Let it rain, may blessings come

November 5, 2008 by Memory Dete ·
Filed under: I was just thinking

A children’s playful rhyme has the following words, “mvura naya-naya tidye mupunga” which means , “let it rain so that we may have rice to eat”, and in my opinion it illustrates the vast importance of water in agriculture. At the onset of the rain season a frequent sight is of children holding hands and dancing round and round in a circle as they look up expectantly into the sky, singing this rhyme. In Zimbabwe the rice crop in grown in a muddy field - “mudoro”.

Zimbabweans are eagerly anticipating the forthcoming rain season and farmers become gravely worried when no cumulonimbus clouds gather in the sky to produce much anticipated rain. When the rain does not fall, they ask anxiously, “Does this mean that there is yet another drought looming? The irony is that while some farmers will be praying for the rain to descend, some women wish it would not rain, because their pretty hairstyles get spoiled in the process. Notwithstanding, the nation of Zimbabwe pleads with the Almighty God, “Mvura naya naya, tidyare zvirimwa.”

The prevalent cases of water shortages in many parts of Zimbabwe have brought untold suffering to many families who have gone for weeks on end without access to water, a situation which in some parts of Zimbabwe, have brought about the outbreak of waterborne diseases. The sight of women balancing buckets of water precariously on their heads is now not an uncommon sight and while this is the norm for rural women it is not so for the urban woman who is only accustomed to drawing water from a tap.

In response to angry outbursts from affected families, experts in the field of water reticulation have called for families to be more conscious of water preservation and to maintain their usage of this precious natural commodity as minimal as possible. They have explained that current water woes are due to the fact that the current water reservoirs can no longer meet the increased population growth in the cities and that there is need to build more dams. There is also an urgent need to replace the old rusted water pipes which constantly burst due to incapacitation. However, the question families ask is, “For how long shall water be made available to us erratically and will water flow from our taps reliably before?”

From the beginning water has sustained lives. Human cultures have nourished due to the availability of water for drinking and for cultivation. Great rivers such as the Nile, Niger, Limpopo and Zambezi gave birth to African civilizations. Water is so essential to life in Southern Africa that the people of Botswana use the greeting Pula, meaning rain, a term also used for their currency. When a Head of State arrives, the Setswana greeting , A pula e ne, translates “Let it rain – may blessings come.”

Today water still dominates our lives and its presence continues to govern the location of homes and cities; its availability or lack of it can cause deaths among people, animals and plants. Water shortages can cause conflict between individuals, communities, countries and regions. The irony is that water is also nurturing, linking communities hundreds of kilometers apart, by lakes and rivers, and fostering kinship and trade relations. While water in the form of rain may bring joy to farmers because it for-tells the promise of a good planting and growing season, as well as harvest, it has also brought disaster in many parts of the world through floods, which have killed thousands of people and left many others homeless. Such tragedies occur frequently in many parts of the world.

Water plays an important role in different cultures and societies. In the Mutoko district visitors are welcomed to a homestead with a glass of water to drink. In many parts of Zimbabwe a new bride collects water for members of the family of her in-laws household and heats the water for each of their bath. This traditional ceremony is done as a welcome gesture into the family for the bride as well as a means of cementing her relationship with her new family.

Traditional and religious herbalists are known to use water to cleanse a person who is possessed by evil spirits. In many cases the person is instructed to bathe in swiftly running water or to stand under a waterfall. White garment priests give bottled water to people suffering from different ailments after fasting and praying for the water to attain healing powers. When one is converted to Christianity one receives water baptism to fulfill one’s conversion. Christians believe that when one is immersed in baptism water the old sinful self is drowned and buried in the water while the new repentant person emerges out of the water.

Water played a significant role in Biblical times. The entire earth was destroyed by water except for faithful Noah accompanied with his family members and a host of animals. Naaman was healed of leprosy when he dipped himself seven times in the river Jordan, The Israelites escaped from Pharoah’s wrath by crossing a parted river Jordan and Pharoah’s soldiers were drowned to their destruction by the same waters when they marched on after the safe passage of the Israelites, Jesus Christ walked on of the water, much to the amazement of His disciples, He also calmed a raging sea of water, and God destroyed the earth during the time of Noah by a great flood that filled the earth with water.

Tell the world: