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1969.

--- Biafra: Selected Speeches with Journal of Events. PerennialLibrary, 

1969.

Okoh, Nkem. Preface to Oral Literature. Africana First PublishersLtd, 

2008.

Onuekwusi, Jasper. Fundamentals of African Oral Literature.Alphabet 

Publications, 2001.

Ottah, Nelson.  Rebels Against Rebels. Manson and Company, 1981.

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology. McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2005.

Wali, Obiajunwa. 'The Dead End of African Literature?' African 

Literature: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory Eds.Tejumola 

Olaniyan & Ato Quayson. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007, 

pp.281-284.

Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use of Water Imagery 
in Joe Ushie's Poetry

  Elizabeth N. Enukora, PhD

  Department of Languages,

  Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,

  Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna.

  08036007192 

  lizzyenukora@yahooo.com

    &

   Chinonso Okolo

   Department of English,

   Faculty of Arts, 

   University of Uyo.

   08064689947; 

   okoloprincewill@gmail.com

Abstract

Joe Ushie, a strong voice of contemporary Nigerian poetry in English 

emerged in the late 1980s. He has written extensively on the 

environment, socio-political, cultural, economic and postcolonial 

predicaments of the contemporary Nigerian society. Scholars have 

analysed his preoccupations fromthe realities of contemporary society 

influenced by modern technology, capitalism and globalisation. 

However, Ushie's captivating inquiry into eco-criticism especially as it 

affects hydro-criticism with special reference to the use of imagery and 

symbolism of water bodies in his local environment, needs more critical 

focus. Hydro-criticism, an intellectual construct that captures and 

explores how human activities impact negatively on the ozone layer, 

which results into maritime and oceanic spin, whirl, turn, rise or growth 

in the sea level, is applied as a theoretical anchor to evaluate 

Ushie'sdeployment of water imagery and symbolism in dealing with and 

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COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Elizabeth N. Enukora, Phd & Chinonso Okolo:  Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use 

of Water Imagery in Joe Uchie’s Poetry

mailto:lizzyenukora@yahooo.com


two major interventions. The first one is how aqueous locations become 

sites of queer community and punishment while registering associations 

with the fluid female body, the second deals with how human and 

nonhuman intimacy is enabled by aqueous proximity (2). 

Having highlighted the concept of hydro-criticism, it is expedient to go 

further and define the terms imagery and symbol as they are applied in 

this paper. The term imagery is used to describe and capture a mental 

picture of a representation or likeness of somebody or something seen, 

heard or produced. The Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, 

defines imagery as the literal or figurative representation of objects, 

feelings or ideas. It specifically has to do with using a concrete or 

figurative diction by a writer or speaker to express or evoke special 

emotion, appeal or a train of intellectual associations as desired by the 

user or speaker. On this note, Egudu defines imagery as the creation of 

mental pictures by the use of words in the minds of the readers (9). 

Following Egudu's definition of imagery, Ngwokede fines it as the:

Tripartite typological delineation of imagery in modern 

scholarship into the literal, the figurative and the symbolic owes to 

the different linguistic modes of itsrealization. Therefore, the first 

type consists of images expressed in ordinary, everyday language; 

the second in figures of speech; and the third in symbolic words and 

expressions. Beyond manner of expression, the types are 

differentiated by the degrees of their referencing or representations 

of objects, events and situations in the real world (158).

 

Imagery is the signification or representation of objects and qualities of 

the sense of perception (Abrams, 129).  The term, symbol on the other 

hand is applies to a word or a phrase which represents or stands for 

something else with a specific meaning. Symbolism helps the poet to 

bring out a secondary meaning to what he wants to express.  Abrams 

concludes that: 

A symbol is anything which signifies something else; in this sense, 

all words are symbols. In discussing literature, however, the term 

'symbol' is appliedonly to a word or phrase that signifies an object 

or event which in its turnsignifies something, or suggests a range of 

reference, beyond itself (358).

