Abstract
In this essay, I employ symethnography—ethnography conducted with others— to propose processes for making stories about living and dying well with rabbits. My research, rooted in creative practice, draws from aspects of Aboriginal and Māori epistemology and non-Indigenous feminist multispecies theory, amalgamating these concepts through Yunkaporta’s interpretation (2009) of Nakata’s ‘Cultural Interface’ (2007) to produce a novel titled Rabbit Island.Rabbit Island serves as a kawe mate — a Māori ritual that carries the memories of the departed to places where others have passed on. In the role of the kirimate (Valentine 2007: 105), which directly translates to the Māori term ‘dead skin’ used to describe those closest to the bereaved during their mourning, I embrace my duty to bear the responsibility for others by assuming the role of a kaitiaki (guardian) and 'Speaker for the Dead' (Haraway 2016) within my rabbit-human relationships, which opens me to a world of storying practices, connection, responsibility, and transformation.
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Jennifer CRAWFORD (Supervisor) & Jen WEBB (Supervisor) |