![]() The description of the whale rider displays his character as a God-like figure. He seemed, with all his strength, to be pulling the whale into the sky” (page 6). Upon that beast he looked like a small tattooed figurine, dark brown, glistening, and erect. His eyes were wide shining with splendor. The water streamed away from him and he opened his mouth to gasp in the cold air. From the very beginning the idea of male dominance is presented with the description of the whale rider “He was wondrous to look upon, the whale rider. I’m glad they remember and honor those whales, after all these years.In the book Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, the conflict involving gender role is evident throughout. That beach had a similarly haunted air of sadness. I’ve been to many holy sites hallowed by tragedy, from Normandy Beach in France to the Battle of the Little Big Horn in Montana. It was a lively and entertaining evening, a rich immersion in Maori culture.īut when I think back on our experiences in Gisborne, it is that windswept beach that I most remember. We left the beach and continued touring, ending our day with a bounteous feast shared with nearly a hundred Gisborne residents, who entertained us with traditional dances and singing. The story of the stranding provided part of the inspiration for the story of the Whale Rider. All 59 of the whales perished, and their bodies were buried here on this windswept beach. The Maori were unsuccessful in their efforts. I stood by a whale and cried and cried, and I could see that the whale was crying too.” A sign marks the spot where the whales perished. I was one of many who came to the beach to try to save them. “It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. “We consider the whale to be our ancestor, and the stranding was a terrible tragedy for our entire community,” she recalls. The climax of the story is the girl’s response to the stranding of whales on the shore of their coastal village (I won’t tell you more, as you need to see the movie for yourself).Īs we pulled up to the pristine beach, Anne told us the story of how in 1970, 59 sperm whales stranded themselves here for unknown reasons. It’s a lyrical, beautifully filmed movie that tells the story of a young girl who must overcome the objections of her grandfather to take her rightful place as a tribal leader. My favorite spot was a nearby beach that is connected to the film Whale Rider. We saw Wainui Beach, one of the top ten surfing beaches in the world, and the Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine Reserve, which protects eight marine habitat types as well as an imprint in the rock that is said to be the footstep of the giant Rongokako. ![]() “I’d better stop now if we’re going to see much of the area.”Īnne took us to see the statue of Captain Cook that stands in Gisborne’s bay, as well as to Dive Tatapouri, where we waded into the water to feed wild stingrays. “As you can see, it takes awhile,” she said with a broad smile. I loved it when Anne started giving us the roll call of her ancestors in Maori, then stopped after a minute or two. Our group couldn’t have had a better guide to the region than Anne, a former school teacher.Īnne can recite her lineage going back 22 generations (given my memory these days, the odds of me correctly reciting even five generations back are pretty slim). “English botanists thought most species had already been discovered, and then Cook and his men told them of these islands on which almost every kind of plant and bird species was unfamiliar.” Tour guide Anne McGuire in Gisborne (Lori Erickson photo) ![]() “When Cook and his crew returned to England, what they reported astonished the scientific community,” she said.
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