This paper therefore examines the symbolic use of water imagery in Joe 

Ushie's selected poems using hydro-criticism as a theoretical 

framework. The poet imaginatively adopts linguistic puns, metaphors, 

his local imagery and symbols of water bodies to make relevant 

comments on the despoliation of the environment and the turbulent or 

other occurrences of water bodies on human beings.  Beyond these areas 

of Ushie's poetic engagements, water is generally a major concern of his 

preoccupation. Water essentially constitutes a major and significant 

element of human life and activity.  Plants and animals also depend on 

water to survive.  Again, over 75 percent of the land area or land mass in 

Akorshie, Bendi in the Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River 

State, where Joe Ushie comes from; and the entire Earth surface is 

generally or largely covered by or made of water. Consequently, water 

plays a very vital role in the affairs of men all over the world.  As a child, 

the poet grew up in his local environment surrounded by water. This in 

the form of seas, rivers, streams and water tributaries which 

understandably find expression in his poetry. Rivers such as Bekwang 

and Attlakua have acquired some form of symbolism or signification in 

the life of the poet which he often makes references to and use as 

symbols and images in his poetry in order to express or capture various 

emotions such as pain, loss, grief as wellas happiness, joy or 

events/occasions. The use of these symbolic devices indexes do not just 

serve as rallying points for the poet or as an aesthetic value. They also 

function as the main component that enhances and concretizes his 

childhood experiences, memories and help to create rural consciousness 

or memories in his psychic which often reflect in his poems. Apart from 

playing and swimming in these rivers as a youth in his local environment 

which he enjoyed, he also gets inspiration and enjoy a touch of nature 

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COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Elizabeth N. Enukora, Phd & Chinonso Okolo:  Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use 

of Water Imagery in Joe Uchie’s Poetry



from the rivers. It is not an overstatement to say that his poetic muse 

emanates mainly from the rivers and water bodies found in his village 

and its environs. One can safely conclude that Ushie is both an eco-

conscious poet as well as a water-conscious poet. This is because every 

part of the rivers in his local environment, their banks, surrounding trees 

and even the sediments at the bottom of the rivers, all contribute to form 

part of his imaginative thoughts and consciousness. His local 

environment which includes the water and its bodies, formed part of his 

poetic consciousness. 

Nature, Imagination and the Use of Water Symbols and Images

The use of water imagery as reflected in Ushie's poetry is on the main, 

conventional and serves as a reinforcement of his familiar traditional 

Bendi terrain and homeland. Thus, symbolic water imagery is an 

integral and functional component of Ushie's poetry which he deploys 

skillfully to render the right emotions in order to pass a message. Ushie's 

poetry also deals so much with issues associated with social injustice 

and the disillusionment of the contemporary society.  This paper is 

necessitated by the paucity of critical enquiry into the aspect of the poet's 

imaginative use of water imagery and symbolism in his poems and on 

the contemporary Nigerian poetry as a whole.  This paper is therefore 

significant because it fills the critical gap on the topic of eco-

consciousness that deals with hydro- criticism and symbolism. Reacting 

to the paucity of scholars' attention in this area, Nnolim declares that we 

are not a sea-faring people or nation and so dealing with the expanses of 

these elements and features elude us. Thus, we see water in the form of 

streams, rivers, rainfall and ponds. He concludes that, 

there is no imagery of water as a death-dealing agent in storms, at 

sea or in its terrors during a tsunami. This is part of our imaginative 

myopia or rather timidity because our lives are so confined to 

landmass (55).

Generally speaking, rivers, its surroundings, gods and goddesses are not 

only taken as sacred symbols by the Bendi people and the whole 

communities in the riverine area of Nigeria. The people deify them as 

their god, goddesses and totem symbols. As a result, their lifestyles and 

even occupations are largely tied and influenced by waters such as 

rivers, lakes and streams. Thus, Ushie's poetry recreates and reflects the 

realities of his traditional Bendi milieu and the fascinating imagery 

which emanate from water that draw the attention of the poet. 

Since our focus in this study is onthe symbolicuse of imagery and 

conceptualization of water bodies in Ushie's poetry, it is therefore 

necessary to still give a little more attention to the use of symbols and 

why they can function also as an imagery in Ushie's poetry. Poetry 

usually expresses both a primary and a secondary meaning. It can also 

serve as anything from personal experiences to other issues relating to 

the society. A symbol can also function as either conventional or private 

object. Some of the conventional use of symbolic images of water 

include its association for baptism, rebirth and as a life sustainer. Also 

water serve as a purifier and washes away sin, guilt and represents life. It 

is also a potent symbol of regeneration and a vehicle and a medium for 

cleansing. Beyond these, a river can also symbolize fluidity and stream 

of life and even negativity or death.  Against this background, Ngwoke 

affirms that water imagery serves as tools of creativity to writers which 

they use as a means of conveying messages and transportation of ideas 

(160).  Just like in handling of most other images, the manipulation of 

water imagery depends to a large extent on the writer's background, his 

experiences, sensibility and the knowledge which he has acquired about 

water.  As has been observed, Joe Ushie is very much committed and 

influenced by water; having been born and brought up in Bendi rural 

setting. Hence, Joe Ushie's drive to use water imagery is highly intrinsic 

and inseparable from the poet. 

