In Maori culture, a karanga (call or summons) is an important ritual to welcome guests into the community by publicly calling out to them upon their arrival. In The Whale Rider, Paikea, Kahu, and the ancient whale greet one another with “karanga mai” (“call me” in Maori ), which reflects the deep traditional connection between humans and whales.
Karanga Quotes in The Whale Rider
The The Whale Rider quotes below are all either spoken by Karanga or refer to Karanga. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Prologue: Chapter 1
Quotes
Karanga mai, karanga mai, karanga mai.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Hui e, haumi e, taiki e.
Let it be done.
Winter: Chapter 16
Quotes
I thought I saw something flying through the air, across the aeons, to plunge into the heart of the village.
A dark shadow began to ascend from the deep. Then there were other shadows rising, ever rising. Suddenly the first shadow breached the surface and I saw it was a whale. Leviathan. Climbing through the depths. Crashing through the skin of sea. And as it came, the air was filled with streaked lightning and awesome singing.
Koro Apirana gave a tragic cry, for this was no ordinary beast, no ordinary whale. This whale came from the past. As it came, it filled the air with its singing.
Karanga mai, karanga mai,
karanga mai.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Whale Rider LitChart as a printable PDF.
Karanga Term Timeline in The Whale Rider
The timeline below shows where the term Karanga appears in The Whale Rider. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prologue: Chapter 1
...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...
(full context)
Winter: Chapter 16
...Koro Apirana cries out because this is a special whale—an ancient whale from the past. “Karanga mai,” he sings, and the rest of his herd joins in. The whale also has...
(full context)
Winter: Chapter 17
...but she keeps swimming toward the ancient whale, determined to save it. She starts singing “karanga mai” to the whale. “Oh sacred ancestor,” she sings to him, “I am Kahu […]...
(full context)
