Who Are The Dora Milaje?

Marvel Studio’s Black Panther hits theaters on February 16th, and there is so much to learn before we watch it on the big screen! We’ve already discussed the women of Black Panther in a prior post, but it’s time to dig deeper. Who are the Dora Milaje? Well, there are a few things you need to know about this integral part of the Black Panther story.

The Dora Milaje is King T’Challa’s deadly bodyguards. The Adored Ones (what Dora Milaje means) have the duty of keeping the king of Wakanda safe at all times.
The Dora Milaje is created from the 18 rival tribes of Wakanda. This prestigious position was actually created to allow each tribe to present their most powerful female warriors as potential queens for the king. Each tribe takes pride in their daughters, and anticipates having their tribe represented in the Dora Milaje.
These deadly women are sent on special missions. While the Dora Milaje are the king’s bodyguards, Black Panther also sends them on secret missions all around the world. Nakia, a main character in Marvel Studio’s Black Panther, is a Dora Milaje that has been sent on many missions.
Dora Milaje is pronounced dora-meh-LAH-shay. Start practicing how to say it now, so you’re ready to say it every single day of your life after you watch the film on February 16th.
T’Challa reinstated the Dora Milaje. In the Black Panther comic books, the Dora Milaje were a mainstay during King Azzari’s reign (T’Challa’s grandfather), but they were disbanded until T’Challa received the throne.
There may be a love affair in the film that wasn’t in the comic book. Nakia and Okoye, T’Challa’s first members of his Dora Milaje, are both featured in the upcoming film. In the comic books, T’Challa saw them not as potential wives, but as fierce fighters. Nakia still longed for her king’s love, but it was unrequited. From what we can infer from the Black Panther trailers, we may see a love story between T’Challa and Nakia in the film.
The Dora Milaje are trained in martial arts and many forms of weaponry. In the stills, trailers for Black Panther, and Okoye’s Black Panther poster, we’ve seen them with bo-staffs and spears. This means we are bound to see some epic action sequences in the upcoming film.