Where there is water, there is life. In African cosmology, the universe was born from the primordial waters of Nun, a sacred abyss that held all potential. Water is not just a physical resource; it is a spiritual being. Across the continent, it is honored as a carrier of healing, creativity, intuition, and divine memory. It cleanses more than skin; it purifies spirit.

We are born in water. We are sustained by water. Our bodies and the Earth are made up of 80% water. Water holds memory; it responds to how we treat it, how we speak to it, and how we honor it. It is no surprise that sacred rivers, springs, and wells across Africa are seen as living portals; where ancestors speak, where the divine is felt, and where rituals are made whole.

To keep the waters pure is to protect our source. It means tending both the waters we drink and the waters within; our emotions, dreams, and spirit. Polluted waters, whether physical or spiritual, bring sickness, confusion, and disconnection. Sacred water, when respected, opens the way to clarity, guidance, and renewal.

When imbalanced, we neglect this sacred relationship. Personally, we may poison our internal waters with unprocessed emotions, spiritual apathy, or toxic habits. Collectively, we desecrate sacred rivers, pollute community wells, and cut ourselves off from nature’s wisdom. A world that forgets how to respect water forgets how to remain alive; spiritually and physically. To keep the waters pure is to live in reverence. It is to remember that water is not ours to own, but to honor. What we give to water, it gives back tenfold.

The imagery is a woman kneeling at a village well, just before she drinks or washes her face. The water glows in gold motifs, signaling its sacred potency. She wears white, symbolizing the purity that flows when we are in right relationship with the waters of life.