The pūrākau / legend
Where Memories Sleep tells the story of our relationship with Antarctica and Antarctica's relationship with climate change through the medium of a legend from our future.
According to legend, a powerful sorceress called Kaia lives beyond the Southern Ocean. Older than time itself, Kaia is the kaitiaki of the southern lands lives in a frozen land with her children the penguins and seals. Occasionally she conjured up powerful storms and rode the wild winds north to observe the changing world. Each time she would store the memories of the journey in her icy cloak. Many generations ago, a daring navigator called Si responded to the call of adventure and set out to explore the uncharted southern seas. After days at sea, she became entrapped in one of Kaia’s storms and carried dangerously close to its frozen shoreline.
On seeing the plight of the young explorer, Kaia sends some of the penguins to rescue her. It takes Si many months to recover from her ordeal. During this time, the kuia teaches her many things, eventually passing on her cloak of memories to her student. During this time they are watched from afar by one of Kaia’s children, a seal called Hira. He is captivated by Si’s beauty and eventually gains enough courage to come forward. Transforming into human form and he seduces her with his graceful dance and the two fall deeply in love. However, with the cold darkness of the winter approaching, Si is forced to leave her new love.
Hira is heartbroken and sings a song of desire so beautiful that it lights the winter sky until she returns the next summer. And it is his song, transformed into ribbons light that we see in the sky above Antarctica each winter as he awaits her return.
According to legend, a powerful sorceress called Kaia lives beyond the Southern Ocean. Older than time itself, Kaia is the kaitiaki of the southern lands lives in a frozen land with her children the penguins and seals. Occasionally she conjured up powerful storms and rode the wild winds north to observe the changing world. Each time she would store the memories of the journey in her icy cloak. Many generations ago, a daring navigator called Si responded to the call of adventure and set out to explore the uncharted southern seas. After days at sea, she became entrapped in one of Kaia’s storms and carried dangerously close to its frozen shoreline.
On seeing the plight of the young explorer, Kaia sends some of the penguins to rescue her. It takes Si many months to recover from her ordeal. During this time, the kuia teaches her many things, eventually passing on her cloak of memories to her student. During this time they are watched from afar by one of Kaia’s children, a seal called Hira. He is captivated by Si’s beauty and eventually gains enough courage to come forward. Transforming into human form and he seduces her with his graceful dance and the two fall deeply in love. However, with the cold darkness of the winter approaching, Si is forced to leave her new love.
Hira is heartbroken and sings a song of desire so beautiful that it lights the winter sky until she returns the next summer. And it is his song, transformed into ribbons light that we see in the sky above Antarctica each winter as he awaits her return.
