This essay consists of two parts, both inter-related with each other. The first part is about the concepts of Anthropology while the second deals with the cultural importance of water in our daily life.
Anthropology is the study of man and culture. ‘To an anthropologist, the term culture generally refers to the customary ways of thinking and behaving of a particular population or society. The culture of social group, therefore, is composed of its language, general knowledge, religious beliefs, food preferences, music, work habits, taboos, and so forth.’[1]
The difference between anthropology and other disciplines is that an anthropologist live in a particular community for a period of time ‘usually spends a year or so live with, talking to and observing the people whose customs he or she is studying. This fieldwork provides the data for a detailed description (an ethnography) of many aspects of the customary behavior and thought of those people’.[2]
Anthropology deals with all the aspects of life and behavior of human beings. The changes in behavior depends on every day life, as the life and its different aspects change with time, the behavior changes as well. The basic needs of humans are Air, Water, and Shelter. Shortage in any of these will result in physical and psychological alterations. Water is the main source of life as 60 percent of human body depends on water. Scarcity of water will result in outer and inner conditions.
Problem of water scarcity in Pakistan
Recent task of anthropologists to deal with the public affairs particularly the problems, which the communities are facing, has brought many social and economic issues of traditional communities on the surface particularly the socio-economic problems of third world countries. As anthropologists and the social scientists have focused more and more on the problems faced by third world as they make the often difficult transition to the modern way of life so the study of change has been major concerned.
‘Irrigation has played a major role historically in poverty alleviation by providing
food security, protection against famine, and expanded opportunities for employment both on and off the farm. Development of irrigated agriculture has been a major engine for economic growth and poverty reduction.
The growing scarcity and competition for water, however, stands as a major threat
to future advances in poverty alleviation. Food production is likely to be adversely affected particularly in the semiarid regions, which include two of Asia’s major breadbaskets, the
The development of tube-well irrigation has contributed significantly to the increase in food production and reduction in poverty. However, in many of the more arid
regions the overexploitation of groundwater poses a major threat to environment, health, and food security—a threat to the welfare of the poor far more serious than that posed by the widely criticized construction of large dams.
In an environment of growing scarcity and competition for water, a comprehensive strategy is needed to improve the productivity of water in both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, and to ensure access to water by poor men and women.
Water is both a commodity and a natural resource and a perceived human entitlement. When Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen (1981) wrote about poverty and famines in
The typical urban household uses water for drinking and sanitation. But rural areas use water for a wide range of purposes. Even in irrigated areas water is used not only for the main field crops but also for domestic use, home gardens, trees and other permanent vegetation, and livestock (Bakker et al. 1999). Other productive uses include fishing, harvesting of aquatic plants and animals, and a variety of other enterprises such as brick making. In addition, irrigation systems can have a positive or negative effect on the environment. Thus, the withdrawal of water affects the rural household, rural economy, and environment in a number of ways.’[3]
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