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| Tantanu and Paopiahe - Siuai Creation Story 1 exemplaire disponible non encadré Linogravure, kaidaral, éd.99, 111 x 76 cm
Cette estampe de Dennis Nona retrace les différents épisodes d’une légende chère à son peuple. A l'époque Kupuna (le temps des esprits anciens), Tantanu (le créateur) promit à ses petits-enfants de leur apprendre à accomplir une tâche sans avoir à la faire physiquement. Pour cela, il décida de parcourir l’île de Siuai. En chemin, il rencontra des enfants à qui il dit de faire cuire une marmite et se glissa à l’intérieur puis s’en échappa. Quand la cuisson fut terminée les enfants y trouvèrent du taro, des ignames et des bananes. Ils firent goûter ces aliments aux habitants de leur village qui les trouvèrent délicieux. Tantanu leur donna ensuite des plants pour les mettre en terre. C’est depuis cette époque que l’on peut trouver à Siuai du taro, des ignames et des bananes qui poussent en pleine nature, preuve que l’on peut obtenir de la terre de la nourriture sans avoir à la cultiver.
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Tantanu and Paopiahe - Siuai Creation Story 1 unframed copy available Linocut, kaidaral, ed.99, 111 x 76 cm This creation story was told to the artist by Alex Dawia. Its depiction as a work of art has been a collaboration between Alex, who is of Siuai decent and Dennis, who is from Badu Island. The Siuai region extends between South West Bougainville and the Western part of the Samoan Islands. In Kupuna times (the time of the ancient spirits), Tantanu (the creator together on the beach far to the west until Tantanu did something that made Paopiahe exceedingly angry. The thing that Tantanu did was this: he promised his grand children to teach them how to cause work to be done without physical exertion - to cause trees to be felled, brush to be cleared, and food plants to grow merely by telling them to do so. This manner of doing things so displeased Paopiahe that he drove Tantanu away, telling him: "That is a wicked thing you promised your grandchildren, I won't dwell with you any longer. Leave here at once and do not stop going until I can no longer see you" With this, Tantanu left and went westward along the beach. After a while he stopped to rest, but Paopiahe shouted: "Keep going I can still see you" This time as Tantanu went along he bent the trees behind him to conceal himself from Paopiahe, but in spite of this, when he next tried to stop and rest, Tantanu shouted: "Keep going I can still see you. You will not be safe from me until you are completely out of my sight" Tantanu kept going until noon, when he arrived at the place called SIUAI, where he saw some children. "Who lives here?" he asked them. "We do" they replied. "Then where have your parents gone?" he asked them. "They have gone into the forest to fetch some food," they answered. "What kind of food?" he demanded. 'Wild plants," they told him, "This is the food we are accustomed to eat". At this Tantanu ordered them to take down a cooking pot from the smoke rack and put it on the cooking hearth. "Now" he instructed them, "put me in the pot, cover me over with leaves, pour in some water, and then build a fire under the pot". As they were doing this, Tantanu defecated in the pot and then slipped out of it unseen and went to the river, where he bathed and combed his hair. Then he returned to the children, who were amazed to see him. "Why, who are you?" they asked. "You look just like the one we are cooking in the pot" "Not me" he told them. That was food you put in the pot. Why don't you take out some of it and eat it. Fill up all your baskets with this food" While they were doing this, Tantanu hid himself and waited. Soon the children's parents returned and enquired. "What are you eating? Good things" they replied. "When you left us to collect wild food our grandfather, Tantanu, came up and gave us some taro, yams, bananas and other good things to eat these new things" This was the origin of all good tasting food. People came from all over to try the new food, and Tantanu gave them plants to take home and grow in their gardens. Today taro, yams, sago and other plants grow wild in that place SIUAI. |
Prix de vente : Sur demande |
Price: On request |