Exploring water culture

Abstract

A s South Africans we are blessed to have people of many cultures and religions living together. In each of these cultures and religions, water, in its many forms, including rivers, lakes, rain and snow, plays a plays a part in how people live and what they believe. For the San, water is the ancient symbol of life. In ancient San culture, people acquired good or bad rainbringing abilities at birth. This ability was reactivated when the person died. In Limpopo, in the Lobedu Mountains, surrounded by the sacred Modjadji cycads, lives the legendary Queen Modjadji or Rain Queen. Her history can be traced back 400 years to Zimbabwe. Legendary leaders, from King Shaka of the Zulus to former president Nelson Mandela, have paid homage to this leader of the Balobedu, who is said to have power over drought and rain. In other parts of the country there are lakes and rivers that are legend to be home to water nymphs, mythical serpents and spirits, and people often make pilgrimages to offer sacrifices to appease the gods. Lake Fundudzi, in former Venda, is one such a sacred lake.

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