The
steepness of waves, their pattern of refraction, or the amount of
cresting can all indicate location. Star configurations and their
movement are markers that can be used with equal reliability. Species of
birds that nest on land fly at a variety of distances from shore. Birds
also fly at altitudes that make them visible to the human eye far more
easily than a low atoll invisible over an unmarked horizon. Sea colors,
sounds, water temperature, and phosphorescence change with depth, as do
the type and variety of sea creatures that can be observed. Floating
debris and smells travel in predictable patterns. Speed can be marked by
the time a sail keeps a certain shape matched with the memory of how
fast a particular canoe traveled in an equal breeze. Clouds form over
land in a manner different from over the sea. This listing could go on
at great length. The point is that people living “in place” have the
ability to customize a worldview that allows the physical world to
become alive with nuance and opportunity.
from “Eye Memory: The Inspiration of Aboriginal Mapping,” by Doug Aberley
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