The Domain

Trip Start Mar 10, 2007
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Trip End Jan 08, 2008


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Sunday, August 12, 2007

I discovered another new part of Aucklamd today, and about time too.  The Domain consistes of playing fields, the Winter Gardens, 'forest areas,' the War Cenitaph and the Auckland Museum, which was the reason for my visit to the Domain.  It is a lovely green space that is quite at odds with the city around it, but which still somehow fits neatly into the landscape, and it was a beautifully clear day today so there were some fabulous vistas out over the CBD to the harbour from the museum hill.

The museum itself is full of masses of Polynesian and Maori art works and artifacts, though I will have to go back at some other point to investigate those fully as I was at the museum to visit the "Egypt: Beyond the Tomb" exhibition which was in its last day.  It turned out to be a very good exhibition which clearly explained the process and rituals surrounding the death of a person in Ancient Egypt, whilst binding the factds together by following the story of a real person who had died - Keku, daughter of a Butcher of the Temple of Amun-Re, and therefore a moderately wealthy woman, with a decent funeneral and tomb from which to construct her story, as the archeaological team who prepared the exhibit have done.

Prior to entering the exhibition there was a notice that stated that extra care and attention must be taken while in the exhibition because of the particular views of the Maori and other Polynesian peoples regarding death and the display of bodies.  My first reaction was that such a sign should, surely, be unnecessary, people would surely show respect for the displayed body of Keku anyway? That the sign was ther however, suggest not, which is sad.  My second reaction was that the sign served to remind people of the reality of the exhibition - that the amulet, symbols, art works and writings that are about to be seen were as necessary tools of a fulfiling Afterlife to the Ancient Egyptians, and that these relics were to be handled responsibly, just like the body.  In this case, the complexity of the rituals surrounding the passage of the dead is given a new dimension.

It was a very interesting exhibition and I enjoyed it immensely, as it displaye not only the journey of Keku, but also showed other artifacts and amulets from Egyptian tombs to display the similarity and differences behind the various things that people took with them to the Afterlife.  It also showed how unscrupulous people could mislead people into buying incrrectly inscribed items, due to the high levels of illiteracy in Ancient Egypt, which was interesting in and of itself.

A worthwhile exhibition, and I was glad I had made the effort to go and see it.
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