TURNING ANTHROPOLOGICAL LENS TOWARDS WATER ISSUES

Kalyani Sahal

Abstract


Water is a unique resource as it transcends the dichotomy of nature v/s culture. It is as much as cultural as much as it is natural. Its role in the hydrological cycle and other biological processes points towards its significance to the physical environment. But this does not imply that social and cultural connotations of water can be relegated. There is a growing concern to understand water from interdisciplinary perspectives highlighting its essentiality to social institutions like economic, political, religious, etc. Long term based ethnographic studies can complement the scientific and technical understanding of water. This paper brings forth the emerging themes of water based studies in anthropology. The nuanced understanding of concepts of water and its usages can provide the better picture of human-environment inter-relations. By using anthropological lens, we can visualize the intricacies and complexities inherently water share in the lives of people as a ‘social construct’.

Keywords


Water, Nature, Culture, Anthropology, Social construct, Anthropological lens.

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