Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Whale Rider, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humans and Nature
Maori Identity
Gender and Power
Familial Love
Summary
Analysis
Before humans, New Zealand’s earth and sea were full of color, noise, and local animals. When the Ancients visited in canoes, everything in the world rejoiced. One day, an ancient whale with a sacred tattoo on its head erupted from the ocean’s depths, bearing “the gift of the Gods” on its back: a man (Kahutia Te Rangi / Paikea). The man threw spears that turned into different animals, like pigeons and eels, and he announced, “karanga mai [call me].” He prayed for his last spear, which kept flying for a thousand years, until humans really needed it. The chapter ends with a Maori ritual chant: “Hui e, haumi e, taiki e. / Let it be done.”
Ihimaera starts at the beginning, with the origin story of the Maori community to which he and his novel’s characters belong. Throughout the book, readers will see this story's motifs and metaphors recur in the present day. A new whale rider will take on Kahutia Te Rangi’s spirit and save the Maori people; the ancient whale, the call of “karanga mai,” the vision of a harmonious prehistoric world, and the story of the last spear will all return to shape the plot. By bringing this legend into a contemporary family’s life, Ihimaera underlines tradition’s enduring relevance for Maori people, whether considered as their cultural heritage, an interpretive tool for understanding one’s place in the world, a guide to living ethically in an age of ecological crisis, or a historical explanation for the settlement of New Zealand.
Themes