The symbolic use of water in Joe Ushie's poetry is more conventional 

than private. The images of water as used by the poet  suggests a 

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COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Elizabeth N. Enukora, Phd & Chinonso Okolo:  Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use 

of Water Imagery in Joe Uchie’s Poetry



universal meaning and ideas, especially when the ideas portray water as 

a life-giver, life-saver, a healer, a purifier, a curative agent and a medium 

to reach ancestral spirits or even as a conveyor of evil omen. These 

images can best be perceived through the senses of hearing, feeling, 

seeing and smell which is emotive.  Ushie uses these forms of imagery to 

depict or describe a lot of hidden rustic meanings of espousal of the 

social, economic, religious and cultural life of the traditional Bendi 

people of Calabar, in the southern part of Nigeria. He writes mainly 

about nature, the environment and the culture of the Bendi people and 

associates with them with their village waters as we can see in most of 

his poems. To him, water represents life and is a life saving agent.  Water 

is sometimes used as a desire or a quest for something which captures 

rural lifestyles or experiences as against that of city life orthe so called 

modernity. Rivers like Bekwang and Attlakua found in the poet's locality 

typify this yawning as an example of strength, power and healing balm 

which the poet utilise to his advantage. These rivers are known by the 

people for being beautifully calm and sometimes for their therapeutic 

healing powers and strength. The poet sometimes uses these rivers to 

portray or represent hope, truth and in some cases to depict a mysterious 

encounter. The images and symbols of water as used in Ushie's poetry 

are sometimes meant to be associated with femininity or the gods and 

goddess from the environment which the poet embodies. This cultural 

totem, or attribute which the poet exhibits in his poetry is common with 

the people of the riverine area of Nigeria. 

Water in Ushie's poetry is presented in the form of streams, rivers, ponds 

and tributaries. He also depicts water as an embodiment of leisure, 

freedom and recreation for the Bendi people and the entire community. 

It is also worth mentioning that life in the riverine Bendi community is 

that of water and people living in water. Thus, living in water and 

playing on, and around or insides it is part of the people's culture and 

social life especially for the younger generations or the youths. The 

surrounding stream and river terrains in Ushie's poetry in addition, 

serves as playgrounds or as recreation centers for the children and the 

young at heart. They are also used for some other essential purposes, 

making the waters in the community acquire multiple value and 

symbols.

Thus, in many of his poems, Ushie captures how he had memorable and 

exciting childhood experiences of swimming with other children in the 

Bekwang and Attlakua rivers. He also shares the memory of climbing 

the trees that grow by the riverbanks and running around on the sandy 

beaches. As a boy then, when he was not learning about village lore, 

medicinal plants and herbs; or about the cotton trees from his 

grandfather farms, he would go to the Bekwang River to swim and 

engage in wild games and sporting activities. Ushie often recalls with 

excitement and striking clarity, details of his early childhood days in his 

village. Apart from drawing up symbols and images from the streams 

and rivers, the poet also paints a great deal of beautiful pictures and 

scenery of rainfall or the season. The true symbol of water in Ushie's 

poetry can be found in his past experience where rain represents images 

of regeneration and life. Rain in many respects has physical, emotional 

and spiritual connotations and leitmotifs. His obsession with rain 

(water) brings him life, joy and gaiety. Thus, to him, rain does not only 

herald joy and happiness; traditionally it also represents life, birth, 

purity, means of cleansing and it also functions as a means of washing 

away sins and regeneration.

Ushie portrays water as life sustainer and life giver in his poem, “The 

Sot” in Popular Stand and Other Poems. This poem written in 41 lines, 

captures the poet persona depicting water as a source of life and its 

sustainer. The poet uses the visual and tactile imagery to portray the 

effects of water and its impacts on him. This reveals his passion about 

water as it gives life to all members of his rural community. His love for 

the local streams and rivers is indispensable as reiterated in this poem. 

