"Over generations, love of the maji turned into fear. Fear turned into hate. Hate transformed into violence, a desire to wipe the maji away.”
Mama Agba explains the root of violence and hatred. In this quotation, she explains how power can result in a group being revered or feared. Additionally, she explains that those in power use violence to keep the feared group suppressed. Throughout the text, characters struggle with letting their fear manifest as violence. For example, Inan is so afraid of his magic that he never learns how to control it. When he lashes out with his powers, he accidentally kills Kaea. Additionally, Inan is so afraid of becoming a maji that he makes it his mission to kill Zélie.
Zélie admits that she has constantly feared for her life since her mother's murder. When Zélie tries to question one of the diviners who kidnapped Amari and Tzain, she quickly gets carried away and beats him.
"He wants to believe that playing by the monarchy’s rules will keep us safe, but nothing can protect us when those rules are rooted in hate."
Zélie and her brother, Tzain, approach their interactions with the monarchy with opposing attitudes. Zélie is a divîner and has been oppressed and threatened her entire life. Therefore, she understands from experience that "playing by the monarchy's rules" will not keep her safe. Tzain, a kosidán, survives by conforming to the monarchy's demands and does not understand why Zélie rebels.
"Safe ended a long time ago."
Yemi insults and antagonizes Zélie during their duel in the opening chapter. She is not a sympathetic character, as she enjoys using her privilege to harm others. However, when Ilorin burns and Yemi gives Inan information, it is clear that she, too, has suffered trauma from King Saran's rule. Like Zélie, she is constantly afraid.
“On earth, Sky Mother created humans, her children of blood and bone. In the heavens she gave birth to the gods and goddesses. Each would come to embody a different fragment of her soul.”
Lekan explains the maji creation story and emphasizes that the maji's connection to the Sky Mother is the source of all magic and life. The text's title, Children of Blood and Bone, is pulled from this quotation. The phrase "of blood and bone" highlights how, in the maji cosmogony, gods, goddesses, and human beings are all born from the same creator. Thus, the maji's connection to the Sky Mother and the gods is at the core of their culture.
“Magic slithers inside me. Venomous, like a thousand spiders crawling over my skin. It wants more of me.”
Inan compares his newfound magic to snakes, spiders, and poison. While Zélie's mother taught her to see magic as a source of beauty and power, King Saran taught Inan to see magic as a dangerous, corrupting force. This quotation highlights the difference between Inan's and Zélie's inherited philosophies.
“In death, the other spirits of the arena passed on their pain. Their hate. In their memories I felt the sting of the guards’ whips. I tasted the salt of fallen tears on my tongue. But Minoli brought me to the dirt fields of Minna, where she and her sharp-nosed siblings worked the land for autumn’s corn crop. Though the sun shone brutal and the work was hard, each moment passed with a smile, with song.”
In the arena at Ibeji, Zélie calls on the spirits of those who died in combat. Minoli's spirit did not go to apâdi because she found beauty in her final moments. Though the monarchy stole Minoli's life and brutalized her, they could not crush her spirit, because she nurtured her connection with her family and her ancestral home.
“It’s like seeing her for the first time: the human behind the maji. Fear embedded in the pain. Tragedy caused in Father’s name.”
Zélie's memories of her mother's death shatter Inan's worldview. King Saran sheltered Inan and convinced him the maji were subhuman, so it would be easier for Inan to kill them. Inan did not question his father's teachings until he felt Zélie's pain. This quotation argues that compassion, empathy, and sharing stories are necessary tools for destroying ignorance and prejudice.
“Our lack of power and our oppression are one and the same, Inan. Without power we’re maggots. Without power the monarchy treats us like scum!”
Inan suggests that the maji do not need magic to be considered equal and that a policy change would end their oppression. Zélie argues that power is the only way to ensure the maji's safety. Since magic and connection with the gods form the maji identity, without magic, the maji are lost. She uses the slur "maggots" to emphasize this point. When Zélie demands power, it is not to use magic to threaten the monarchy but rather to create a maji community that can freely practice its culture and religion.
“For the first time since the torture, I feel a hint of the old fire that used to roar louder than my fear. But its flame is weak now; as soon as it flickers, it’s blown out by the wind.”
In this quotation, Zélie expresses that, though nothing can fully break her spirit, violence and trauma can weaken even the most resilient people. As the ordained mamaláwo, Zélie was the most powerful maji. However, through pain and humiliation, she lost connection to her magic.
“For years he forced Inan and me to trade blows and bruises under his watchful eye, never relenting, no matter how hard we cried. Every battle was a chance to correct his mistakes, to bring his first family back to life. If we got strong enough, no sword could take us down, no maji could burn our flesh. We fought for his approval, stuck in a battle for his love neither of us would ever win. We raised our swords against each other because neither of us had the courage to raise one against him.”
This quote by Amari explains cyclical violence within Orïsha. Because King Saran lost his family to violence, he perpetuates violence within his family and his kingdom in a futile attempt to protect himself. King Saran's abusive child-rearing created distrust and animosity between Amari and Inan. However, their anger was actually directed at their father. Inan and Amari both question themselves and their emotions, afraid of turning into monsters like King Saran.
