The Deep

Amaba is Yetu’s mother and primary antagonist. Although Yetu feels resentment toward all of the wajinru, it is most often expressed in her relationship with her mother, or amaba.

Amaba is as forgetful as the rest of the wajinru, and she does not remember the many conflicts that she and Yetu have shared during her time as the historian. This means that she cannot learn from those experiences to strengthen her connection with her daughter. Instead, they play out the same argument over and over again, much to Yetu’s dismay. Her amaba tends to misunderstand or disbelieve the depth of feeling that Yetu experiences in the rememberings, insisting that Yetu is exaggerating or merely lacks discipline. Early in the novella, Amaba appears to be a grounding force, trying to return Yetu to the present and her obligation to her people. Yetu resents this tremendously, even as she also appreciates her mother’s care.

Once Amaba has experienced the Remembrance, she is changed. Her perspective on Yetu is transformed, and she is able to understand why her daughter struggled so much with the heaviness of these memories. She also helps Yetu come to important realizations about any one individual’s relationship to the past, realizing that witnessing and determining history’s meaning is an interpretive act shaped by one’s experiences and circumstances. 

Nnenyo is the oldest living wajinru, nearly 150 years old. He holds more memories than most. He is the most sympathetic to Yetu and supports her as her care-maid.

Yetu believes that Nnenyo would have made a better choice for historian than her because of his temperament and strength. He approaches Yetu with the care and tenderness that she wants from her mother and is a surrogate parent. He is an elder among the wajinru and exercises influence over the group, which allows him to protect Yetu’s delicate constitution as she prepares for the Remembrance.

Nnenyo’s brief appearance allows Yetu to express regret, envy, and appreciation for the wajinru’s condition of forgetfulness. He represents a possible hope for the future and foreshadows the mutually supportive relationship that is possible when the wajinru share the History at the end of the novella. Nnenyo recalls more than the average wajinru and this capacity heightens his ability to be compassionate in his actions toward Yetu and his children.

Waj is the first two-leg that the wajinru ever meet. She appears in the Remembrance when the wajinru are without self-knowledge or awareness of where they came from.

Waj gives the wajinru language and a name, calling them “zoti aleyu,” which translates to “strange fish” in her language. She is an important figure from their origin story, as her relationship with the zoti aleyu inspires the creation of the deep and the role of the historian.

Within the Remembrance, Waj symbolizes the emergence of self-awareness that comes from unifying with another and the subsequent loss of that relationship. Within the novella more broadly, Waj is a central image that represents the key to unlocking the relationship between the two-legs and the wajinru. In her face, the zoti aleyu recognize themselves, and in her loss, they experience tremendous alienation that leads to their isolation and self-preservation in the depths of the ocean. This conflict and relationship is one that the wajinru rediscover and relive over and over again until the two-legs and wajinru are finally reunited when Oori joins Yetu in the deep.

Aj is the first pup that the wajinru ever witness being born. He is the second historian, following Zoti in the belief that it is best to withhold the History from the zoti aleyu, who would experience too much pain if they had to face it.

When Zoti is the historian and organizing their underwater society, the zoti aleyu that she brings together witness an enslaved pregnant woman fall into the ocean, cast overboard by enslavers, and die. Zoti’s instincts guide her to rip the woman’s stomach open with her teeth, and the zoti aleyu witness the birth of Aj. They can hardly believe their eyes and are overwhelmed with happiness.

Within the Remembrance, Aj represents a new beginning for the zoti aleyu, a grim affirmation of their origins that sets events into motion. Zoti decides to withhold the whole truth from the rest of the zoti aleyu, burying the body of the two-leg woman without their knowledge. Within the narrative, then, Aj embodies the secret, hidden truth of the wajinru.

Basha is the historian who precedes Yetu. He is a passionate and angry wajinru and leads the Tidal Wars.

Basha is represented primarily in the Remembrance. The wajinru see history unfold through his eyes, experiencing the rage and righteous passion that he feels upon witnessing the suffering inflicted upon the wajinru in the rememberings, as well as in his own time. He conflicts with the wajinru’s self-appointed leader, Omju, who looks to Basha for guidance but disagrees with his desire to seek vengeance. Things come to a head for Basha when his lover, Ephras, is injured by the two-legs. He challenges Omju, kills him, and leads the wajinru to use their collective power to flood the two-legs’ world with ocean water.

Basha is a foil for Yetu. The two have opposite reactions to the burden of the History that appear to be related to their age and gendered emotional expressions. Basha, the novella explains, believes that pain and anger are a part of the wajinru identity. When he enters the rememberings, his perception of these events is shaped by his belief in their shared predisposition toward anger. Yetu, by contrast, is highly sensitive and easily injured, both physically and emotionally. This predisposition makes her inclined to experience the more feminized emotions of despair and an attitude of self-sacrifice. She does not claim her role as a leader or even hero of the wajinru until can discover her own passions and desires.

Omju is a leader in the wajinru History who is self-appointed and seeks to protect their traditions. He appears in the Remembrance as Basha’s enemy, and his inaction and conservatism threaten to make the wajinru vulnerable to extinction.

Omju holds the traditions and principles established by Zoti and Aj. Basha’s resistance to these traditions comes from his personal experience and knowledge of the History. Their relationship and Basha’s ultimate slaying of Omju represent the tension between the knowledge of the History and the decision to protect the wajinru through ignorance. It suggests the first inklings that this system has a self-destructive capacity and contains this violent tension within it.

Suka is a two-leg woman that Yetu meets when she washes ashore after fleeing the wajinru. She is a kind young woman who patiently cares for and forms a bond with Yetu.

Suka’s primary function in the narrative is to help Yetu understand herself and her relationship with Oori. Suka provides Yetu with background about Oori and shares information about surface life with her. Through their conversation, Yetu has many realizations and moments of inspiration. Suka is also a caretaker or healer, and her attitude toward Yetu echoes Nnenyo’s. She is very observant of Yetu’s emotional state, seeing Yetu’s first smile. She often creates opportunities for Yetu to reflect, remember, and grow.