The rivers and streams that are in his village are not just important 

elements of nature; they also function as natural channels through which 

the poet is brought into existence. The rivers energize, reinvigorate and 

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COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Elizabeth N. Enukora, Phd & Chinonso Okolo:  Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use 

of Water Imagery in Joe Uchie’s Poetry



sustain him even as an adult. In stanza one of this poem, the poet uses 

visual and auditory imagery a great deal to convey his message and 

make meaning. These images vividly capture his inclination and 

attachment to water:

Drink-drenched like foam in water

The drunk, rising from the roadside bush

Swears to beat up all damned fools jeering

At him as if he were drunk (37).

In the lines above, the poet presents water as a source of vitality and 

strength. As a character in this poem, the poet is strengthened and 

encouraged by the water's ability to intoxicate him. The potency of water 

in Ushie's poetry is not just for refreshing or to quench taste; it has the 

ability to intoxicate and get him fortified to face various challenges and 

stress of life. At a closer look at the poem, one sees the poet creating an 

imagery of water as a death trap and death-giving agent. In Ushie's 

poetry generally, streams and rivers manifest their intoxicating powers 

through some harmful creatures that inhabit them. The following words 

relate to the audio-visual imagery which help to capture his message: 

'drink-drenched', 'rising', 'swears', 'jeering'.

In addition, Ushie's “A trip home” reveals another dimension of the use 

of water symbol. The soothing and healing powers of the stream are here 

reinstated and re-emphasized. According to Ngwoke (2017), water is 

presented here as a healing agent which is medicinal and soothing. In 

traditional African society, water played and is still playing a medicinal 

role because it serves as a healing balmand serves as alife giver and 

sustainer (167). The poet persona in “A Trip home”, line15 in Popular 

stand and other poems refers to the Attlakua River as 'soothing streams' 

implying that it heals, sooths, and mitigates pain and suffering. Attlakua 

River is also a metaphor of a stream where freedom and entrapment are 

entrenched and embodied. As a youth, the poet's curiosity pushed him to 

dive deep into the river bed to take a glance “at the glittering peaceful 

home of the tilapia” (“A Trip home” 18).  Suddenly an image of acliff 

appeared in his mind as he rowed deep into the stream, and then then the 

cliff sent shivers down his spine. The stream is seen as shining clearly 

among the hills which now awakes curiosity in him.

The welcoming and tranquil scenic environment of the Attlakua River is 

inviting, tempting and hard to resist by the poet. The fishermen can no 

longer withstand the desire to fish and so they take out their fishing nets 

and dive deep into the river bed to fish. But the supernatural event which 

they witnessed in the depth of the river changed their perspectives and 

drive of the once safe and tranquil environment to a fearful and now 

abused water brought about by the despoliation of the once pristine 

environment of the old. Thus, the poet remarks that the “rivulets are left 

nude, devoid of essence” as he sets out for a pleasurable adventure. What 

is meant to be an escapade, turns out to be “a panic-stricken glare” as he 

presently perceives nature  as “scattered or killed”even the “faithful 

Attlakua“; (“A Trip home”, 70). A state of melancholy sets in his heart 

even as the stream remains quiet and calm. Here, both freedom and 

entrapment are clearly recaptured and embodied in the river. The poet is 

now desolate and displeased with the stream he once perceived as 

peaceful and beautiful. His focus here is also directed to the horrifying 

experiences which water can bring. The poet makes use of antithesis. 

First, he warns his readers to stay clear of death by water while 

exhibiting the calmness that begs to be rowed on by the poet only to end 

up in a frightening stream of expedition. 

 

Again “Shadows” in Lambs at the Shrine is a clear manifestation of how 

dull and meaningless life can be in times of drought in modern society. It 

depicts the heat emanating from the scotching sun and its reflection on 

the Bekwang River. Sadness engulfs him as the poet falls into mourning 

for the river that is heated up and depleted by the sun. The scorching 

effect of the sun brings the poet down to his knees. In a direct and strict 

observation, the poet expresses his encounter with the Bekwang River. 

