J. SINDIK, Y. N. ARAYA 35
2. Meanings of Water
The meanings of water for certain populations can be
perceived as one of the key factors in raising awareness
about water issues. Water has different levels of impor-
tance for different people, depending on their personal
characteristics, socio-demographic factors, ethnic or com-
munity background. Consequently, one of the main chal-
lenges to change a wide range of undesirable attitudes is
the need to successfully change behaviors [7]. Namely,
attitudes have cognitive, emotional and behavioral com-
ponent and a key target for raising awareness can be be-
havioral change. Changed behavior can then lead people
to better and more constructive public participation.
One way on how to change behaviors of certain popu-
lation, discussed in this article is, adapting a model called
Health Belief Model [8]. This model, imported from
health psychology can be used in attempts to change de-
structive water behavior, as well as to promote responsi-
ble public participation. But prior to this, a background
discussion on water symbolism and proverbs is provided
as follows.
2.1. Symbolism of Water
Identification of differences in the perception of sym-
bolic values of water to various people, can lead us to get
better insight why the term “water” has different mean-
ing to each individual. Certain individuals are inclined to
appreciate and care about the value of fresh water, while
the others can only watch water issues at a distance,
symbolically [9].
A study was performed to explore the differences and
correlates among different symbolic values of water and
selected demographic and socio-economic characteristics.
The snowball sample (N = 137) of people in Croatia was
examined, using preliminary list of 40 possible symbolic
meanings of water. Subjects then had to show how much
certain symbolism of water is characteristically important
to them. The results of principal component analysis
(PCA) with varimax rotation showed the existence of
three latent dimensions that best represent three symbolic
values of water drawn out from the preliminary list
namely, abstract, concrete and identity value. Abstra c t
values of water were described as very global ontological,
mythological and religious meanings. Concrete values of
water were described as dominantly associations that
were directly linked with fresh water and its practical use,
challenges, dangers, opportunities. The third latent di-
mension was the most interesting. This, so-called identity
value of water represents the symbolism of national and
regional affiliation, together with astrological meaning of
water that was probably linked with personal identity.
Correlations were then undertaken between latent di-
mensions (symbolic meanings of water) and certain vari-
ables: age, work experience and education level. Only
small numbers of statistically significant correlations
were found: e.g. positive statistically significant correla-
tions showed that abstract values of water are more fre-
quent with older subjects having longer work experience.
On the latent dimensions of symbolic meanings of water,
very small numbers of statistically significant differences
were found according to participants’ gender, type of the
profession and regional affiliation. Abstract meanings of
water were more significant for women, while the sym-
bolic meanings of water as identity were more significant
for e.g. to participants born near the sea [9]. The Appen-
dix provides list of water terms used and summary of
statistical analyses.
2.2. Water Proverbs
One of the distinctive features of human society is pos-
session of “culture” i.e. a developed sense of knowledge,
beliefs and expectations which is shared and inherited at
various levels of their social organization. One such ma-
nifestation is the existence of vast amount of cultural
references, through customs, religion, and folklore. Pro-
verbs are a most common example of this oral culture.
Simply defined a proverb means “a short sentence,
usually in a figurative expression, expressing well known
truths, social norms, or moral themes in common use by
a society or social group” [10]. Many proverbs are rooted
in a country’s ancient cultural heritage or religion, while
others may have literary origin, as used by famous peo-
ple, or may stem from memorable incidents in the past.
Proverbs are an essential part of the oral culture of a
society, and are frequently used to define the environ-
ment and experiences of a particular society. As water,
influences all aspects of life, it is a frequent subject of
proverbs and can be found in many cultures.
The existence of similar kinds of proverbs in different
languages suggests that some conceptions of intelligence
and reasonable behaviour are to some degree universal
[11]. Thus sharing proverbs between different cultures
will also help in developing some degree of universal
appreciation and awareness towards “super culture” and
help in building cross-cultural dialogue for peace and
security, as mentioned in UNESCO’s Universal Declara-
tion of Cultural Diversity, 2001.
In this context, 517 proverbs across 104 different lan-
guages and cultures containing the term “water” were
examined from an online database [12]. This database is
the most complete available and concurs with public col-
lections made previously by the author (YNA) [13].
The proverbs were then analysed by considering the
key water theme (metaphorically or otherwise) they are
addressing [14]. This approach had proven to be useful,
when comparing across cultures in the past.
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