Water Meanings, Sanitation Practices and Hygiene Behaviours in the Cultural Mirror: a Perspective from Nigeria Emmanuel M. Akpabio, PhD Dept of Geography.

Water Meanings Sanitation Practices and Hygiene Behaviours in the Cultural Mirror a Perspective from Nigeria

Emmanuel M Akpabio PhDDept of Geography amp Regional Planning University of Uyo Nigeria

ampServed as AvH Fellow

ZEF (1st May 2011-31st October 2012)emakpabioyahoocom

Zentrum fuumlr Entwicklungsforschung Center for Development Research Universitaumlt Bonn

ZEF Bonn

I thank the Water Institute UNC for the Scholarship to Present this Paper

A Typical Water and Sanitation Situation in Nigeria

A typical Waterside Settlement

A Typical Waterside Settlement

Background of Study Area1 Where is Akwa Ibom State Located in Nigeria -South-South of Nigeria - A total Population of 3920208 (NPC2007) -8789 live in the rural areas -Ibibios Annang Oron -Over 90 are Christians -Rural Areas lack basic infrastructures such as good roads electricity water and health facilities etcestimates-less than 50 have access to WS services in urban areas while the rural areas are worst off

Some Insights into the Literaturebull Environmental values rooted in traditional practices religious beliefs and knowledge systems that contribute

to community norms (Alcorn 1993)

bull Model of reasoned action is more individually centred amp does not stress the specific role of social amp ecological factors in explaining human behaviours working on individual as the unit of analysis amp intervention in behavioural change amp human cognition is meaningless without understanding the wider socio-cultural contexts for which behaviours occur

bull Morphyrsquos (1998) model of cultural adaptation which sets out to reconcile human experience and the various temporal and material realities of evolutionary ecological and cultural change implies that different contexts carry different implications for human behaviours and adaptation

bull when we give meaning to the objects ofhellipinteractions people act on them which affects themrsquo That explains the reason why lsquoecology blends environmental sciences with human cultures (Babe 1997)

bull Gibson (1986) conceived the environment from both physical (ecological) amp phenomenological (visual perception) perspectives

bull Local knowledge of the environment depends on the interaction of the spiritual social and material worlds (Boonzaaijer and Apusigah 2008)

bull peoplelsquos relationship with water is mediated through learnt cultural experience-individual experiences with water make the context of meaning relevant (Strang 2004)

bull intervention programme cannot solely depend on the scientific understanding of disease etiology references must also be made to accomodate values and beliefs that affect peoplesrsquo attitudes toward disease itself as well as behaviours towards modern intervention system (Jewitt 2011 Azevedo etal 1991 Odumosu 2010)

Knowledge Gap Existing literature on WS seems lsquoloosersquo and lsquosoftrsquo amp without

thorough analytical methods or techniques in understanding these issue from the perspective of cultural communities in Africa

Most studies or analyses are bereft of indigenously relevant concepts to facilitate understanding and solution

Such lack of indigenous tools does not allow us understand the complexities of problems and thus make it less useful to address realities

Question can we trully solve the problem of water and sanitation in rural communities without reference to the general contexts of environment and culture

A framework for understanding the contexts of WS practices in local communities is important- TEK

What I did Ideas amp meanings about water amp sanitation Ideas of common water and sanitation diseases and disease

epidemics Childinfant sanitationexcreta disposal Locational influences of sanitation behaviours Food and domestic hygiene Toilet system and hygiene practices Healing practices Water quality perception Physical cleanliness etc Question how do these issues play into the model

Ideas and Beliefs around Water Sanitation Practice and Hygiene Behaviours 1

Local Beliefsideas of Water

General Worldviews Manifestations

Sense of purity 1rsquodivinersquo and lsquosacredrsquo resource2water cannot harm (in traditional societies issues of industrial water pollution are relatively unheared of A behavioural change could be possible if water pollution were to be a problem)

1A local proverb says Mmooη-mmooη eyet idiợknkpợ idiợk-nkpợ iyetke mmooη (It is only water that can wash away dirt)2 Water is believed to come from God (Mmọọη edi ake Abasi) and so is perfect3 The use in Holy water come from this belief4 Purity exemplifies the cleansing power of water which forms the basis of ritual bathes

