Story: Women’s movement

Dawn cleansing ceremony

Dawn cleansing ceremony

At dawn on the opening day of the Upper Hutt Women’s Centre in 1995 a cleansing ceremony took place. Carrying candles and singing, women paced the centre’s boundaries, then blessed each room using water and rocks from the Hutt River. By the 1990s, rituals and ceremonies to recognise important occasions had become a common part of women’s-movement activities.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP-1995-3661
Photograph by Ray Pigney

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Megan Cook, 'Women’s movement - Arts and spirituality', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/27928/dawn-cleansing-ceremony (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Megan Cook, published 5 May 2011