In Bessie Head's story, the river represents the Talaote people; it is a symbol of the collective will and purpose of a close-knit community.

Long ago. . . the people lived together like a deep river. In this deep river which was unruffled by conflict or a movement forward, the people lived without faces, except for their chief, whose face was the face of all the people.

The river is deep, perhaps also representing the depth of the people's commitment to their communal way of life. The old traditions of common ownership and cooperative economics are long-standing, and that is why Sebembele's stubborn loyalty to Rankwana and Makobi is seen as a rebellion of the worst sort. Others even view Sebembele's love as unnatural and a masculine aberration (divergence or departure from what is considered normal).

We are told that Sebembele's actions constitute the "first ripples of trouble" stirring "over the even surface of the river" of the villagers' lives. In the end, Sebembele chooses to leave the village with Rankwana, Makobi, and other villagers who support their chief. So, the deep river is significant in that it represents the Talaote community and the collective will of the people. However, a river can also be split into what are called distributaries, smaller streams or rivers. The process of splitting is called river bifurcation.

In the story, Sebembele represents a "distributary" that has split from the main, deep river. His actions highlight the realities of individualism and the fate of a community divided by strife.

They accepted this regimental leveling out of their individual souls but on the day of dispute or when strife and conflict and greed blew stormy winds over their deep river, the people awoke and showed their individual faces.