He remembers the gaiety expressed by the river and “how each floating 

shadow/danced on this theatre, somersaulted, wriggled/ to out-dance the 

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COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Elizabeth N. Enukora, Phd & Chinonso Okolo:  Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use 

of Water Imagery in Joe Uchie’s Poetry



poet draws attention and shows the condition of the river and the 

constant beaming of the sun on its surface which is excruciatingly hot 

and harmful to both humans and the environment. By this portrayal, the 

poet continues to draw his readers' attention to the sustaining power of 

the Bekwang River. By visualizing this looming scorching sun on the 

river and the natural environment, the persona makes further effort to 

express concerns about the state of the river and its effects on humanity.  

This goes in consonance with the views of the poet in the poem 'A trip 

home' as discussed above. In this poem the poet shows that water is 

traditionally used for purification and regeneration. The same case is 

represented in “Climate Change”. In this poem, Ushie represents and 

captures water in the form of flood that ravages and destroys the 

environment all over the globe and consequently human existence. His 

concern is the effects of the damages done to humanity by flood all 

through the year and all over the world. 

With reference to the destructive effects of flood on people and the 

environment generally, the poet shows very vividly how flood 

scriptnaked human efforts and material gifts into the ocean. Human 

beings are indicted for being a major cause of such natural mishaps and 

so the poet satirically refers to humans as “hewman” because they are 

devoid of all essence of humanity. Humankind cut and chop off every 

tree they see around and use them to build mega cities and industries 

thereby leaving the environment bare and unprotected causing more 

environmental degradation. The river flows first as a narrow stream but 

later it gathers into flood having met with other water droppingsfrom the 

rains. This water cannot pass through the little water channels or gullies 

because there are too many obstructions caused by piles of straw and 

other forms of debris thrown into it by people. Thus flood is portrayed as 

ravaging agent in order to teach people some lessons. In so doing the 

poet again presents water as a symbol of destruction, danger and 

negative phenomenon. It represents a death-trap and a medium through 

which everything is transported and taken to the land of thedead. The 

poet in his poems show that water appears as both a life-giving and 

death-bringing element depending on how society perceives and directs 

it.

Furthermore, 'Bekwang River'in Popularstand and other poems Ushie 

as an eco-conscious poet, creates hydro-critical imagery as seen in these 

lines:

       We watch your hesitant flow

…Noiselessly weaving unto

Your thread like beads,

Those villages of Bantus… (35)

The scenery of “Bekwang River” is presented as peaceful and calm. It 

flows through a particular pathway by moving in different phases 

through the hill, down, over and through the land. This process of 

peaceful water flow and its setting is captured by Brutsaert (2005) thus;

 

  When atmospheric water vapour condenses and precipitates   

overland, initially I moistens the surface and some amount of it is 

stored as interception, which later evaporates. As precipitation 

continues, part of it may flow over the surface in the form of 

overland flow or surfacerunoff, and part of it may enter into the soil 

as infiltration”. (2)

 This surface runoff soon tends to collect locally, either in puddles or in 

small ponds as depression storage, gullies or in larger channels where it 

continues as stream flowing which will ultimately capture the attention 

of the poet in the lines of the poem above in“Bekwang River” (35). In 

this instance he writes that “Noiselessly weaving unto/Your thread like 

beads”.  The poet try to show that water from Bekwang River infiltrates 

and flows rapidly through the nearby surface soil layers to exit through 

the adjacent streams or it may percolate more slowly through the profile 

to join the groundwater. This will sooner or later seep out into the natural 

river system, lakes and other open water bodies. In hydrological 

parlance, this part that gathers water together for dispatch is called the 

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COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Elizabeth N. Enukora, Phd & Chinonso Okolo:  Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use 

of Water Imagery in Joe Uchie’s Poetry



other, all in same float” (“Shadows” 9 – 11). The effect of the scorching 

sun is brought to bear on the poet and the whole environment. It keeps its 

gazecontantly on the river and its surrounding features like on the trees, 

leaves and straw. Hence the sun is both an embodiment and a conveyor 

of death to all elements of nature, both on human and in the area, Thus 

the poet creates a condition of uncertainty on the river and its 

surrounding natural environment. Despite the effect of the sun on the 

Bekwang River, the resilience nature of the river is reinstated as we are 

told that:

Even now, Bekwang runs still and if this

Drought tearing its head will spare her

She will run still as that theatre on which

Fleeting leaves, straws or dead wood would

Emerge, dance, dance dizzily, briskly and terminate like

Ash down its course, often leaving no trace

On this great universal River. (47). 

