This image is quite powerful and accompanied by the caption it presents a complex ethnographic case. Are we perhaps in front of different definitions of toxicity? The scientific assessment of river toxicity seems to be opposed to people's assessment of it, is sacred waste considered to be toxic by people of the Godavari, or is it toxic to keep the sacred waste near their homes? This case is quite interesting and can find parallels among other societies who have deep concerns for issues of purity and pollution, the practice of disposing sacred waste (normally plants that have been used in rituals) in the rivers is also seen among Amazonian people.
