On the threshold: A road trip beyond the living and the dead, through lands of desert gold, and heavenly kings

Abstract

This text explores the thought processes at the intersection of memory, culture, and mortality through a personal narrative that juxtaposes a road trip across the Western Australian desert with a journey to Toraja, Indonesia. The author, Paul Trinidad, reflects on the experience of riding his vintage Ducati motorcycle through the Eastern Goldfields, where the vastness of the landscape evokes thoughts of pioneers, some of whom are buried in the harsh terrain.  The thought processes travel the tary serpent, via unsettling mindscapes which follow pioneers' struggles and tumble posthumously through the remnants of their lives. The journey provides impetus to make, and to explore new meanings, new representations.  Though not stated implicitly, the writing explores new ideas in context of contemplation and discovery along the way, the development of our own myths, representing humanity's endeavour to find meaning in the awe inspired by the universal cosmology. This introspection leads to a poignant comparison with Toraja’s unique approach to death, where the deceased are not buried but placed in an elaborate variety of tombs, emphasizing in the process, a continual connection between the living and the dead. Trinidad grapples with themes of existence, contrasting rituals surrounding death, and the cultural significance of memory, ultimately contemplating the role of art and personal expression in finding new ways of preserving these legacies. The narrative weaves together a tapestry of experiences that question our understanding of life, death, and the bonds that transcend both, reflecting our inherent quest for meaning and representation amid the vastness of existence.