Whale Rider Page #3

"Your eyes will roll back.

Your head will be stuck

on the end of my stick."

Feel the ihi...

the power.

Make them feel the wehi, the fear.

I want the hairs on the backs

of their necks to stand up.

Take off your shirts.

When you

slap your chests...

i want you

to slap them hard.

Bleh! Bleh!

Scratch them.

Make them bleed.

Timata.

Bleh!

Bleh!

Good, hemi. Good.

All these ancestors

are watching too.

This is my dad.

Come to see

your boy?

- Yeah.

- Good.

Hemi, you first.

Hah!

Hah!

- Girl! Where's that school?

- Over there.

Thought you were gonna stay

for the whole thing.

Seen your bit, didn't i?

Come meet my mates.

- Hey.

- Hey.

This is my boy.

- Hey.

- Say hello.

- Hello.

Better watch out for this one.

Did all right in there, eh?

See you later.

Tonight?

Next couple of days, maybe.

We're outta here.

Get lost, you.

Was that your dad?

Get lost.

What have you done?

Answer me.

It wasn't her fault.

Go wash your face.

Answer me, Pai.

- Do you know what you've done?

- No.

You have broken the tapu

of this school...

on this marae, the one place

where our old ways are upheld.

The knowledge that's been passed

down from your ancestors...

from my grandfather to me,

to those boys...

It's broken!

I'm sorry, paka.

You're not sorry.

Right from the beginning,

you knew this wasn't for you...

but you keep coming back.

- Do you want me to fail?

- No.

You want these boys

to fail?

What have you got

to say to them?

I'm sorry.

- Say it again.

- I'm sorry.

Say it

till you mean it!

Say it!

I'm sorry.

Want me to put

some more hot in?

- No.

No.

You can get sick

sitting in a cold bath.

- What if he fails, nanny?

- Then he fails.

- What will happen to him?

- Nothing will happen...

except me thinking about that divorce.

It's not koro's fault, nanny.

What's not his fault?

Sounds like his fault to me.

Not that i'm a girl.

Not you, hemi.

Rawiri.

You've all done very well.

You've shown me

that you've got courage, that you're strong...

and that you can learn.

But there can only be one...

so there's one final test...

a test of your spirit.

If you have

the tooth of a whale...

you must have the whale's jaw to wield it.

One of you will

bring that back to me.

Bubba's got a cold,

and i can't swim.

It's all right, man.

Hey.

- Give it to me.

- I almost had it.

Nanny?

Come here.

It's not for long.

You can put your clothes in there.

And, uh, there's a lamp

if you wanna read.

Rawiri reckons you're

pretty brainy, eh?

Anyway, it's just for

a little while.

He was calling to the ancient ones,

asking them to help him...

but they weren't listening.

- So i tried...

and they heard me.

Uncle, is this where

paka lost his reiputa?

His what?

That thing he wore around his neck.

He threw it overboard.

Crazy old paka.

- Where?

- Just over there.

I'll get it.

It's quiet down deep.

Koro needed quiet.

That's what nanny said.

He didn't want to talk anymore.

He just wanted to go

down and down.

She's been gone

quite a while, eh?

Nah, she's sweet.

For paka's tea.

And i found this.

- Got this for dad's tea.

- Lovely. Pop it in the sink.

Pai got it.

She got this as well.

You gonna tell him?

No. He's not ready yet.

Go on.

It's for my school concert.

You're my guest of honor.

So i'll see you there, paka.

Put mine there.

Come on.

I want to get up in the front.

- Save this one for paka.

- He might be held up, bub.

No, he's coming.

Thank you,

ladies and gentlemen.

Now to finish, we have

something very special.

One of our students has won,

not only our own school speech contest...

but the east coast

area schools', as well.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome miss Paikea Apirana.

Did you know about this?

She said she had

a surprise... for him.

This speech is a token

of my deep love and respect...

for Koro Apirana,

my grandfather.

My name is Paikea Apirana...

Go on, bub.

And i come from a long line of chiefs,

stretching all the way back to hawaiiki...

where our ancient ones are...

the ones that first heard

the land crying and sent a man.

His name was also Paikea...

and i am his mo...

most recent descendant.

But i was not the leader

my grandfather was expecting...

and by being born...

i broke the line back to the ancient ones.

It wasn't anybody's fault.

It just happened.

Who is to blame?

But we can learn. And if the knowledge is given

to everyone, we can have lots of leaders.

And soon,

everyone will be strong...

notjust the ones

that've been chosen.

Because sometimes, even if you're the leader

and you need to be strong...

you can get tired.

Like our ancestor, Paikea,

when he was lost at sea...

and he couldn't find the land,

and he probably wanted to die.

But he knew the ancient ones

were there for him...

so he called out to them

to lift him up and give him strength.

This is his chant.

I dedicate it to my grandfather.

- She all right?

- She's asleep.

That old man know

she's staying the night?

If he doesn't like it,

he can sleep in the road.

Might be time for us to leave, eh, dear?

What is it?

You'd better come

have a look.

Who is to blame?

I called them and they came...

but it wasn't right.

They were dying.

Hey, keep it away from the blowhole, bro.

That's it. Just around the edges.

You okay?

He died.

Koro knew what it meant.

It was Paikea's whale,

sent to us because we were in trouble.

Dad?

- We've got to turn it around.

- How?

Get a tractor down here

and some ropes.

We'll wait for the tide.

If... if we can move it,

the others will follow.

- Get the men.

- They're stuffed.

Half of them have

been up all night.

They'll do it for you.

It was a test...

but for koro this time.

Leave it.

You've done enough.

Now!

E pana e!

E pana e!

He wanted to die.

There wasn't a reason

to live anymore.

It's no use. They're too tired.

We'll try again later.

Let them rest.

- Come on, dear. We'll come back.

Come on.

It's gone!

Where is she?

Where's my moko?

Where is she?

Pai!

It's okay, paka.

I wasn't scared to die.

Hurry up!

Hurry!

Let's go!

Which one?

What do you mean, which one?

Yes?

Thank you, dear.

I've been praying to god

about it.

If that little one wakes up,

i'm gonna give up the smokes.

She'd like that.

Wise leader,

forgive me.

I am just a fledgling new to flight.

My name is Paikea Apirana,

and I come from a long line of chiefs...

stretching all the way back

to the whale rider.

I'm not a prophet...

but i know that our people

will keep going forward...

all together,

with all of our strength.

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