Jenny from Mulubinba Moments has encouraged me to participate in the Ecotone Wiki, which is a sort of forum for bloggers who write about different aspects of the concept of "place". It's an area that is very interesting to me, but unfortunately, the schedule of topics is fairly narrow, and I'm at a loss as to how I could contribute in a meaningful way to those discussions. (That is not to say that the topics themselves are not meaningful; it's just that I don't feel I have anything to contribute.) So instead, I am writing this post to share some of the aspects of the topic of place that I find most intriguing.
What is sacred?
What is it about a locale that causes it to be viewed by an individual or a community as sacred or spiritually uplifting? What does it mean when people of different cultures independently view a place as such? For example Cecil Rhodes, the founder of the white ruling class in Zimbabwe, arranged to be buried atop one of the Matopo stone hills, because he was so moved by the beauty of the location. And it so happened that the native population had long held that the area was sacred. There is archaeological evidence that this had been so for thousands of years and involved multiple ethnic groups. And why are some places seen as sacred by one group and not another? In Mexico and Central America, Westerners from first-world countries arrive in droves to view the ancient Mayan ruins. Nearly all feel a sense of awe and wonder upon seeing one of the major sites, like Chichen Itza or Tikal. But the locals show not the slightest interest, except in terms of how they can prosper from the tourist trade. I even overheard some of them expressing disdain for all the gringos and their strange affinity for the ruins. Considering that most of them are descendants of the builders of these sites, their reactions are even more puzzling.
Can the feel of a place be created or altered by man?
Clearly the building of an immense sacred structure, such as a cathedral, or a simple landscaping project is capable of creating an environment with a particular feel, but are there more subtle ways of changing this feel, and if so, what are they? The Chinese celebrate their New Year with firecrackers to scare away the evil spirits from the past year. Feng shui uses simple rules of placement to alter the feel of a place and its effects on the mental state of its inhabitants and visitors. I once read that people who own cabins that are used seasonally never quite feel at home until they have lit the first fire in the fireplace. I haven't experienced that myself, but I have found that when camping, the site I choose to spend the night in takes on a homey and familiar feel after I have started a campfire. And that feeling remains even after the fire is out and the remains are dispersed so that no one could even tell that a fire had ever been there. Are there other rituals and customs that exist and are familiar to us, which are used to influence place but that we are not consciously aware of?