Astroblog: A Different World by Moonlight

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A Different World by Moonlight

We forget, in this modern age, how much we rely on artificial lighting, and conversely, how much our ancestors relied on the Moon.

This was bought home during a performance of "Second to None", an astounding musical and dance celebration of the Aboriginal and maritime history of Port Adelaide.

The performance involved being bussed to several important sites of Port Adelaide history, including Harts Mill, Glanville Hall and the Snake Pit. Many of the venues had limited lighting, like kerosene lanterns at Glanville Hall, or the fires at the Snake Pit.

In the twilight at Glanville Hall, the kerosene lanterns were enough to illuminate the dancers. As we left the venue, the full Moon rose, a gorgeous sight on the horizon. We then went to the Snake Pit, a hollow in the dunes of significance to the Kaurna people to witness more dancing.

To enter this area, we were welcomed in by a projected face of an aboriginal Elder. Behind the projection, Orion, seen as a group of celestial hunters by the Karuna, was rising. As part of the performance in the hollow was a group of hunters going after game, the significance of the projected elder backed by Orion was something special to me, and made the performance even more haunting to me.

While most of the illumination for the traditional dance was firelight, the bright Moon made it easy to see the performers without more traditional lighting. You can understand why before electric and gas lighting, people used to live their life by the rhythms of the Moon, and major festival were held on the night of the full Moon. Even with fires and burning brands, it is hard to see without the light of the Moon. And the light of the Moon has a whole other quality about it compared to artifical light. Under the Moon it's a different world out there.

The whole "Second to None" performance was magical and haunting, but being astronomically inclined, I got a different perspective to most people. As we drove back from the Snake Pit to the Waterside Workers hall, on one side was the Moon, lighting up the
dunes, on the other, the Karuna shield fire sculpture, lighting up the beach. Natural and artificial lighting up a timeless landscape.

Labels: Moon