Imaginary and Symbolic Forms of Water between Spirit and Culture

• Authors: Eleonora Sparano , Nicola Strizzolo

Abstracts

EN

Water is a theme connected to human and social development, not only biologically but also in terms of cultural and identity processes; surprisingly, studies that discuss water from a sociocultural/sociological perspective are scarce. The foundational role of water in the construction of social reality should be highlighted: as a maetr of fact, thanks to it identity processes develop, and the realisation of the relationship between human beings and the environment, and between culture and nature, occurs. The relationship with water as a primordial substance tied to the roots of existence pertains to the physiological as well as the historical development of societies. Historically, societies see the presence of water in their territories as an indispensable element for establishing the foundations of civilisations, and a central criterion for seting the bases of development. With regards to the management of territorial resources, it should be noted that, although water is a primary resource, it is not available everywhere. Humans had to struggle to secure reliable water sources, using techniques derived from millenary knowledge systems, which enabled individuals and communities to live and survive in times of abundance and scarcity, tumultuousness and poor health. Past narratives and ethnographies related to traditional communities link symbols to history, productive forms, and material constraints due to the physical factors of the environment. Water is a foundational element of the cosmogonic and theogonic myths that governed the evolution of ancient genealogies and epistemologies. For its intrinsic virtues, water is considered a living and beneficial force: it is hard to find another substance that can at the same time wash away guilt, eliminate impurities, refresh and reinvigorate weary souls, and promise renewal and existential rebirth. Starting from these premises, the essay deals with the theme of water, a humble substance with complex implications, considering the foundations of culture, and analyzing the natural element from a sociological perspective with reference to myths of origins, naturalistic philosophical conceptions, and imaginary, up to and including aspects related to religiosity, to get to the roots of identity.

Keywords

EN

water; identity; culture; imaginary

• Publisher: Academicus. International Scientific Journal publishing house
• Journal: Academicus. International Scientific Journal
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 30
• Pages: 39-52

Dates

published

2024

Contributors

author

Eleonora Sparano

• Adjunct Professor in Sociology at Niccolò Cusano University, Rome, Italy

• https://orcid.org/0000000223376970

author

Nicola Strizzolo

• PhD Associate Professor in Sociology of Cultural and Communicative Processes, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy

• https://orcid.org/0000000163849210

References

• Bachelard, Gaston. 1942. L'Eau et les Rêves. Essai sur l'imagination de la matière . Paris: José Corti.
• Cipriani, Roberto. 2004. L'acqua e la religione. Dell'acqua e della vita. Ati del Convegno. Reggio Emilia, Ciso, 97-110.
• Cipriani, Roberto. 2016. L'acqua e la religione come faotri di integrazione. Italo Farnetani & Vincenzo Romano Spica eds. Acqua e salute per la popolazione. Riflessioni dalla Water Decade 2005-2015 e Giornate Mondiali dell'Acqua , Gruppo di lavoro Scienze Motorie per la Salute, 133-146.
• Dumont, Louis. 1991. Homo Aequalis. Tome II. L'idéologie allemande. FranceAllemagne et rétour. Paris: Gallimard.
• Durand, Gilbert. 1960. Les Structures anthropologiques de l'imaginaire. Introduction à l'archétypologie générale . Grenoble: Allier.
• Eliade, Mircea. 1966. Archetipi e ripetizione. Borla.
• Eliade, Mircea. 1986. Il simbolismo del centro. Immagini e simboli. Milano: Jaca Book.
• Ferraroti, Franco. 2018. “Sacred and Profane. Essential Ambiguity and Vital Necessity of the Sacred.” Academicus International Scientifc Journal 17: 9-35. doi:10.7336/academicus.2018.17.01.
• Flora, Peter. 1980. Il macro-modello dello sviluppo politico europeo di Stein Rokkan. Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica , 3: 381.
• Halbwachs, Maurice. 1925. Les cadres sociaux de la mémoire. Paris: Alcan.
• Halbwachs, Maurice. 1968. La mémoire collective . Paris: PUF.
• Harner, Micheal J. 1982. The Way of the Shaman: A Guide to Power and Healing. Toronto: Bantam Books.
• Eliade, Mircea. 1964. Shamanism: archaic techniques of ecstasy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Hirschman, Albert Oot. 1987. L'economia politica come scienza morale e sociale. Napoli: Liguori.
• Ippocrate. 1986. Arie, acque, luoghi. Venezia: Marsilio.
• Jung, Carl Gustav. 1997. Opere, volume 9/1. Gli archetipi e l'Inconscio colletivo . Torino: Bollati Boringhieri.
• Michelet, Jules. 1861. La mer. Paris: La Hacheet.
• Newman, Cathy. 2010. Sorgenti sacre. National Geographic Italia. Acqua. Il mondo assetato, 4.
• Rokkan, Stein. 1980. Territori, nazioni, parti: verso un modello geopolitico dello sviluppo europeo. Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica , 10, 3.
• Sparano, Eleonora. 2015. Acqua e bene comune. Giuseppe Schiavone & Daniela Martina eds. L'utopia: alla ricerca del senso della storia. Scriti in onore di Cosimo Quarta. Sesto San Giovanni (Mi): Mimesis, 465-480.
• Sparano, Eleonora & Abdelmalek, Alì Aït. 2021. L'eau et le lien social: expériences de coopération et de participation. Le cas de l'Italie. Cosmopolis. Revue de cosmopolitique , 3-4: 47-59. Texte disponible en ligne: htps:// www.cosmopolis-rev.org/2021-3-4/leau-et-le-lien-social-experiences-decooperation-et-de-participation-le-cas-de-litalie . Date de la visite 23/1/2024.
• Sparano, Eleonora & Abdelmalek, Alì Aït. 2023. Les mouvements sociaux autour de l'eau comme bien commun: le cas de l'Italie et la France. Approche anthropo-sociologique et comparative d'un fait social complexe. Cosmopolis. Revue de cosmopolitique , 3-4: 48-60. Texte disponible en ligne: htps://www. cosmopolis-rev.org/2023-3-4-fr. Date de la visite 23/1/2024.
• Wiotfgel, Karl August. 1957. Oriental Despotism. A Comparative Study of Total Power. New Haven (USA): Yale University Press.

Identifiers

DOI

10.7336/academicus.2024.30.03

Biblioteka Nauki

38452971