Homes of spirit deities and ancestors

1 Water bodies of this category have existential meaning to individuals and communities 2 Water is believed to offer healing powers to some human problems upon drinking or bathing

1Unquestioning use of water irrespective of quality2 Changes in quality are believed to be caused by the spirit deities3 Attract values rituals and deification

Religiousspiritual symbol

Water is believed to possess spiritual cleansing power among the Christians and traditional religion

1Holy water2 Ritual bathes

Ideas and Beliefs around Water Sanitation Practice and Hygiene Behaviours 2

Local beliefsideas of water General worldviews manifestations

Cleanliness lsquonsana idem ado uyairsquo (physical cleanliness is beauty)

This notion encourages good hygienic practices by the educated and better exposed

Sanitary taboos Unsanitary persons especially women are not to be stigmatized (you do not say a woman smells or is dirty)

It is a taboo It triggers mass women nude protest directed against the offender (often accompanied by some diabolical rituals)

Myths around Germs Germs never kill Africa (germs iwutke Africa)

A readily available justification for unavoidable unhygienic practices or for consuming unhygienic food

Child Healthwell-being The childrsquos life is believed to be in the protective hands of lsquoGodrsquo (Abasi ekpeme ntuho-eyen)

1 Childrenrsquos excreta are regarded as inoffensive2 Children are allowed to experiment with many things including soil eating3 Infant with a sign of convulsion or epilepsy is sometimes abandoned at a waste dump site as a traditional method for healing

Ideas and Beliefs around Water Sanitation Practice and Hygiene Behaviours 3

Local beliefsideas of water

General worldviews manifestations

Diseases Epidemics

1 Diarrhea or cholera epidemics assume spiritual explanation It is seen as abnormal-lsquoidoho nkanarsquo lsquoutoro-ikpursquo utoro-anwa ifotrsquo- especially if it kills2 It is linked with seasonal fruits and vegetables

1 Solution depends on the spiritual or traditional rituals 2 Restriction against eating fruits and some vegetables

Healing and Bathe restriction

It is believed to be part of the rules and processes of some traditional or spiritual healing

Most traditional healing processes restrict their patience from bathe for some days

Human excreta and traditional medicine

This partly anchors on the belief that the dirtier the elements are the more effective the concoctions are believed to be

Human faeces and urine occasionally form part of traditional medicine and spiritual healing concoction eg editibe (local immunity against charms) akpub (bullet proof) etc

InfantChild Hygiene

Linked to parental bond and inoffensiveness of childrsquos waste products

1 Infant faeces are not to be dumped alongside the adults They are often disposed of around a plantain or banana stalk It is believed the infant teeth will not develop2 Mothers are not bound to wash hands after babyrsquos excreta handling3children of under 7 years are normally free to defecate at any other location outside the general toilet4 Swaddling clothes are mostly washed at home by hand for re-use5 Parents use their mouth to suck off infant nasal mucus6 parentelders spit saliva into the mouth of the infant

What I am Currently Doing 1Envtal Contexts

Water Sanitation

Physical Physical cleanliness observed for drinking water to some extent

Settlement locations close to bodies of large rivers do not harbor much concern on the river water quality either because of religiousspiritual reason or simply a historical reason of established use

Cleanliness is beauty (nsana idem ado uyai) This is the basis for regular physical hygiene and compoundvillage cleanliness

Settlement location near gullies ravines rivers and open bushes practice open defecation most

Socio-economic

Food hygiene child health and well-being practices (eg handwashing after babyrsquos wastes handling or before and after defecation

Covering drinking water and maintaining some safe distance from excreta and waste materials

Washing dishes and covering them to prevent infectious flies

Perception of water and sanitation epidemics as seasonal phenomena among several other practices

Water related epidemics rarely linked to water but to witches and witchcraft and sorceries

