Imago

“An Oankali named Jodahs died helping with the emigration. My birth mother said he should be remembered. The Oankali don’t have a tradition of remembering people by naming kids after them, but my birth mother insisted.”

Jodahs’s full name is Jodahs Iyapo Leal Kaalnikanjlo, which designates the human and Oankali names and kin groups of its parents and represents Jodahs’s multiple heritage. Lilith’s decision to name Jodahs after an Oankali represents the merging of two cultures and the honoring of Oankali sacrifice. Most humans believe the Oankali are merely an oppressive force and do see them as Lilith has. Lilith’s insistence on keeping human customs and adapting them to the aliens’ culture demonstrates that accepting difference does not mean negating the self.

“Lo took care of the Humans’ wastes, keeping their area clean, though they tended to be careless about where they threw or dumped things in this temporary place.”

Humans visiting Lo are housed in a guest area where they can wait for a ship to Mars. Jodahs describes human behavior as irresponsible and polluting, an indication that on a larger scale, these same habits damaged the environment and led to Earth’s destruction. The litter is a sign that humankind is short-sighted; they treat the temporary housing as if there are no long-term consequences for their consumption and waste. They likewise show no grace or consideration as guests. Jodahs’s passing comment serves as an environmental message in which Lo’s guest area is a metaphor for nature. Lo, the living village, is personified as the host that must clean up after humans’ negligence of their environment.