Strang, Veronica <br/><br/>
Water beings :   from nature worship to the environmental crisis / 
by Veronica Strang  
 - London :   Reaktion Books Ltd,  2023 
 - 1 online resource (281, pages) :  color illustrations. 
<br/><br/> https://portal.igpublish.com/iglibrary/ is required to read this e-book. 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references and index 
<br/><br/>1. Being ubiquitous -- 2. Original beings -- 3. Living beings -- 4. Nature beings -- 5. Cultivating beings -- 6. Irrigating beings -- 7. Travelling beings -- 8. Supreme beings -- 9. Demonized beings -- 10. Reformed beings -- 11. Transformational beings 
<br/><br/> "Early human relationships with water were expressed through beliefs in serpentine aquatic deities: rainbow-coloured, feathered or horned serpents, giant anacondas and dragons. Representing the powers of water, these beings were bringers of life and sustenance, world creators, ancestors, guardian spirits and law makers. Worshipped and venerated, they embodied people's respect for water and its vital role in sustaining all living things. Yet today, though we still recognize that 'water is life', fresh- and saltwater ecosystems have been critically compromised by human activities. This major study of water beings, and what has happened to them in different cultural and historical contexts, demonstrates how and why some -- but not all -- societies have moved from worshipping water to wreaking havoc upon it, and asks what we can do to turn the tide."-- Dust jacket 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9781789147506 (e-book) 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Serpents--Folklore<br/>Serpents--Mythology<br/>Serpents--Religious aspects<br/>Water--Folklore<br/>Water--Mythology<br/>Water--Religious aspects
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>GF22   / S77 St8 2023