Water and the Configuration of Social Worlds: An Anthropological Perspective

Abstract

From an anthropological perspective, water is not only the sine qua non of life in general, it is also seen to configure societies in particular ways, and to generate particular values. This will be substantiated in four moves. First, the hydro- logical cycle and other elementals of water will be discussed. Second, we shall zoom in on rivers, transforming natural resources and social communities as they bend and twist. Third, we shall discuss artificially established canals, emulat- ing natural flows, but having their own long-term social and political implications. Fourth, we shall focus on wells, pro- viding nodal points of social life and potential conflict. The article ends with some observations on water as a theory machine.