THE WHALE RIDER THEMES
Leadership
A01
Koro Apirana’s leadership:
Koro Apirana is the chief of the tribe and Kahu’s grandfather. He is desperate
for a male heir to lead the tribe in the future, and his stubborn ways and
traditional views make him reject Kahu. He is disappointed that his grandson,
Porourangi, has only daughters and is angry when his wife, Nanny Flowers,
and Porourangi named Kahu after the whale rider, Paikea. Koro is worried
about the future of the tribe and is desperate to teach the boys of the tribe
Maori culture, traditions, and language.
Nanny Flowers leadership:
Nanny Flowers demonstrates an indirect form of leadership as she makes
decisions and influences Koro. She is descended from a line of strong Maori
women. She allows Porourangi to name his daughter after the whale rider,
makes the arrangements to bury Kahu’s afterbirth, and is influential in
making her husband, Koro, see the errors of his ways and accept Kahu as a
worthy female leader and oppose expectations. Nanny flowers can also be
seen to be a role model to kahu, showing her the ways to oppose the
Kahutia Te Rangi’s (Paikea) leadership:
The legend of Kahutia Te Rangi (Paikea) is central to the novel. The original
whale rider, Paikea, is one of the Ancients. Paikea is the original founder of
Whangara and has led others to the island.
The bull whale’s leadership:
In the legend, the bull whale swam with Kahutia Te Rangi, and the whale
remains obsessed with his memories. He returns to New Zealand to make his
‘last journey’. The bull whale leads the pod to the island and to their possible
death. When he deliberately beaches himself at Whangara, he is saved by
Kahu, who persuades him to swim back to sea.
Kahu’s leadership:
Kahu demonstrates leadership qualities when she retrieves the stone from
the bottom of the seabed, something that the boys in the tribe could not do.
Kahu is a ‘throwback’, someone demonstrating characteristics of their
ancestors of a previous age. She is able to communicate with the whales,
and when she climbs on the bull whale’s back, she is able to lead it and the
other whales to safety.
A04
• Paikea is one of the Ancients, a group of Polynesians who were ancestors of
the
Maori and who settled in New Zealand, or Aotearoa as it was known, long
before
European settlers
• Witi Ihimaera published the novel in 1987 during a time of increased
concerns
about the environment
• through his novel, Ihimaera explores Maori culture, traditions and legends.
The
traditional male-dominated leadership of the Maori tribe and expected
gender
roles are challenged.
Nanny Flowers importance
• Nanny (Nani) Flowers is important throughout the novel. She has a
prominent
position in the Maori tribe as she is Koro Apirana’s wife.
• Nanny Flowers is important in the novel as she often argues with Koro
about
how he treats and rejects Kahu Nanny brings some humour to the novel,
particularly when she calls her husband a ‘paka’. She shows her power over
Koro when she says that they do not actually argue but ‘He argues, and I win’
• Nanny Flowers is important as she is the one who follows tradition by
burying
Kahu’s afterbirth in the marae in Whangara when Koro refuses to do it
himself.
Nanny has kept tradition and, when Rawiri thinks he sees a spear land
nearby, it
is possibly an omen that Kahu has been recognised as a worthy leader by
Paikea
• Nanny is a descendant of a line of strong Maori women such as Muriwai,
who had exerted seniority over men; Nanny Flowers is
powerful force in the tribe because she has influence over Koro; she says
that
Koro ‘isn’t any chief. I’m his chief’
• it is Nanny Flowers who allows Porourangi, Kahu’s father, to name his
daughter
after the whale rider, Paikea. When Kahu visits Whangara, it is Nanny Flowers
who looks after her and a close bond is formed between them
• Nanny Flowers is important as she makes Koro accept Kahu and see the
error of
his ways; she makes comparisons between Koro’s treatment of Kahu and
racism, suggesting that his treatment of Kahu is unacceptable despite
traditional thinking. She tells Koro, ‘Girls can do anything these days
• Nanny Flowers and Rawiri witness Kahu retrieving the stone from the
seabed
and Nanny advises Rawiri that they should keep this to themselves for the
time
being. When the whales are stranded on the beach and Kahu climbs on the
whale’s back, Nanny Flowers gives the stone to Koro, who then realises that
Kahu is his true successor.
. Nanny flowers can be seen to oppose patrichal views
Tradition
• Maori culture and traditions are important throughout the novel and are
central to
the plot. Koro Apirana is desperate to secure Maori traditions and culture for
future
generations through the male line
• the Whangara tribe is traditionally led by a male. When Koro’s first-born
great-
grandchild, Kahu, is born, Koro is devastated and refuses to have anything to
do with her
• Koro is angered when the baby girl is named Kahu after the whale rider,
Paikea or
Kahutia Te Rangi. Koro will not take part in the tradition of burying Kahu’s
birth cord
in the earth. Nanny (Nani), Rawiri and ‘the boys’ place, the birth cord ‘in
sight of Kahutia Te Rangi’ so that Kahu is always protected. The
exact place is kept a secret and those who help become Kahu’s guardians. At
the
same time, Rawiri believes that he ‘saw something flying through the air. It
looked like a small spear’ and heard a whale sounding ‘Hui e, haumi e, taiki
e’ (‘join everyone together, bind it together, let it be done’)
• Koro teaches the boys about tribal traditions and history and establishes
language
nests, Kohanga Reo. Maori legends are passed down from generation to
generation.
The tribe believes in the legend of their ancestor, Paikea, who escaped
drowning by
riding on the back of a whale to safety. It is believed that if the spiritually
tattooed or
marked bull whale should die, then the tribe will die along with it: ‘When it
dies, we
die. I die’
• Maori terms are used throughout the novel and are an essential part of
Kahu’s
development and appreciation of her culture; Kahu wins a prize for reciting
the
whakapapa, the ancestral line. The use of the repeated motif, the Maori
phrase, ‘hui e,
haumi e, taiki e’, reinforces the importance of repairing the relationship
between man
and nature
• in his quest to find a male heir for Kahu’s generation, Koro sets a challenge
for the
boys to recover a stone that he has thrown to the bottom of the sea. When
none of
them succeed, he shuts himself away and weeps. Later, Kahu dives to
retrieve the
stone and in doing so is helped by the dolphins that ‘seemed to be talking to
her’.
Kahu’s ability to communicate with the sea creatures proves her worthiness
to be a
leader
Please remember the following information:
- Rawiri's narrative provides additional information about the history of the
tribe and how the 'first of the Ancients and ancestors had come from the
east', and how others came to settle in Aotearoa. (AO4)
- The legend of Paikea is central to the plot. Paikea is the Polynesian god of
sea monsters and refers to the mythical person who began the Ngati Porou
tribe in Whangara on the East Coast of Aotearoa.
- Maori legend has it that Paikea came from Hawaiki to Whangara, riding on
the back of a taniwha, a water monster, after escaping drowning when his
whaka capsized.
- Maoris believe in the 'life-giving forces in the form of spears' brought from
the House of Learning to the island by Kahutia Te Rangi, which 'gave
instructions on how man might talk with beasts' and 'taught oneness'.
- Whangara is a small Maori community in the northeast of New Zealand's
North Island, and the original Whangara Kapa Haka Group was formed in
1961, supported by the Whangara elders to keep their customs and
traditions alive.
- The novel is in the 'Magical Realism' genre, depicting fantastic or
mythological subjects in a realistic manner.
