The Whale Rider

Filled with curiosity and a zest for life, Kahu has a happy-go-lucky nature in the novel’s early sections. Initially, she is seemingly indifferent toward her grandfather’s obvious disapproval of her and possesses a generally cheerful demeanor despite losing her mother when she was very young and being raised apart from her father. As Kahu ages, she becomes progressively aware of her status as a woman in a predominantly patriarchal society. She cries to Nanny Flowers over Koro Apirana’s expressed anger at her for sneaking into sacred meetings. Further, she confides in Rawiri about her insecurity, saying, “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t a girl. Then Koro would love me more than he does” (44). Kahu’s destiny is to usher in a new generation of people who regain their sense of oneness with beasts, but she also creates unity among genders. To become a whale rider and the chief of the Maori people, she assumes a role traditionally reserved for men and thus acquires both female and male attributes. In symbolizing oneness, Kahu also represents a transcendence of all dualities and binaries, much like the women of Nanny Flowers’ tribe before her.

Kahu loves her family deeply, risking her life so that they may live. She is intelligent, kind, and curious. She is wise beyond her years and possesses immense knowledge of Maori culture and language. She adores Maori food and writes the winning speech for a school contest in the Maori language. Kahu feels a natural calling to the Maori way of life, admiring and cherishing every holiday season she spends on the island. This obsession is also reflected in her desire to hear Koro Apirana’s lessons on Maori culture and his experience of initiation as chief.

As Kahu ages, Rawiri attempts to retain her innocence by associating her with the color white. He describes her as, “In that white dress and white ribboned pigtails she was like a small puppy, trying to keep its head up” (67). Rawiri perceives Kahu as innocent, pure, and weak when she commits the most courageous act of the entire novel: mounting the ancient bull whale to save the Maori tribe. This association points towards three major themes. First, it symbolizes Rawiri’s love for Kahu. He desires her to stay his little niece forever, yet when he returns from traveling the world, she is not little anymore, and he struggles to grapple with this reality. Thus, associating her with whiteness is his way of preventing her from growing up too quickly. Secondly, this association presents her as having been born without man’s sin when he broke the sacred law. In other words, she is untainted by man’s transgressions against whales. Thirdly, Kahu’s character is void of all negative character traits. Nanny Flowers describes her, stating, “She had no guile. She had no envy. She had no jealousy” (44). Kahu becomes the perfect portrait of a Maori chief.

Nanny Flowers is the wife of Koro Apirana, the mother of Porourangi and Rawiri, and the grandmother to Kahu. She symbolizes the underlying matriarchy of the Maori people, constantly fighting against the exclusion of women in sacred matters. She asserts herself as the chief of Koro Apirana, proclaiming, “Girls can do anything nowadays. Haven’t you heard you’re not allowed to discriminate against women anymore? They should put you in the jailhouse” (43). Further, it is her female-dominated lineage that Koro Apirana blames for Porourangi having two girls and no boys to carry on the male chiefdom. Nanny Flowers’ past is characterized by women acting like men, as illustrated in the stories of Muriwai and Mihi. Muriwai asks the gods’ permission to act like a man when she saves her tribal brothers from an enormous tidal wave. Mihi shamelessly shows men where they came from to remind them that women are also powerful. Both women undercut men while assuming traditionally male roles. We see these characteristics reflected in Nanny Flowers, who continuously asserts her dominance over Koro Apirana whenever she is given the opportunity.

Nanny Flowers possesses a special bond with Kahu, seemingly understanding her true identity from the time of her birth and ensuring that she can fulfill her destiny. Stubborn with a sense of humor, Nanny Flowers cares for her family deeply, even her husband.

