International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Some creatures appreciate this resource; water, any time they drink it, indicating the importance of local epistemologies that has been overlooked in the Socio-cultural role of water as a natural resource. For example, an Akan proverb says, “When the chicken drinks water, it shows it to God (Akoko nom nsu a, odze kyere Nyame)”. This means God makes it possible for the chicken to drink water – without raising up its head to the sky the chicken cannot drink. It also declares that for the gift of life and what sustains life, all creatures, and human beings in particular, need to lift up their heads to God in gratitude. This iconic expression of a creature’s dependence on God cryptically and directly captures this paper: Spiritual ramifications of water: The role of water divinity in some cultures in northern Ghana It is living by the obligations that this relationship implies that constitutes the foundation of spirituality in the study areas.
Objective: The aim of this paper is to explore the spiritual role of water in some cultures in northern Ghana, among the Dagaaba, Bossi and the Talensi.
Method: This is purely a qualitative research done by regular immersion into the villages and homes of the knowledge owners in order to engage them in conversations, discourses, and observations in order to gather their experiences. This special Case Study approach engendered formal and informal interactions with the people at various levels and stages of iterative encounters. In terms of specific methods, lived-experiences, concrete learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, desk studies were the techniques used to gather data We used discourse analysis and conversational analysis. The study counted and used the numerous conversations and discourse we engaged the elders and the various functionaries in the communities. Results: Culturally, water is seen as both physical and spiritual in essence due to the fact that it is a life-giving substance. Water is of more spiritual use than physical utility. Water is used to pour libation as a form of communication with the spirits or prayer forms. Rituals, Festivals Purification, Sacralisation, Restoration, and Revitalization are among ceremonial actions that make use of water.
Conclusion: The skills for water divinity or dowsing still exists amongst the three tribes studied (Dagaaba, Boosi, and Talen) albeit marginal. The gradual disappearance of water divinity is due to modernity incorporated in finding ground water which has rendering this practice redundant. Anecdotal findings indicate that Catholic Priest in their advanced ages have this girt of water divinity or dowsing. These individuals are prepared to share this skill to the benefit of local communities. Unique contribution: This paper is wakeup call on water's spiritual significance which is deeply woven into cultural practices, going beyond its practical use. Unique contribution includes reminding the youth of today on the use of water in rituals for purification, healing, and connecting with ancestors and deities. Key recommendations: This act of water divinity should be revitalised amongst local communities as early-warning or precursor to water identification (water systemic forces underground) before drilling is done. The current errors in various borehole drilling enterprises that criss-cross the landscape of various local communities that result in digging many holes in a community before water is found results in environmental degradation. Rarely are those holes ever covered up. Because of the uncertainty of water points, the drilling has to go very deep to establish contact with water. Hence the argument that water divinity is for shallow water establishments makes good as a starting point for the geological surveys and subsequent deep into-the-earth drilling of boreholes.