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Report n°5 : "Water : symbolism and culture"

Water is always and everywhere

For Africans, water is energy, vigour, strength and resilience. It never dies, is never worn, deteriorated or unfit to be used. It is the "water of life" when it purifies; it can also be "water of death" when it corrupts, but it is never dead water. Iba Ndiaye Diadji sums this up: "...Water is always and everywhere full of the spiritual. It is the only being that can change its powers to suit circumstances... While the lion is not only the king of the forest but also the totem of the Ndiyae family, water is the only force that is not dual."

That is probably the reason why when rains or river floods bring devastation, men are designated as the only cause of disasters.When the Senegal (26) river flooded in 1999 and at the same time torrential rains devastated the region, itwas said that men had offended Mame Coumba Bang, the genius of the river to whom people brought offerings of curdled milk thrown into the waters.

"Thus, to those exposed to the vagaries of the Niger river's floods and falls, the Ghimbala cult provides a source of protection within their community." (Jean-Marie Gibbal, "Les génies du fleuve. Voyage sur le Niger", Presses de la Renaissance, Paris, 1988).

Similarly, in Cotonou, Benin, the sacred nature of water is still recognised: the people present offerings to lakes and rivers to plead for their favour and to thank them for giving life to nourishing crops.

In Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the waters of the Ebrié lagoon and its fauna are "protected" during part of the year, probably to allow the spawning season to proceed without human interference or depredation.To this end, with great pomp an imaginary whale is introduced into the lagoon. From that moment on, fishing is forbidden to avoid disrespect to the whale. After several months, during another celebration, the whale is ceremoniously led back to the sea and fishing is allowed.

The Maori follow similar customs and in their language "kaitiakitanga" means to take care of earth and water. They also have a special dance "to make the clouds weep" when drought afflicts New Zealand (27). They also practice a certain form of ecology when they declare certain pieces of land, springs and rivers "sacred" so that it is forbidden to over-exploit them.

Prescribed in the distant past and dictated by popular wisdom, probably the child of observation of nature, these ancient customs help to protect water and the hydrosphere and help to reconstitute species by protecting them during periods crucial for reproduction and/or development (28).

In Classical Antiquity, offerings were brought to the Tiber in Rome and to the Scamander in Greece. Hesiod recommended: "Never venture upon the waters of the rivers of eternity without first addressing a prayer to them, with your eyes fixed on their splendid currents and not before dipping your hands in their delightful and limpid waters (29)."

(26) In the Wolof language, the term "sunu gal" means "our pirogue".

(27) Jennifer Dunning, "A dance to make the clouds weep", The New York Times, December 2004.

(28) During the entire time of pilgrimage to Mecca, pilgrims are forbidden from hunting, cutting down trees or flowers.

(29) Aïcha Bouroumi in "L'eau, patrimoine mondial commun" (directed by Georges Thill and Jean-Pierre Ezin), Presses Universitaires de Namur and UNESCO, Namur,1997.