Fiona McGown – The Names

$850

Many years ago, I went on a summer programme bus tour up the river road. It was led by a young Che Wilson, now an advisor to the Kingitanga. Much to the distress of a travelling companion who didn’t think she needed to know the names of every hill at every twist and turn of the road, it was a detailed oral history of the area, the alliances, skirmishes, food gathering, reaching deeply into heart of a living culture, melding the past and present. We discussed written history versus oral. His reply, “If you write it in a book, it will get put in a drawer and forgotten.” The names of settlements of which there are many many more than I have recorded give an indication of a densely populated waterway, providing identity and sustenance to many and an accessway to and from the central plateau and its sacred mountains to the sea. Although the water you touch may be gone, the memories and knowledge live on.

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Size: 270mm x 430mm (150mm height)

Medium: Ceramic

Status: Sold

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