Apart from my mother’s breast, the other liquid I fully remember enjoying, was water. Water from Nworie. This was long before my Uncle dug borehole in late 70s.
Whenever I travel to my village, Azaraegbelu, the major source of water, was Onunmiri Ukwa. With pleasure, we rushed to the stream and had our bath, fetched bucket and jerrycan full.
In line with purity requirements of the ancestors before us, the stream was separated. Ladies do not swim with or in the part meant for men. You are not allowed to swim upstream, where drinking water is fetched.
As a student of Emmanuel College Owerri, I drank daily, before morning devotion, from Otamiri (on Owerri-Aba road before Mechanic village)
We drank happily and nobody died of waterborne diseases. Drowning was rear and I have not heard of any son of the soil being drowned by his village stream. Most victims I read of, are tenants/strangers, who desecrated the land and the gods drown him as atonement.
In fact, if you are poisoned and drink from Onumiri Ukwa, you will vomit the poison and live.
Apart from Onumiri Ukwa, another source of life in my community, is Onu Ukwu(on Owerri-Umuahia road before TTC Azaraegbelu) Because it has steep hill, it wasn’t the choice source for most but when the Teachers Training College was in full swing, Onu Ukwu was their source of water for all purposes.
Again nobody complained of any illness or being intimated by Mammy wata.
Then came civilization, Water Board Co-operation was born and to encourage people into abandoning the streams that gave them life, propaganda was launched against the streams.
Currently, due to corruption by those given powers over Water Board Co-operations, there are no more tap water in most parts of Nigeria, in fact non in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
The in-thing now, is borehole with water over treated with chlorine and other chemicals.
To sell their borehole water, the owners of these, mostly Christians, parrot condemnations against our water told to them by their pastors.
They quickly or conveniently forget that these same streams they demonize, were the source and sustainer of lives before, during the stay and long after the white missionaries left.
With the aid of Christianity, our streams were branded deadly abodes of unforgiving wicked demons.
The most demonized, is Mammy wata, the Goddess of all water bodies but fondly restricted to the sea.
This restriction, is wrong because all water belongs to different Mammy wata manifesting differently and each jealously guards her own sphere of water. It is sun akin to blasphemy, for you to be before Onumiri Ukwa and be making supplications to Nne Nworie or Otamiri Egbu.
But there is Ezenwanyi Oshimiri -Queen of the Sea. Like the clergy hierarchy with Bishop or Pope at the apex, she is the final authority and all swim to meet her, bringing with them supplications of their adherents they couldn’t solve, bringing their sins to be washed away and in return, fishes and other water goodies are made abundant.
Against the above, I wonder why oyibo religion demonizes Mammy wata.
In Christianity, Jesus, did not start his ministry, until he was washed in River Jordan by John The Baptist. Throughout his ministry, water played a significant role. And Jesus told his listeners, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”-John 3:5.
In Islam, you are unfit for prayers, if you do not do ablution with water.
So why demonize Mammy Wata, the source of life? Scientifically (oyibo own), over 70% of human body mass, is made up of water. The first living a cell was found in water.
Could this demonizing be due to jealousy and envy among the gods because Mammy wata, is extremely beautiful, full of vitality, rich and adherents of other gods drink from her fountain?
