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"Whale Rider"


“Whale Rider” addresses important issues and questions relating to the meaning of life. One main character, Koro, the grandfather of Paikea Apirana, the young girl at the centre of the story, believes that the meaning of his life is to reinstate a new chieftain to the Whangara tribe. The ancient laws of the Whangara state that the chief must be a male. As Paikea is female, Koro treats her as useless, and her attempts to learn the ways of the Whangara warriors outrage Koro. Paikea is the living descendant of the forefather of her people, her namesake Paikea, who it is believed survived the wrecking of his canoe by riding on the back of a whale. Koro sees the death of Paikea’s twin brother as the downfall of his tribe, as he believed that only with a new chieftain could the lineage of the Whangara continue.

Koro searches for his meaning in life by attempting to find a new Chief by forming a cultural school for the village boys. He teaches them all the ways of the warriors, using the Taiaha fighting stick, learning the ancient chants and so on. All through this, he ridicules Paikea as she continues trying to learn the arts that are traditionally reserved for males. Koro lives by superstition, for example when Paikea uses the Taiaha, he sees this as her breaking a terrible taboo that will bring misfortune. When Koro takes the boys out to retrieve the whale tooth pendant, a sense of doom comes over Koro as none of the boys manage to retrieve the necklace. Koro loses sight of his love for Paikea and becomes obsessed with searching elsewhere for a chief. The truth, in Paikea, is right in front of him, but he can’t see it.

Eventually Koro finds his chief and fulfills his perceived meaning in life, but not as expected. Paikea decides to look for the pendant herself. Koro is initially unaware that she has found it. So when a pod of whales is beached, Koro sees this as the eventual destruction of his tribe,...