TANAHAIR = Homeland (in Malay language)
As shared by one of our participants V during our Community Experiences, the Malay word for homeland is ‘Tanahair’. This word is made up of two parts: ‘tanah’ which means land in English, and ‘air’ which means water. The lives of the Orang Lauts, the indigenous communities of Singapore, are so intrinsically tied with the water that it is naturally a part of their language of home.
As we unpack our own relations to our lands, we wonder,
how can we whose ancestries trace back to lands far away,
land ourselves to connect with the sea, the coast, and find this space within ourselves
to embrace both land and water
and all the shifting sands in between, as our homeland?
how can we whose ancestries trace back to lands far away,
land ourselves to connect with the sea, the coast, and find this space within ourselves
to embrace both land and water
and all the shifting sands in between, as our homeland?
A conversation we had on Land – Place – Identity…
30 March 2022
What does 'Land' mean to us?
L: To me, the feeling of the word 'Land' is grounded, yet at the same time constantly shifting. Reminds me of the shifting sands when we were moving in the sea - though it is constantly changing underneath me, I can still be still and grounded, though sometimes it takes a lot more effort! I mentioned to a friend before, I feel like traveling and moving around is a prominent part of my identity - like the river that flows through different lands that does not seem to belong to any space, but belongs everywhere.
C: For me, it is important to have a grounding space even as I move and explore. People, in particular loved ones and like-spirited communities, form a big part of my sense of connection and belonging to a place. For a long time, I feel like I don’t really belong anywhere, especially moving between Switzerland and Singapore. I feel like parts of my soul are here and there.
When I trace my ancestry and heritage with my maternal grandma, I learn that there is blood from Myanmar, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia (Baba Nyonya) and Singapore. In that moment, it suddenly makes sense to me why I often feel like I don’t really belong anywhere. I begin to embrace my blood and heart waters. Or, maybe I just haven’t found a place yet.
When I trace my ancestry and heritage with my maternal grandma, I learn that there is blood from Myanmar, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia (Baba Nyonya) and Singapore. In that moment, it suddenly makes sense to me why I often feel like I don’t really belong anywhere. I begin to embrace my blood and heart waters. Or, maybe I just haven’t found a place yet.
L: Perhaps the feeling of not belonging anywhere is a mirror reflection of being with everywhere! Haha. Similarly, I do share that sense that the people I meet and the experiences we share form a big part of my sense of belonging to a space.
C: 'Land' also includes the practices that I take time for myself daily to ground, engaging in them while gently remembering my connection to nature. And honouring my inner nature. These practices can be yoga, meditation, swimming, walking or moving in nature. Especially in a place and time when things can be chaotic, too fast and overwhelming with information, I see these practices as a vital way for me to stay connected with myself and my living environment.
It helps me appreciate what I have on this land, even if I don’t feel totally rooted.
It helps me appreciate what I have on this land, even if I don’t feel totally rooted.
L: As a paint maker who depends on the land to provide, the part that speaks to me most directly is the act of gathering. This act of gathering is simple, but to me it embodies the long-standing evolutionary relationship, a raw connection and interdependence with the land and the beings that share this same space. I find it grounding to take my time to notice these little ochres, and gather them with the intention to create. I find the ultimate painting of a piece, whether it is exploratory or something more intentional, helps to relate something that I feel internally to being explicitly seen and experienced together with others.
How have the processes of body movement and paint-making come together through Landing?
C: We have been exploring the relationships between body movement and artmaking, and uncover that they exist in the underlying principles that we approach our practices with. In our Community Experiences, we started with a body movement practice through opening up our sensory awareness and directly touching our environment. This opening provides a meditative space for artmaking. There is a common source of connecting to ourselves first before we can more fully connect with others and our environment. In our pilot sessions, we bridged the primary connection with self and environment.
L: I feel that our mediums complement. Moving with the seas opened up our awareness, our senses, our desires to connect, and the visuals of artmaking helped me to translate something felt to something seen and commonly shared. We wrapped up the sessions with a circle of gratitude, which is something that is so important to me and that draws a bold line between extractive economies and a more harmonious one.
C: The experiencing of gratitude through creating with resources from our land, allows translating through the body to become more natural and intuitive - it is no longer just about the movement, but more about the core of expressing one’s embodied breathing and living experiences.
We envision Landing
to become a space where we can come together to explore questions
through different mediums and practices.
Discovering diverse interpretations of 'land' and
how individuals relate with their land / environment in unique ways.
A space to share
and
exchange possibilities of
being, living, and creating
with our bodies and land.
to become a space where we can come together to explore questions
through different mediums and practices.
Discovering diverse interpretations of 'land' and
how individuals relate with their land / environment in unique ways.
A space to share
and
exchange possibilities of
being, living, and creating
with our bodies and land.
