ESI Press launched its latest publication, EarthSongs by Paul Weinberg, earlier this month at the Melrose Gallery. EarthSongs is a poetic coffee table book that celebrates the spiritual attachment South Africans have with the land. Through his camera lens, Paul Weinberg offers a new perspective on some of the country’s most important spiritual landmarks and turns the landscape into a natural canvas layered with rich stories and meanings.

EarthSongs complements and expands on Moving spirit (1996–2006), another of Weinberg’s publications to explore rituals and spiritual practices, so it was only natural to showcase these works side-by-side. Together, EarthSongs and Moving spirit propose a beautiful combination of the intangible realm of religion and ritual with the very palpable soil that forms our environment.

Beyond its crucial importance for socio-economic well-being, the land has undeniable spiritual and cultural value to the people of South Africa. Paul Weinberg’s EarthSongs is a homage to the people of many faiths, cultures, and persuasions who have engaged and continue to engage in the formal and informal rituals embedded in the exquisite South African landscape. EarthSongs reveals the beauty of rituals and the variety of settings in which they can take place, including caves, riverbanks, and churches, temples, and mosques.

Paul Weinberg has explored South Africa’s landscape extensively to convey the country’s profound and essential spiritual meaning and capture the intersections of cultures and peoples over time. He captured these intersections from the first peoples, the San and Khoi who ruled this land for generations, to those who came from across the oceans.

Some of these spiritual sites, like Mount Nhlangakazi, the endpoint of a 50 km pilgrimage for thousands of followers of the Ibanda lamaNazaretha (Shembe Church), are relatively well-known. Others, like Twee Rivieren, where a modest statue at the confluence of the Swart and Liesbeek rivers in Cape Town pays homage to the brave Goringhaiqua Khoi who defeated the first colonisers in 1510, are less known. These lesser-known sites often tell stories of contest and simultaneous spiritual significance that need to be heard more widely.

At the launch, Weinberg reminded his audience that while ownership of the land remains highly contested, it is undeniable that we belong to the land. Associate Professor Hlonipha Mokoena provided musical entertainment that uniquely encapsulated the message and ethos behind Weinberg’s exhibition and book.

The Melrose Gallery will host an exhibition that showcases Paul Weinberg’s extensive work on rituals and spiritual practices until 5 December 2021. Hard copies of EarthSongs and Moving spirit are available at the Melrose Gallery. A digital copy of EarthSongs is available here.

ESI Press: https://esipress.up.ac.za/

The Melrose Gallery: https://themelrosegallery.com

10 The High Street, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg