Sacred rivers: Christianity in southern Africa has a deep history of water and ritual
WATER is a scarce commodity in much of Africa, particularly in southern Africa. This is well symbolised in the name of the Botswana national currency, pula (rain). When tragedies like flooding and drowning take place, it may seem inappropriate to speak of the scarcity and commodity of water. For example, members of the Johane Masowe church drowned in a flash flood during a baptismal ceremony at a river in South Africa recently. Author RETIEF MÜLLER, Associate Professor in Theology, VID Specialized University But part of the attraction of moving bodies of water to religious groups may be rooted in this…
