A Spirit of a River

 

I am asking the Ottauquechee River, "What is it like for you?"  As the river does not speak a human language, I need to, at least, listen, look, research and imagine.  The ancients, and plenty of contemporary folks as well, have had no problem imagining and, no doubt, in their own ways, experiencing rivers as spirits, or as governed by spirits.  Unashamedly, I turn to Wikipedia for help in many matters, including this one.  The encyclopedia lists 28 cultures - surely an incomplete list - with water spirits of one kind or another.  Nyami Nyami of the Zanbezi River grabbed my attention.

 

This representation of an African river god captures a moment of surface swirl and eddy in wood.