Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
A spirit associated with rivers all over Japan is the kappa, a mischievous creature often de-
scribed as something between a child and a monkey. One of the kappa's favourite tricks
is also to lure people, horses, or cattle into a river to drown. There are numerous regional
variations to the kappa and its behaviour, but one of its most common traits is an affinity
for cucumbers (frequently thought of as a symbol of fertility). In some parts of Japan, it is
believed that anyone eating a cucumber before swimming will certainly be attacked by a
kappa, although in other areas it is a way to ensure protection against kappa attack. Eith-
er way, many festivals associated with kappa include offerings of cucumbers, and the link
between the kappa and the cucumber continues in modern Japan through the name of a type
of sushi made with cucumbers: kappa maki. Interestingly, the character of the centuries-
old kappa has been subject to a make-over in the last hundred years or so, and has been
transformed from a malicious and unpleasant water deity into a harmless and endearing
mascot. As a nationally recognized symbol, the kappa has been used for various campaigns
that draw on a nostalgia for Japan's rural past. It is ironic to note that one of these was a
clean water campaign aiming to regenerate the environment around urban rivers, calling
for rivers to be cleaned up so that kappa will come back.
Traditionally, the kappa, like the nix, bäckahästen, and kelpie, are malevolent river spirits,
luring the unwary to a watery death. In southern Africa, by contrast, the spirits associated
with river systems and other water bodies in the traditional cosmologies of Khoisan- and
Bantu-speaking indigenous peoples behave rather differently. To many of these groups, wa-
ter spirits are regarded as ancestors and they prefer to live in certain spots. In rivers, these
are deep pools, frequently below waterfalls where the water is fast-moving and 'living',
often generating lots of foam. These spirits take on various zoomorphic manifestations,
primarily the snake and the mermaid. They interact with humans in a variety of ways, and
one of the most important of these is their fundamental importance to traditional healing
and its practitioners.
Water spirits traditionally call certain chosen individuals to become diviners or healers,
which usually involves the physical submersion of the candidate under the water of a cer-
tain river pool for a few hours, days, or even years. When the man or woman emerges
from the depths, he or she is wearing a snake and has acquired psychic abilities and healing
skills, including knowledge of medicinal plants. This experience of being taken under the
water can occur in a dream, but this is simply notification that the ancestors are calling the
individual to become a healer. The calling frequently comes after a period of illness, al-
though when children are called, they often just happen to be playing near the river at the
time. Resistance to this calling is not advised and usually leads to misfortune. Relatives are
not allowed to display any grief at the disappearance of one who has gone under the water
or the individual may never be returned.