Practices here range from physical bodily cleanliness covering the latrine regular toilet cleaning and disinfection regular house and kitchen cleaning safe toilet distance from house infantchild excreta disposal practice ownership of latrine open defecation practices perception of water and sanitation diseases epidemics as seasonal phenomena relating infant diarrhea and cholera to the development of teeth sucking infant nasal mucus with mouth etc

What I am Currently Doing 2Envtal Contexts

Water Sanitation

Cultural Water as home of spirit deities (this presupposes emotional attachment)

Water as divine or sacred resource (water cannot harm-mmọọɳ mmọọɳ eyet idioknkpo)

Power of spiritual cleansing and healing (some bodies of water serve these purposes)

Existential meanings (some human souls are believed to be harboured in bodies of water Such individuals must develop close attachments to such bodies of water by bathing and drinking regularly or during sickness irrespective of the quality

Water beliefs more stronger in settlements closer to large bodies of water eg coastal and riverine settlement locations

Unquestioning use of water irrespective of quality

Sanitary taboo (eg stigmatizing a woman as dirty is a taboo)

Child hygiene and health loaded with beliefs and customary attitudes (parent-child bond child is free to defecate anywhere dirty places such as waste dumpsites have healing values for certain infantchild sickness eg convulsion)

Because of spiritual and religious values water is mostly exonerated as agents of some diseases

Some healing rituals restrict patience from bath

Human excreta and urine sometimes form part of healing mixture

Infant faeces not to be dumped alongside adultslsquo but disposed of in the open

Parents spit saliva into infant mouths

A Tentative ModelKey broad constructs about the model include 1) humans-actors 2) environment-contexts The relationship between these two constructs engenders what behaviours and outcomes are possible Interrelationships between human and the physical environment produces meanings knowledge and accepted norms of behavioursSuch interrelationship is dynamic-can change or reinforce depending on circumstances amp locationscontextual environment are critical in reinforcing water and sanitation behaviours in rural areas of Africa The temporal dimension of human contexts imply a continuously shifting or changing situations which also sets the stage for behavioural changeadjustment in relation to emerging set goals

For Further Readingbull Akpabio E M (2012) Water Meanings Sanitation Practices and Hygiene Bahaviours in

the Cultural Mirror a Perspective from Nigeria Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development 02 (3) 168-181

bull Akpabio E M and S V Subramanian (2012) Traditional Ecological Knowledge an Emerging framework for Understanding Water and Sanitation Practices in Nigeria ZEF Working Paper Series 94 Zentruuml fuumlr Entwicklungsforschung University of Bonn Germany

bull Akpabio E M (2012) Water Beliefs and the Changing times in Nigeria In Hans P Hahn K Cless and J Soentgen (eds) People at the Well Kinds Usages and Meanings of Water in a Global Perspective Campus Verlag Frankfurt Germany Pp 266-280

bull Akpabio E M 2011 Water and People Perception and Management Practices in Akwa Ibom State Nigeria Society and Natural Resources 24 (6) 584-596 Further Information DOI 10108008941920903496945

Common MistakesIssues directly emerging from these arguments include a) the existence of actors outside the immediate social and ecological

situation who recognize the problems and prescribe solutions b) the existence of elite groups who use all instruments of state resources

to promote lsquosanctioned knowledge practicesrsquo even if it is obviously outside the norms of the local knowledge systems Often times the relationship between lsquooutsider actorsrsquo and lsquolocal onesrsquo in evolving common intervention or knowledge system remain unworkable given the domineering attitude of the outsider actor as well as mutually unwilling attitudes to learn from each otherrsquos knowledge

Given that attitudes and understanding around water translate into behaviours which in some cases may impact on sanitation practices the framework provides a functional structure in which solution could be designed given that one will know where and how to strike

Conclusion

bull The ideas and arguments in this presentation revolve around the need to widen our analytical lens by giving recognition and subsequently incorporating the multiplicity of complex environmental socio-economic temporal and cultural factors in understanding equally complex environmental health issues that are deeply entrenched in culture

I THANK THE WATER INSTITUTE at UNC

Thank you all for Listening

Zentrum fuumlr Entwicklungsforschung Center for Development Research Universitaumlt Bonn

ZEF Bonn