and terrace farming to maximize the benefits of
rainfall on hilly areas.” The relevance of water
still holds a strong value among Christians.
Indicating the significance of water in Christianity Fletcher (2018) identifies different themes
on the water which the bible represents such as
the origin of life, water as a sign of compassion,
purification, and restoration. The dependency on
the water can be divided into physical sense and
spiritual sense. While talking about spiritual
sense, the prominent role of water in Christianity
is seen in the tradition of baptism. Finneran
(2009, p. 168) mentions “Baptism is one of the
most important Christian rites, deriving directly
from Jesus’ own immersion in the River Jordan,
itself, at the simplest level, a rite that confers life
membership of a religious group.” In the water
baptism ritual, the person is partially or fully
immersed underwater, which signifies the official
admission of that person into the fellowship of
the church. Thus, in the context of purification
water holds an important value in Christianity.
11.2.3 Judaism
In Judaism, water symbolizes life. It represents
the primordial element of the world. In Judaism
as well, we see water playing an important part in
religious rituals. Jewish lives are associated with
an important ritual of water immersion known as
Mikvah. Mikvah or Mikveh is a Hebrew word
meaning “collection” or “gathering” which has a
pool-like structure having clean and pure water
in which a person takes immersion to spiritually
clean themselves.
There are specific rules that need to be followed that designates a pool as Mikvah such as
the water should be clean and not be discolored,
and a mix of natural sources of water is essential
such as rainwater, melted snow or spring water.
The depth of Mikvah should be enough to
immerse the entire body. The ritual is usually
performed by the women on various occasions
such as after the end of each menstrual cycle,
before getting married, before giving birth or
following the birth. Men go to Mikvah as well,
on various occasions such as illness or divorce.
11.2.4 Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is one of the ancient religions on
the globe being originated from Iran. The followers of this religion are considerably low
compared with other ancient religions. Albeit,
“Considering the small number of followers of
this particular religion, the impact that it has
made on the world is relatively large” (Varte
2017, p. 38). In mostly all religions water signifies as the primary purifying agent. In the case
of Zoroastrianism water is looked from a different perspective. Oestigaard (2005, pp. 35–36)
argues “Zoroastrianism sees water as a secondary
purifying agent. It is possible to use only after
ablutions have been performed with unconsecrated bull’s urine. The use of water to
wash away dirt and impurities is seen as a heinous sin because then water is exposed to
demonic impurities (Choksy 1989:11). Consequently, nothing impure is allowed to be in
contact with a natural source of water such as a
lake, stream, or river. If anything ritually unclean
was to be washed, water should be drawn off for
this purpose, and even then, this was not to be
used directly, but the impure objects should first
be cleaned with cattle-urine, and then dried with
sand or in sunlight before water was allowed to
touch it for the final washing (Boyce 1979:44).”
Thus, polluting the water bodies is considered a
major sin, and the punishments for the same are
severe (Varte 2017).
11.3 The Relevance of Water
in Islam
The presence or absence of resources shapes the
culture and society. The Islamic teachings reflected
by verses of the Quran and hadiths provide an
11 Water in Cultural Perspective with Special Reference to Islam
149
rainfall on hilly areas.” The relevance of water
still holds a strong value among Christians.
Indicating the significance of water in Christianity Fletcher (2018) identifies different themes
on the water which the bible represents such as
the origin of life, water as a sign of compassion,
purification, and restoration. The dependency on
the water can be divided into physical sense and
spiritual sense. While talking about spiritual
sense, the prominent role of water in Christianity
is seen in the tradition of baptism. Finneran
(2009, p. 168) mentions “Baptism is one of the
most important Christian rites, deriving directly
from Jesus’ own immersion in the River Jordan,
itself, at the simplest level, a rite that confers life
membership of a religious group.” In the water
baptism ritual, the person is partially or fully
immersed underwater, which signifies the official
admission of that person into the fellowship of
the church. Thus, in the context of purification
water holds an important value in Christianity.
11.2.3 Judaism
In Judaism, water symbolizes life. It represents
the primordial element of the world. In Judaism
as well, we see water playing an important part in
religious rituals. Jewish lives are associated with
an important ritual of water immersion known as
Mikvah. Mikvah or Mikveh is a Hebrew word
meaning “collection” or “gathering” which has a
pool-like structure having clean and pure water
in which a person takes immersion to spiritually
clean themselves.
There are specific rules that need to be followed that designates a pool as Mikvah such as
the water should be clean and not be discolored,
and a mix of natural sources of water is essential
such as rainwater, melted snow or spring water.
The depth of Mikvah should be enough to
immerse the entire body. The ritual is usually
performed by the women on various occasions
such as after the end of each menstrual cycle,
before getting married, before giving birth or
following the birth. Men go to Mikvah as well,
on various occasions such as illness or divorce.
11.2.4 Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is one of the ancient religions on
the globe being originated from Iran. The followers of this religion are considerably low
compared with other ancient religions. Albeit,
“Considering the small number of followers of
this particular religion, the impact that it has
made on the world is relatively large” (Varte
2017, p. 38). In mostly all religions water signifies as the primary purifying agent. In the case
of Zoroastrianism water is looked from a different perspective. Oestigaard (2005, pp. 35–36)
argues “Zoroastrianism sees water as a secondary
purifying agent. It is possible to use only after
ablutions have been performed with unconsecrated bull’s urine. The use of water to
wash away dirt and impurities is seen as a heinous sin because then water is exposed to
demonic impurities (Choksy 1989:11). Consequently, nothing impure is allowed to be in
contact with a natural source of water such as a
lake, stream, or river. If anything ritually unclean
was to be washed, water should be drawn off for
this purpose, and even then, this was not to be
used directly, but the impure objects should first
be cleaned with cattle-urine, and then dried with
sand or in sunlight before water was allowed to
touch it for the final washing (Boyce 1979:44).”
Thus, polluting the water bodies is considered a
major sin, and the punishments for the same are
severe (Varte 2017).
11.3 The Relevance of Water
in Islam
The presence or absence of resources shapes the
culture and society. The Islamic teachings reflected
by verses of the Quran and hadiths provide an
11 Water in Cultural Perspective with Special Reference to Islam
149