The Whale Rider Character Analysis

Kahu

The central character in The Whale Rider is Kahu Apirana, a young girl who is third in line for the chieftainship of Whangara. She may not be able to exercise that role, though, because… read analysis of Kahu

Rawiri

Rawiri Apirana is the novel’s primary narrator. Koro Apirana and Nanny Flowers’s grandson, he is 16 at the beginning of the novel and 24 at the end. He isn’t in the line of succession… read analysis of Rawiri

Koro Apirana

Koro Apirana is the chief of the town of Whangara, a direct descendant of the legendary whale rider Kahutia Te Rangi, and the patriarch of the family that includes most of the other… read analysis of Koro Apirana

Nanny Flowers

Nanny Flowers is the Apirana family’s matriarch, Rawiri’s grandmother, and Koro Apirana’s wife. She is stubborn and gruff but also wise and deeply caring—especially when it comes to Kahu, whom she is… read analysis of Nanny Flowers

Kahutia Te Rangi / Paikea

Kahutia Te Rangi, who also took the name Paikea, was the legendary flute-playing whale rider in Maori mythology. He raised the ancient whale, then traveled from Hawaiki to New Zealand on his back. He… read analysis of Kahutia Te Rangi / Paikea

The Ancient Bull Whale

In Maori legend, a young bull whale’s parents get eaten by sharks, but the flute-playing whale rider Kahutia Te Rangi takes him in and raises him. They cross the ocean together, from the Maori homeland… read analysis of The Ancient Bull Whale

Porourangi

Porourangi is Rawiri’s older brother, Kahu’s father, and the next person in line to be the chief of Whangara, after his grandfather Koro Apirana (who is busy training him for the job… read analysis of Porourangi

Jeff

Jeff is Rawiri’s roommate and best friend while Rawiri is living in Sydney, Australia. When Jeff’s parents, Clara and Tom, call him back to the family plantation in Papua New Guinea, Rawiri joins… read analysis of Jeff

The Old Mother Whale

The old mother whale is the ancient bull whale’s wife. She persuades him that Kahu is Paikea’s descendent, not Paikea himself, and convinces the herd to return Kahu to land (which ensures her… read analysis of The Old Mother Whale

Tom

Tom, Jeff’s father and Clara’s husband, is a white settler and plantation owner in Papua New Guinea. Due to Parkinson’s disease, Tom can no longer supervise the native laborers who work for him… read analysis of Tom

Minor Characters

Rehua

Rehua is Porourangi’s first wife and Kahu’s mother, who dies three months after Kahu’s birth. She comes from the same community as Nanny Flowers.

Ana

Ana is Porourangi’s second wife and mother to his second daughter, Putiputi.

Putiputi

Putiputi is Porourangi and Ana’s daughter and Kahu’s younger half-sister. She is named for Nanny Flowers, whose given name is also Putiputi, and she is a baby throughout the second half of the book.

Clara

Clara, Jeff’s mother and Tom’s wife, is a white settler and socialite in Papua New Guinea. She discriminates against Rawiri for being Maori, at first subtly and then more openly.

Billy

Billy is a friend of Rawiri’s who helps save the ancient whale.

The Whale Rider

Witi Ihimaera

The Whale Rider Characters