The poet creates a picture of resilience in the Bekwang River and so 

there is an air of optimism in poet and in the serene environment. Hence 

the poet assures us that when he dies, if the river does not dry up because 

of the heat that emanates from the sun; if the drought will spare the River, 

“there will be another I/ perched here in unison with these leaves” 

(“Shadows”, 27 – 29). The poet also touches on the theme of death and 

reincarnation which is cultural. Having been born and bred in the 

traditional African culture. The poet is an ardent believer in 

transmigration and rebirth imbedded in traditional African religion.  

This is what informs his believe that when the 'sun sets' in, and the 

drought does not dry up the river, “there will be another I/perched here in 

unison with these leaves”. In other words, the poet presents water as 

home to the spirits and the ancestors; the environment is a welcoming 

dwelling place for the spirits. Most of the Bendi gods, goddesses and 

ancestors are believed to inhabit waters just like the mermaid and so it 

may not be out of place to think that this is what informs the poet to say 

that he “perched here in unison with these leaves”. 

Many of Ushie's poems portray that the poet as using phenomenal water 

imagery. The exploration of water imagery in Uhie's poetry is connected 

to ancestral spirits. It also conveys an eloquent testimony to the poet's 

rootedness in the traditional religion of his traditional Bendi people. His 

concern and connectedness to Bekwang River is always symbolic and 

cultural. It affirms the fact that water is an essential commodity for 

human life and existence because nobody can think of life or existence 

without water. In the poet's present and future world he wants to align 

with water for his existence and continuity of life because water gives 

and sustains life. It is not only in the present world of the poet that the 

essence of water is shown; water still remains an essential value even 

when the poet returns as an reincarnated soul or when he is brought back 

to life. From the poet's opinion and tone, it is clear that he rebukes people 

who do not regard or have any value for water. Thus, in today's despoiled 

environment because of modernity and lifestyle, it is regrettable that 

water symbolises an element of destruction and death. The poet remains 

us that it is not only water that has lost its sense of value and function; but 

that humanity has become beastly and less humane and even more 

destructive and deadly. He believes that the human positive emotion has 

been subdued or removed and replaced by the desire for wealth and 

temporary pleasures such that man has neglected his source as life giver 

and sustainer. The poem “Shadows” brings out this connotation clearly 

from its title. This means that man can be said to have abandoned nature, 

his source of life and is chasing shadows which makes it more artificial 

and vain.

 He goes further to show that water is a resource for human and national 

development, sustenance and reliance. Human beings are captured in 

this poem as mere reflection of shadows without substantive value if 

they do not have water which is the source of life.  Thus human beings 

are “shadows” and no shadow outlives its source of life. By implication, 

Ushie further maintains his deep love and passion for water and the 

elements associated with it. Right from the beginning of this poem, the 

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COOU JOFOCUS: COOU Journal of Folklore and Cultural Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2021 Elizabeth N. Enukora, Phd & Chinonso Okolo:  Hydro-Criticism, Symbolism and the Use 

of Water Imagery in Joe Uchie’s Poetry



… And time, too, for the hills to regain

Lost crowns of groves.

O when the sun goes on holidays

In the kingdom of the clouds

And locks and bolts her doors,

And sky begins to test its trumpets

We know it's time for the rains

Time for hot-tempered floods

To bleach the skin of mother Earth …

… And time, too, for the farmer's fingers

To fix in womb of earth

The seed against tomorrow

… O season when rills and rivulets 

Regain lost weight

… How they thrill for free

… That comes trumpeting.  (58)

His “Rain season” is set at the beginning of the rains. As an eco-poet, 

Ushie often situate his poems as the works of nature, like rivers, hills, 

plants and vegetation.  In this instance, it is the rain which the poet refers 

to as 'the trumpets of the sky'. The poet address and acknowledge the 

enormous powers of the rain to regenerate anything found along its path 

as well as its destructive effects on human beings and on the 

environment. In the order of seasonal changes, the raining season comes 

after the dry season which is when “the sun goes on holidays”. The dry 

season heralds the coming of the rains which is the wet season of the year 

that renders nature wet and revives it by giving it a new lease of life. 

Consequently, the rain plays a significant role as carrier, renewal, 

preserver and re-creator within the context of the changing seasons.  The 

raining season is accompanied by what the poet calls the “moody days” 

which makes the weather gloomy.

