Trans-species and post-human oceanic futures in Witi Ihimaera’s The Whale Rider and James Nestor’s deep?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this time of the sixth extinction (Kolbert), humans from different ontologies seek notions of being human that more fully account for humans’ dependance on the natural world. Answers to questions about human- and non-human relationships may reside in much older communal narratives. Kinship – defined by Marshall Sahlins as “mutuality of being” – is explored in Witi Ihimaera’s novel, The Whale Rider and James Nestor’s memoir, Deep. Ihimaera’s novel illustrates the ancient, inextricable relationship between the Whangara and a specific clan of whales, portraying kinship maintained through trans-species communication (interlocking). Nestor’s Deep focuses on the author’s attempt to rediscover the primal and marine origin of mammalian life. This process leads to his realization that humanity’s future lies in reactivating the parts of our physiology that make us both an oceanic and terrestrial life-form. Deep allows readers a glimpse into a possible post-human future.