Tradition, Memory, Place, and Identity

Abstract

Concepts from memory studies and place/ space studies are here used to explore how narratives and history are interpreted, particularly locations with mythic dimensions. These locations are of importance to distinct communities, from treasure seekers to those who claim Indigenous belonging to the land. Sites have memories and stories attached to them, but in some cases recent interpretations have superseded older meanings. New narratives and stories have overlaid traditional understandings. From sites of ancient importance and Indigenous ownership, through veneration of the dead, to locations of conspiracy ideology, multiple narratives are created and adopted by differing groups. Where one person might only see the historical, another with a different view will see other aspects of the same site. I situate these locations and narratives within a dual framework of memory studies and place/ space studies to analyse how narratives are created and developed to facilitate new identity formation. New narratives are adopted or made prominent, and in some cases are claimed to be the only acceptable history of a location, even sites with multiple contested histories. Such claims are crucial for those whose identity is entangled with the new story, and whose goals may be communal, individual, political, or religious.