Landmarks or soul’s star?
“Where lies your landmark, seamark, or soul’s star?”
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1886)
The Landscape
It’s a question that isn’t answered without recourse to your own inner landscape. The answers find their course from geographical, cultural or genetic markers, according to who you ask. The fact that it is so enigmatic and variable makes it even more enticing.
The Podcast
‘Landmark’ is a podcast that emerged out of the enticement. The notion of belonging – so poignant in a culturally diverse South Africa – means so many things to so many South Africans. To belong to a family of musicians who each describe an intuition for the shape of sound from a guitar, to Cape Malay Muslim community relations, or to the rituals of conjuring a water spirit; each is a beacon that cuts a beam of familiar light across this landscape.
The Source
So we’re looking for LANDMARKS that help to navigate the concept of identity and belonging. It’s a territory that includes Land and Cultural associations, but that’s not to say those are exclusive to a sense of belonging. Ultimately, the question is: what offers a sense of self and connectedness?
And when you’re in Cape Town, the most obvious beacon – that guiding geographical landmark – is Table Mountain. Cape Tonians often get a teasing from other South Africans for being so sentimental. But when you really look into the reasons for that attachment, you’ll find them.
The artery of Cape Town is the stream that has slaked the thirst of herdsmen, adventurers and traders over the centuries. It is a very significant reason that a town developed here. It still whispers stories from that past, and asks questions of the present.
To Listen
You can also find the podcast on Apple iTunes, Google Podcasts and on Buzzsprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1780116/episodes/8955287
If you’d like to interact on the Facebook page, you’ll find it here: https://www.facebook.com/LandmarkPodcast
