Sense of Place
In Hawaii, the landscape is connected to people through the culture via story telling, myth and the arts. There is a rock formation at the top of Akaka Falls that is Akaka's dog attempting to warn him; and the water going over the falls is the tears shed by Akaka's two betrayed wives. When a chant or hula is performed using this story, the audience knows it will involve Lehua, the blossom of the Ohia tree, because that is the name of one of the wives. There is a web of coherence that one can sense--see and feel -- embodied in the landscape.
We've lost this connection to the land in the US--unless we live in a region where the Native American culture is strong, and even then how often do we let these tales or place names stand? So why are we dismayed when our young people have no understanding of the importance of a river, or a place on the river where fish were caught, and people gathered?
We've lost this connection to the land in the US--unless we live in a region where the Native American culture is strong, and even then how often do we let these tales or place names stand? So why are we dismayed when our young people have no understanding of the importance of a river, or a place on the river where fish were caught, and people gathered?
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