met them before in the West and did not wish to meet them again — that he immediately grants the party an audience.
- defeats → Oz (ended) ch. 14At the Wicked Witch of the West's command via the Golden Cap, the Winged Monkeys drove Oz himself out of the Land of the West.
- commands ← Quelala (ended) ch. 14As first owner of the Golden Cap, Quelala's one command was to order the Winged Monkeys always to keep out of the sight of his bride, who could not bear to look at them.
- commands ← Wicked Witch of the West (ended) ch. 14Owning the Golden Cap, the Wicked Witch of the West commanded the Winged Monkeys to enslave the Winkies and to drive Oz out of the Land of the West.
- fears → Gayelette (ended) ch. 14The Winged Monkeys were all afraid of Gayelette, gladly obeying Quelala's order to keep forever out of her sight.
- insults → Quelala (ended) ch. 14As a joke, the grandfather-King's band seized the finely-dressed Quelala, carried him over the middle of the river, and dropped him in, mockingly bidding him swim out and see if the water had spotted his clothes.
From the text
“Your power over our band is now ended, and you will never see us again.”Chapter 12
the Wicked Witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on his shoulders.Chapter 12
“Once,” began the leader, “we were a free people, living happily in the great forest, flying from tree to tree, eating nuts and fruit, and doing just as we pleased without calling anybody master.”Chapter 14
See Winged Monkeys chapter by chapter in the interactive codex →