Contents



Preface 7



Introduction

Karlheinz Cless and Hans Peter Hahn 9



Water as substance and meaning: Anthropological perspectives

Hans Peter Hahn 23



Virtual water and water footprints: Global supply and production chains and their impacts on freshwater resources

Simon Meissner 44



What is water? Some philosophical considerations

Klaus Ruthenberg 65



An essay on dew

Jens Soentgen 79



People at the well: Experiences around water

Karlheinz Cless 98



Water magic

Richard Wilk 126



Consumption and production: Changing perceptions of water in northern Ghana

Wolfram Laube 145



Neglecting the opportunity? Productive water uses for small income generation

Irit Eguavoen 170



Water makes the difference: The case of South India

Bettina Weiz 190



Making connections: Accessing water in Mumbai's settlements

Nikhil Anand 217



Water in Amazonia

Klaus Hilbert 232



Water management by divine benevolence along the River Nile: Artificial water reservoirs as pastoral meeting places in the Meroitic Sudan (ca. 350 B.C. to 350 A.D.)

Petra Weschenfelder 246



Water beliefs and changing times in Nigeria

Emmanuel M. Akpabio 266



Guarded by the devil: The fear of pollution from wells among the Iraqw of northern Tanzania

Anne-Christina Achterberg-Boness 281



Figure and Table Credits 299



Notes on Contributors 303



Index of Persons and Subjects 307



Index of Locations 315