Water-drawing project by Joachim Eckl with 32 members of the Tonga tribe

A River to River project
Within the series “Land in sight – Waves”

4th & 10th of May 2009
Station Neufelden & old Danube/Vienna

The element of water is the primordial element of human interaction. This element and the rivers along which people live play a decisive and connecting role in the River to River projects working as a cultural bridge. Within the habitat of rivers and involved people from Africa, the Czech Republic and Austria different cultures and a mutual relation to water determine the social manners.

Mutual drawing and flowing of water becomes the expression of a common world – and life-spirit.

32 members of the Tonga tribe from Sambia and Zimbabwe grasped the Zambezi River as a creature in a mutual water-drawing action in April 2009. They brought this water to Austria together with Joachim Eckl afterwards.

In a River to River project action the Zambezi River flowed into the old Danube in front of the UN headquarters building in Vienna: In a mutual ritual, the members of the Tonga tribe let the Zambezi River join the Danube. The water system of the world is a self contained system. Therefore all waters and rivers of the world will mingle in the future. In the concerted action of the River to River project the future is being shown to the Danube by taking an event of the future into the present.

The Tongas are river people at the Zambezi River. They have been living on either banks of the Zambezi River below the Victoria Falls (Livingston) - in Sambia and Zimbabwe - for many generations. A dam was built at the end of the fifties which let the river flood to a width of 8 to 15 kilometres. The habitat of the Tonga people was flooded and the tribe torn apart. Since then the Tonga people developed a ritual where they return to the flooded tombs of their ancestors by boat and bail water there. This water is then poured out over the tombs of the deceased onshore.

During their visit in Austria the Tongas visited in a joint expedition the Baroque monastery Wilhering and the dam and lake in Langhalsen. The communication of its history of origins is directly linked to the history of the village Langhalsen:
The dam that had been built from 1914 to 1923 was part of the biggest Hydropower-project of Central Europe. The village Langhalsen was the first village to be completely sacrificed and flooded for a Hydropower-project. Tragic destinies of many people are linked to this incident. The disclosure of history created a basis for understanding and gives an insight on the behaviour of the parties involved. Their work is illuminated in a concrete way.