Pollution for cleanliness? Lessons from an ethnographic research on the rural use of water for hygienic purposes

Abstract

Several evidences from ethnographic research have shown how strongly water consumption and hygienic practices are influenced by hydrogeological conditions and the availability of water resources. On the contrary, dust, dirt, rubbish are the things we are trying to get rid of during the cleaning process. The traditional rural way of life was closely connected with nature and it worked as an almost complete recycling system. The water coming from natural resources was used for cleaning the body, clothes, dishes and the house as little as possible. Only the simplest substances like ash (KOH), soda (Na2CO3) or home-made soap from animal fat (NaOH) were used as detergents, which did not do any harm when it was recycled into nature together with minimal household waste. The careful attitude to water had a well-developed order, as a result of which people lived in harmony with their natural environment for centuries. However, this harmony was broken and turned into the opposite direction with the arrival of urbanisation and consumerism: so that we can match the latest hygienic standards (ideals) artificially generated by the market, we use more and more water and chemicals to reach the desired cleanliness, so we become cleaner and cleaner, however more and more pollutants are returning to the environment.

Keywords

• hygiene
• hungarian history
• traditional peasant culture
• water usage
• waste recycling