Beyond and above the consideration of a real and natural phenomenon 

which actually occurs on a yearly basis, the raining season also serves, 

not only as an inspiration to the poet, it also acts as a symbol of joy, 

happiness, emotional rebirth for him and his creative vision. Apart from 

being the poet's source of inspiration, the rains and the season serve as 

cleanser which is well known for their “cleansing into the sea/Dry 

season's arrears of sin”.  The rains serve the poet in many capacities and 

respects.  He uses the rain as an imaginative tool of poetic creation and 

also as a means of passing his ideas and messages to his readers. One of 

such devices is the heavy wind which the poet address as the “brisk-

muscled winds”. The heavy elements such as the winds have the 

tendency of blowing off debris brought during the dry season which will 

eventually pave the way for the “chandeliers of flowers” to “decorate the 

world of the forests”. The rain has a great potential and is valuable to the 

poet. It waters the drought-stricken 'hills to regain/ Lost crown of groves' 

and to make the entire earth regain its new life even as it rejuvenates the 

poet and makes him more productive and alive. The rain influences 

everything on earth and at all levels including the surface of the earth and 

the sea bodies. This means that no part of the universe is totally free from 

its influence and the power of rains or water bodies.  

Rain in Ushie's poetry acquires both destructive and constructive 

powers. On the earth's surface, the rain through its flooding activities 

washes away landscapes and “leave raw wounds” on the earth surface. 

The surface of the land and the surrounding area of the sea that is washed 

off by the flood cause rill and gully erosion in the environment. It is on 

this note that Kramer (2005) observes that sometimes the flowing of 

water over loose soil washes away the soil. This forms small grooves on 

the ground. When many rills come together, they form a wider and 

deeper groove (10). Over the years these grooves increase in size and 

become gullies which carry large amount of water and eroded materials 

down the hill. This action of washing away the earth surface is for the 

good of nature as the poet reveals that the essence of this is for Mother 

Earth “to be dressed in radiant green”. This is the beauty of nature. 

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river basin or the watershed. According to Mimikou, Baltas and 

Tsihrintzis (2016), “the boundary line along a topographic ridge 

separating two adjacent basins is called the drainage surface or stream 

order” (7). It is this river divide that Ushie refers to as 'thread like beads' 

in the lines of the poem “Bekwang River” from Popular Stand and other 

poems.

In “Urban blues”, the poet is engrossed with the movement of water as it 

“creep uphill”. As the water moves, it picks sediments from the sides and 

bottom of the waterway or channel. Over time, this movement makes the 

channel to move deeper and wider as it carries the sediments down the 

stream. As it moves along the sediments scrape into the bottom of the 

river. This scraping action is what the poet calls “squatting” in Hill 

songs:

Dawn, and they creep uphill,

From the rate-free stream

Squatting with the town

In the stream the tilapia flies

Unregulated

… I am a leaf

Floating on a sea …. (30)

Similarly “Climate change” in Yawns and Belches, the power of the 

water to erode and wear out is also highlighted. Sometimes this water 

does a lot of damages to the places where people live. Rivers may not be 

able to carry away all the water gathered from a heavy downpour or from 

the melting snow and also rivers overflow and flood the land as can be 

seen from the poem. Floods can wash away the surrounding soil of a 

river and at times they carry even human beings; leading to the cause of 

the loss of many lives and putting the lives of many people in danger. 

Right from ancient times to this 21st century society, people have tried to 

control the damaging effects of flood in their areas. Ushie however 

captures his own view of the destructive effect of flood in the following 

words:

In the stretch of virgin forests and fertile minds, which mercantile 

greed

Balkanized into arrows and bows of mutual hate, we had prayed for 

cold

To calm the boiling tempers of the tropics, and for floods to cleanse

Them of the many seasons of blood of the innocent, crime and grin.  

(18) 

It is obvious that the effect of flood is welcomed and approved of by the 

poet. In this case, the flood does not only wash away the earth surface, it 

also cleanses the community of its accumulated evil deeds through the 

shedding of innocent blood and washing away of crimes and grime. In 

his own view, flood gets rid of pollutants from the environment and 

returns sanity and sanctity to the land. The poet goes further to describe 

of the actions of the cloud by articulating harmonious precipitated 

changes of the raining season. This is apparent in the poem “Rain 

season” in A Reign of Locusts where the poet's memory of the raining 

season is vividly captured thus:

When the sun goes on holidays

In the kingdom of the clouds

… We know it's time for the rains

… It's time for sullen moody days

… Time, too, for cleansing into sea

Dry season's arrears of sin

It's time for brisk-muscled winds to

Break tree trunks and brandish …

Time when chandeliers of flowers

Decorate the world of the forests

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especially in this era of globalization and global warming of the 21 

century society.     

