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Symbols & Motifs
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.
The Color Blue
The color blue functions as a motif of transformation while emphasizing the tension between tradition and personal growth. From Binti’s first return to Earth to the activation of her zinariya, blue appears in key moments of reflection and self-realization, visually marking spaces where cultural heritage and individual autonomy intersect. It first appears through her treeing, as the current she releases pulses blue. In particular, her treeing is used to explore the edan, emphasizing Binti’s exploration of understanding the edan as it ties to her newly forming identity.
Binti’s choice to wear a blue dress upon returning home demonstrates the color’s connection to her negotiation of Familial Expectations Versus Individual Autonomy. The dress draws attention from her family and community, as red is the typical color of prestige and pride among the Himba people. In the first novella, the color red is a symbolic representation of Binti’s people, serving as a source of pride among the Himba people that Binti replicates as she leaves home. However, her ultimate rejection of the color after it reminds her of her trauma aboard the Third Fish reflects her changing identity. In the moment where Binti wears her blue dress, blue represents Binti’s assertion of her identity: She honors her culture through ritual yet simultaneously distinguishes herself from rigid traditions. She embodies her liminal existence between expectation and self-determination.
The color blue appears again when Binti joins the Enyi Zinariya people. They wear similar wraps and clothing to the Himba people, but their clothes are predominantly blue. Blue dominates the cave homes of the Enyi Zinariya, including Ariya’s home, where Binti forges a connection with her zinariya. As Binti sits on a blue rug, she is surrounded by blue light from her treeing. She experiences a profound sense of connection to her Himba ancestors, the Mother, the Enyi Zinariya people, and the broader universe, highlighting her evolving autonomy and expanding understanding of her identity.
Otijze
Otijze is the substance that Binti and the Himba people create from the red clay found within the Earth. They smear it on their bodies as a source of comfort and spiritual engagement, tying them to the Mother from which all life was created. It is a symbol of home, tying Binti to her Himba heritage while developing the theme of The Meaning of Home in a Liminal Existence. For Binti, otijze is more than a cultural marker; it is an anchor to her roots and a tactile reminder of home even when she is physically distant.
Otijze develops the theme of Familial Expectations Versus Individual Autoomy, as it emphasizes Binti’s acknowledgement of what her Himba heritage expects of her. Binti’s careful application of otijze before interacting with her family demonstrates her awareness of tradition and desire to honor her community. At the same time, she uses it for her own needs, covering parts of Okwu to make it more acceptable to her family. In this way, Binti’s use of otijze is an early marker of her agency in interpreting and applying tradition on her own terms, transforming it to meet her needs just as she must transform the other parts of her history and heritage.
Throughout the novella, otijze serves as a source of comfort and support, just as thoughts of her home do. In Binti, the otijze soothes Okwu’s injuries, stopping it from killing her and encouraging their friendship. Since that moment, Binti frequently rubs the otijze on her body and smells it on her fingers, allowing it to calm her down when she is overwhelmed by panic or anxiety. In this way, otijze represents the comfort and support that Binti receives at home, serving as one of the pieces that she will bring with her throughout her life as she constructs a new home and identity for herself.
Binti’s Edan
Binti’s edan is an ancient artifact that she finds as a small child and carries with her throughout her life. When the novella opens, she is meditating on its purpose, literally and metaphorically disassembling it as she searches for meaning and how it connects to her. In this way, the edan is a symbolic representation of knowledge and identity. Although Binti doesn’t understand why for much of the novella, she is certain that the edan is somehow tied to her. In many ways, it is a metaphorical reflection of Binti herself: It exists in a liminal space, tied to the past yet explored in the present, while disassembling and reassembling itself in Binti’s search for meaning.
The revelation that the edan is alien technology first brought to Earth by the Zinariya affirms Binti’s connection to the past. As the novella ends, the edan is still in pieces, which will force Binti to continue to search for its true meaning and how to reassemble it. Similarly, Binti is still deconstructed, forced to assemble the many pieces of her identity in order to reconcile who she truly is.
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