55 pages • 1 hour read
Natasha BowenSkin of the Sea
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 21-24Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary
A creature howls in the distance, and the group hurries through the rest of the forest to a foggy clearing, where they come face-to-face with a group of enormous hyenas. Simi tries to talk to them like she does sea creatures, but her powers have no effect. The group fights off the beasts, but another appears for every one they wound. The hyenas break through the groups’ defenses, taking them all to the ground, and Simi curls into a protective ball around Issa, “waiting for teeth to tear into my skin” (240).
Chapter 22 Summary
The hyenas transform into humans with claws and fur wrappers, revealing themselves as bultungin. Esu bound them to protect the island. Aissa, the leader, smells bultungin blood from Yinka; if she’s one of them, the bultungin cannot harm her. Kola argues Yinka would know if she was a thing like them, to which a boy argues the bultungin are not “things” but “a people that have been scattered because of the fears of others” (243). His agitation causes him to change, and soon all the bultungin are hyenas again.
The bultungin give chase, and the group runs into an opening in the side of the nearby volcano, only to find their way blocked. As they clear the way, Yinka holds off the hyenas, staying behind to give the rest of the group a chance to escape.
Chapter 23 Summary
After sealing off the passage, the group takes a short rest, finishing the last of the abada horn powder to help with their injuries and mourning Yinka’s loss. They follow the only path around the volcano until Esu’s palace comes into view, a giant structure on its own smaller island. The bridge that leads across is carved with various images, and when Kola steps on one, the bridge retracts at the far end. The images are from different stories about Esu, and Simi guesses they need to step on the ones that tell the story of how Esu became Olodumare’s messenger in the correct order. She recalls the story, reciting it as she goes until she’s interrupted by a shrieking sound. Three winged creatures with giant claws swoop down on the group, and the others fight them off while Simi finishes the story.
When they reach the end of the bridge, there’s a gap between the bridge and inner island. Simi, Kola, Issa, and Ifedayo make the jump, but Bem’s injuries, coupled with the bridge starting to retract, force him to retreat to the opposite side. One of the winged creatures attacks Simi’s group, injuring them. Issa stabs the creature’s eye, and it snatches him in its jaws, biting down hard. Simi regroups to attack, but before she can, the creature flies away, “the yumbo’s lifeless body in its mouth” (261).
Chapter 24 Summary
Simi, Kola, and Ifedayo enter Esu’s palace and follow a gleaming marble hallway to a throne room, where a deep voice tells Simi to state her purpose in coming. As she and Kola watch, Ifedayo transforms into Esu. The orisa has known about Simi’s quest since the events of Chapter 10, and once he realized she was with Kola, he sat back and waited for her to come to him. Esu taunts Simi about her feelings for Kola and reveals what will happen if she acts on them. In response, Kola asks where the twins and rings are. Esu doesn’t say, and Kola attacks the orisa, yelling for Simi to “find the twins” (271).
Chapters 21-24 Analysis
The bultungin are a form of werehyena (similar to werewolves or other creatures that shift between human and animal forms), and they have various stories across Africa and Asia. The word bultungin comes from the Kanuri of the former Bornu Empire in the Lake Chad region, which translates to “I change myself into a hyena.” The Bornu Empire of Bowen’s story refers to a people who have been scattered, suggesting they are not necessarily from the same region of Yoruba as Simi and the others. Kola’s reaction to the bultungin is another example of how things from our belief systems or stories may make us uncomfortable. Kola refers to the bultungin as “things,” which angers the bultungin because they are just people who happen to have the ability to change form. The bultungin are a reminder that something that seems strange or different to one person is normal to another.
The bultungin smell blood of their kind from Yinka, but Yinka does not know her mother’s history or if she is truly one of them. There is no mention of when Esu bound the bultungin to defend his island, so it may be that Yinka’s mother escaped from Esu’s hold and found her way to Kola’s village. Though Esu has commanded the bultungin to destroy intruders, the bultungin could not harm Yinka if she is one of them, showing how deeply held cultural beliefs can be stronger than decrees from an outsider. The bultungin are likely prevented from harming their own by supernatural forces rather than desire, but the result is the same—they could not harm Yinka, an intruder on Esu’s island, because their cultural bond is stronger than Esu’s influence.
The bultungin struggle to hold their human forms. No explanation is given for this, but there are a few possibilities. First, it may be that Esu’s magic compels them to change into their hyena forms. It may also be that the bultungin naturally tend toward being in hyena form. Similar to how Simi feels called to the sea and her Mami Wata form, the bultungin may feel most comfortable when they are transformed. During the battle, Simi tries to influence the bultungin with her Mami Wata powers, but she is unsuccessful. It may be that Simi’s power only works on creatures of the sea. It may also be that she can only influence animals, and since the bultungin are human with human consciousness, Simi has no power over them.
Throughout these chapters, the group dwindles until only Simi and Kola are left to face Esu. This calls to the heroic journey and how the battle is an individual’s to fight, regardless of how many companions they have. Bem and Yinka are last seen alive, suggesting they will return later in the series. Issa is killed, but since he is a yumbo, he may return. Since yumboes are depicted as the souls of the dead in Yoruba myth, Simi may encounter Issa’s spirit in the sequel while she is in the realm of the dead. Ifedayo is the last companion the group loses, but rather than being left behind or killed, Ifedayo reveals himself as Esu, showing how powerful the orisa’s trickster abilities are.
The bridge the group crosses in Chapter 23 represents the type of trial heroic figures face on their journeys. The challenge comes in story form, symbolizing the importance and significance of story to West African culture. Simi tells the story as she goes, calling to the tradition of oral storytelling and her mother’s role as a storyteller. The bridge, as a whole, represents the importance of following stories along their correct path. Esu designed the bridge to retract if the wrong story panel is stepped on, showing the importance he places on stories, specifically his own tale. If someone chose incorrectly too many times, the bridge would completely disappear, showing how stories lead us where we need to go. By ignoring stories, we are left behind with no path to take us forward.
