Water is a scarce commodity in much of Africa, particularly in southern Africa. This is well symbolised in the name of the Botswana national currency, pula (rain). When tragedies like flooding and drowning take place, it may seem inappropriate to speak of the scarcity and commodity of water. For example, members of the Johane Masowe church drowned in a flash flood during a baptismal ceremony at a river in South Africa recently.
But part of the attraction of moving bodies of water to religious groups may be rooted in this very scarcity. Whatever is scarce is also precious and whatever is precious might be termed sacred. Religions by whatever name venerate the sacred. Think, for example, of places like the city of Jerusalem, which has sacred status in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Or think of Mecca for Islam, or the River Ganges in Hinduism.