The current chief of the Maori people and father to Rawiri and Porourangi, Koro Apirana shares his wife’s stubbornness. Serious by nature, he adheres to a very strict and traditional Maori culture, believing that sacred matters are reserved for men. He is angered that the male lineage is broken with Kahu and that Nanny Flowers permits Porourangi to name her after their tribe’s ancestor. He becomes so obsessed with finding a male heir that he neglects his own family, most notably Kahu. He refuses to attend her break-out ceremony, where she reads her winning speech dedicated to him. Koro Apirana repeatedly loses his temper with Kahu whenever she sneaks into his Maori culture lessons. It is not until the end of the novel that he understands his ignorance and apologizes to Nanny Flowers for overlooking Kahu. This act gives hope that Koro Apirana can recognize and evolve past his sexist ideologies.

Koro Apirana, despite his exclusion of women and strict adherence to traditional Maori customs, is a great leader. Rawiri states that he is loved by the people writing, “But me and the boys had a grudging admiration for the old fella. He might not always be fair but he was a good fighter for the Maori people” (24). While ruling with an iron fist, Koro Apirana’s respect and love for the Maori culture is undeniable. He possesses the innate ability to rally together the men, inspiring them with his initiation stories and speeches. He attempts to keep the language and the culture alive by establishing language nests. He is visibly distraught at the sight of the mass grave of whales. While possessing some major character flaws, Koro Apirana cares for his ancestry, community, and family, doing whatever he believes necessary to preserve them.

Father to Kahu, Porourangi is heartbroken when his first-born daughter is sent to live with his late wife’s family. His yearning for Kahu prompts Koro Apirana to allow his granddaughter to visit over the holidays. Porourangi does not seem bothered by Kahu’s gender, as he also approves of naming her after the tribe’s founder. Possessing a calm demeanor, Porourangi is preparing to become the next chief of the Maori people. He accompanies his father on numerous business trips and helps with general affairs around the island.

Porourangi serves as a mouthpiece for the family back on the island when Rawiri decides to travel. He sends him letters relaying updates about his life and Kahu, including a letter written by Kahu when Rawiri is in Papua New Guinea. Porourangi also seems to notice his father’s growing obsession to find the boy who will pull the sword, referencing King Arthur. He acknowledges the futile consequences of such an obsession yet does not speak to his father about his treatment of Kahu, possibly because of their respective statuses in the tribe. Overall, Porourangi is a supportive father of Kahu, attending her break-out ceremony and praising her excellent work in school.

The ancient bull whale has a swirling moko on his forehead, differentiating him from the herd and portraying him as an eternal being. He is leading his herd in a great migration. To direct them, he must retrieve the correct path from the depths of his memory, consequently recovering the memory of his rider. With each stop, the whale is reminded of an encounter with his rider, which causes him great distress. Ihimaera describes the story of the whale and the whale rider alongside the whale’s migration through Antarctica. He begins with their meeting, how Kahutia Te Rangi played sad songs on his flute to express companionship with the crying whale. He recounts their first ride and their last, depicting the beginning of human life on Whangara and the symbol of the spears as life-giving seeds. Ihimaera purposefully parallels the whale’s migration and memories of his rider with life on Whangara and Kahu’s childhood. As such, in the scene preceding Kahu’s mounting of the whale, the whale remembers Kahutia Te Rangi telling him he is to be blessed with children. Kahutia Te Rangi’s lineage begins and lives on through Kahu, as is evidenced in the juxtaposition of these two scenes.

Throughout the novel, the ancient bull whale feels rejected by his rider. The loss of this relationship symbolizes the more significant loss of communion between all men and all beasts. Sensing that the world has rejected him, the whale resolves to take his life. The elderly female whales have feared this outcome throughout the entire migration, trying but failing to coax him away from the land of the Gods, which has now become the land of death. It is not until his wife, the old mother whale, explains that his rider is not Kahutia Te Rangi but the final spear that he begins to feel closure. He no longer yearns for the past but understands that his and Kahu’s Fate are intertwined. He looks towards the future with hope proclaiming, “Then let everyone live, and let the partnership between land and sea, whales and all humankind, also remain” (78).