In Search of the Southern Serpent

Barry Brailsford joins Dr. Rita Louise on Just Energy Radio where he delves into the life, culture and traditions of the Maori people of New Zealand.

Barry Brailsford, New Zealand, graduated MA (Hons) in History from Canterbury University, was a member of the NZ Archaeology Association Council and a Principal Lecturer at the Christchurch College of Education. In 1990 he was awarded an MBE for his contribution to education and Maori scholarship. Since 1990 he has been writing full time.. His work is a journey through the wisdom traditions of indigenous Pacific peoples.

His books, The Tattooed Land (1982, new edition 1997), Greenstone Trails (1984, new edition 1996) and Song of Waitaha (1994) record histories of the Maori and pre-Maori peoples in New Zealand, while Song of the Stone (1995) details the inner journey that his research evoked.

Barry’s series of five novels, The Chronicles of the Stone (1996 –98) based on ancient navigation trails are both historical and mythological; they explore the peaceful resolution of conflict and the power of good.

Wisdom of the Four Winds ( 1999) is a set of path cards based on the old concept of kaitiaki or guardians who guide us.

Song of the Old Tides (2004) shares ancient Maori lore that takes us back to the creation of the universe, to eternal tides that shape our lives, to old philosophies that say the land and the people are one. Through their eyes we see that there are issues that go far beyond race and there are wisdoms of long ago that still have a vital place.

In Search of the Southern Serpent (2006) co-authored with Scottish blacksmith, dowser, and writer, Hamish Miller, brings together the old lore of the sacred places of New Zealand and the ancient art of dowsing.

Only a Hut in the Mountains (2013) A novel . Over aeons of time Polynesians decoded much of the world around them, discovering patterns within nature that helped them survive. They understood they were an integral part of all realms, bound within a kinship that gave meaning to life.

Where the Octopus Waits (2013)This novel explores the trails of the heart and mind, the frontiers of consciousness and the mysteries of sacred lore still carried today within the Polynesian world.

This is the story of a tribe that tries to return to its ancient roots that say… we are of the sea and the sea is of us. Epic challenges await them as they journey into the tides of memory to find the wisdom to meet the desperate issues that are destroying them today.