Great Uncle Bulgaria - Culture and Society

Culture and Society

Though it is stated that Wombles live all around the world, Beresford's collection of stories, as well as the television series and the music, focus on the group living in Wimbledon Common in London, England. Some of the Womble customs described below might therefore be local to the Wimbledon community.

Wombles care for and educate their young at a communal level. Like human children, immature Wombles are taught reading, writing and athletic skills, which they learn by playing a game called "Wombles and Ladders". (Some older Wombles play this game too, though most regard it as childish.) Below a certain (unspecified) age all Wombles are nameless; upon coming of age, a Womble chooses his or her name by looking through Great Uncle Bulgaria's large atlas until they find a name that suits them. Some (Bungo for example) "merely shut their eyes tight and point and hope for the best." They then leave Miss Adelaide's "Womblegarten" and join in the communal work of the burrow, which is mostly clearing up and recycling human refuse.

Wombles are very careful to keep their existence secret from Human Beings - at least in the books and TV series. In the movie Wombling Free this is reversed as the Wombles seek to get Human Beings to listen to their "make good use of bad rubbish" pleas. Otherwise secrecy is the rule, though there have been a few exceptions, such as Mr. Smith, a lonely senior citizen who is invited inside the Wombles burrow on Christmas Eve.

Wombles generally have a low opinion of other animal species, though they are never unkind to them. They have a poor opinion of Human Beings in general, though there are exceptions; royalty for example, especially the Queen. They also have a respect for human literature; the Wimbledon Wombles maintain a large library of books left by humans on the Common, and Great Uncle Bulgaria is fond of reading The Times.

Wombles are extremely honest creatures. On the rare occasions they are forced to take things from humans without permission, they always leave money to cover the cost. They dislike lies and deception, though on occasion they are known to stretch the truth or to omit important details.