Hydro-Philosophy: Water, Meaning, and Memory in Indigenous Rituals

Authors

  • Anaya Ndlovu Department of Anthropology, University of Cape Town, South Africa Author
  • Maeve Gallagher Institute of Ritual Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58812/jes.v1i01.4

Keywords:

water symbolism, indigenous ritual, phenomenology, cultural memory

Abstract

This study investigates the symbolic role of water in indigenous rituals across select Indonesian communities. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the research uncovers how water is experienced as a medium of memory, identity, and spiritual continuity. The findings reveal that water is not merely functional but embodies deep cultural and metaphysical meanings.

References

Eliade, M. (1959). The sacred and the profane: The nature of religion. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Koentjaraningrat. (1993). Kebudayaan Jawa. Balai Pustaka.

Strang, V. (2004). The meaning of water. Berg Publishers.

Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. SAGE Publications.

van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. SUNY Press.

Downloads

Published

2025-07-21

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 01 (2025): Journal of Experimental Scholarship

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Anaya Ndlovu, Maeve Gallagher (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.