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Book Review
In Search of the Southern
Serpent
A Journey into the Power of Place
Hamish Miller & Barry
Brailsford
Penwith Press ISBN
0-9582434-0-9
Hamish Miller chose the occasion of his birthday - and the opening
day of the Peninsula Arts 'Takina Nga Moka o Te Pae - Hishuk ish ts'awalk /
Challenging the Margins of Time - Everything is One' Exhibition at the University
of Plymouth (UK) - to launch this, his most profound work to date.
Part travelogue, part historical documentary, part spiritual autobiography, SSS is a beautifully crafted, exquisitely presented and endearingly amusing book. The dowsing prowess of the author, the importance of the subject matter and the quality of the wordsmithying ensure that it will be an instant classic - and rightly so.
The kernel of the content is that pre-colonial New Zealanders, and other surviving groups across the Southern Hemisphere, have been aware of the interactive nature of earth energies for aeons. They have described that inter-connectivity in the language and legends of their social and religious philosophies - and in their oral traditions.
It is interesting, however, that HM devotes the first two short chapters of SSS to 'the story so far' - the preparatory epic journeys that took him and his companions across England, from Cornwall to the Norfolk coast, and then from Ireland to Israel - tracking and imbibing the serpentine energy of the earth as they went. It is a recognition that awareness of his niche field of study is rippling out to a new audience in mainstream alternative culture - gathering up the mentally maturing as it passes.
The evident enthusiasm that the author exudes at the concepts he encounters - and the graphic portrayal of the places he visited - had me racking through the cupboard for a holiday brochure, whilst the issues he raises left my mind drifting out of the window, into the deep blue yonder . . . suddenly I realise there is still a very long road ahead.
Barry Brailsford adds to this work a lifetime of love for the culture, religion and history of all New Zealanders - and in doing so, makes it accessible to an even wider audience across the globe. The two men were brought together by what passes in the workaday world for coincidence - and they clearly gelled instantly.
If you are reading Hamish Miller for the first time, this book will open your mind; if you have read Hamish Miller before, this book will expand your mind further - and if you know Hamish Miller personally, you are probably already half way to another dimension anyway. Read and enjoy.
Nigel Twinn
Tamar Dowsers
May 2006
The 'Takina Nga Moka o Te Pae - Hishuk ish
ts'awalk / Challenging the Margins of Time - Everything is One' exhibition
at Cube 3 Gallery of the University of Plymouth runs until 1st July 2006.