The Bone People

Island cultures often feel a deep connection to both land and water, as they are precariously balanced between the two. Consequently, canoes and boats are important symbols for the Maori. Tribal identity is based on which canoe a person’s ancestors sailed to New Zealand, or Aotearoa. Additionally, the canoe is central to eking out a livelihood from the sea, as well as engaging in warfare, or riri. It is also used symbolically as a connection between the physical and spiritual worlds, transporting the dead into the afterlife or serving as a medium for the gods. In the novel, the submerged canoe in the cave represents the living history of Aotearoa, preserving inside it a piece of the land’s soul. It provides both a tangible connection to the past, for the most part lost due to the assimilation efforts of the British, and a way forward that entails guarding and preserving the spiritual legacy of the first Maori.

Land is another key Maori concept explored in the book. Tribal identity is strongly based in a particular territory, as that is where the ancestors’ bones are buried. Land is also a sign of social status within a tribe and the definition of home, but it is understood as a communal or family ownership rather than an individual’s possession. This fundamental role of land for establishing tribal identity was altered by the Native Land Act of 1865, which insisted on individual, rather than communal, ownership of land. However, the emphasis on personal, usually economic, gain is emblematic of Western values and is fundamentally incompatible with Maori culture. The Act led to many tribes losing all or most of their territory, undercutting their sense of identity and self-worth. This deep-seated connection to a particular place is expressed in Kerewin’s attachment to her family’s property, as well as her habit of addressing the natural elements. Similarly, Simon is keenly aware of the need for a home and its function as an anchor. Joe, by contrast, lacks this feeling of groundedness until he accepts the role of guardian, after which he comes to recognize the need to go back to his home town.

A house is often interpreted as a symbol of the human body and, in Jungian psychology, of the self. It can also be related to ideas of creation, legitimacy, and patriarchy. Kerewin’s tower, a phallic image, highlights her subversion and appropriation of patriarchal expectations. She is a woman who is independently wealthy and creates her own home, rather than depending on her male relatives or husband to provide for her. At the same time, however, her act of self-assertion creates a rift between Kerewin and those around her. The tower is both isolated and isolating. This fact plays into the idea of a tower as a woman’s prison, popularized in a number of European fairy tales, such as Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. At the beach house, Simon wakes Kerewin up with a kiss, reinforcing the allusion to Sleeping Beauty. The kiss, both in the fairy tale and in the novel, can be read as an attempt to reconnect the heroine with the rest of society.

The austerity of Joe’s home signifies his loss of self to grief, as well as his emotional detachment, following his wife’s death. At the novel’s beginning, he is too absorbed by his grief to be able to create a truly nurturing environment for Simon. Another example of a manmade construction are Simon’s hutches. They establish the boy’s deep connection to and understanding of the surrounding world. Ironically, Simon is more in tune with nature than either of the adults, who identify as Maori.

Finally, Kerewin’s rebuilt home resembles a spiral seashell, indicating her new ability to connect to her surroundings and her rejection of European values. She is no longer attempting to change or subvert the binary male–female patriarchal system; rather, she is attempting to completely shift to a different, more flexible social organization.