 

Works Cited

Abrams, Donaldson et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 

Norton, 2009.

Abrams, Meyers. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Thomson Wadsworth, 

2005.

Alaimo, Stacy. Exposed: Environmental Politics and Pleasures in Post 

human Times. University of Minnesota Press\, 2016.

Asika, Ikechukwu. “That We May be Saved” Eco-critical Reading of 

Water Testament: An Anthology of Poems on Water and Water 

Related Issues.” ANSU Journal of Arts and Humanities, vol.1, 

no. 1, July 2014,pp. 118-127.

Asika, Ikechukwu & Akabuike, Ifeoma. Re-Kindling the Travails of the 

Past: The Dreams of the Poet in the Quest for National Integration 

and Global Reconciliation.” ANSU Journal of Language and 

Literary Studies,vol.1, no. 4,2017, pp. 145-156.

Chukwueloka, Christian and Asika, Ikechukwu. “Words as Bullets: 

Poetry as a Veritable Tool for Social Criticism and Reformation: A 

Study of Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo's Heart Songs and Waiting for 

Dawn.” African Research Review vol. 5, no 4. S/No. 21,  2011, pp. 

354-368. 

DeLoughrey, Elizabeth.Routes and Roots: Navigating Caribbean and 

Pacific Island Literature.  University of Hawai'i Press, 2007.

Egudu, Romanus. The Study of Poetry. University Press, 2007.

Gilroy, Paul. The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness. 

Mass Harvard University Press, 1993.

Jeremy, Chow; Brandi Bushman'Hydro-eroticism”, English Language 

Notes 1.   Harold Bloom, ed Norton, 57, 12019, 96-115.

Kramer, Roland. “Environmentalism and Eco criticism” Waugh P. (Ed) 

Literary Theory and Criticism. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature

Mimikou, M, Baltas, E, Tsihrintzis, V. Hydrology and Water Resource 

Systems  Analysis. CRC Press, 2016.

Ngwoke, Ome“Symbolic Water Imagery in the Drama of J.P Clark-

Bekederemo”. In African Research Review, vol. 11, no 1, 2017.

Nnolim, Charles “Water Testaments: Preliminary Remarks”. In 

Nigerian Literature Today: A Journal of Contemporary Writing. 

2010.

Okoye Chike and Asika, Ikechukwu. “Totems and Pantheons: 

Paradigmatic Muses in Achebe's Poetry.” Nile Journal of English 

Studies, vol 1, no 1, December, 2015, pp. 47-58.

Ushie, Joe. A Reign of Locusts.  Kraft Books Limited, 2018.

--- Eclipse in Rwanda. Kraft Books Limited, 2015.

--- Hill Songs.  Kraft Books Limited, 2018.

--- Lambs at the Shrine. Kraft Books Limited. 2018.

--- Popular Stand and Other Poems.  Kraft Books Limited, 2018.

--- (Ed). Tsunami Blues and Other Poems. Kraft Books Limited, 2018.

---Wienkiel, Laura.English Language Notes. Duke University Press, 

2019.

— Yawns and Belches.  Kraft Books Limited, 2018.

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Another area which the rain demonstrates is its destructive power in 

carrying away through flood of people's houses and property. On the 

other hand, being the planting and harvesting season as the poet 

observes, the season heralds the sowing of seed into the “womb of earth/ 

the seed against tomorrow”.  During this period, almost everything on 

earth goes green and regains its vitality and strength; even the 'rills and 

rivulets/ Regain lost weight' at this bountiful period of the year. Having 

totally submitted himself to the influence and control of the rain, the poet 

charges all to “thrill for free” over the course of nature. His poetry 

becomes a form of incantation to the raining season. 

Similarly in Lambs at the shrine, “Tropical rain”presents water as a 

cleansing agent and a source of hope for the living: 

… Fear not the balding trees

Nor our soil turning to stone;

It will surely rain again 

Where the dry season has overstayed.

… for, the tropics' seasonal downpour has

missed our land for too many seasons now

and dirts, oh, these dirt's breeding deaths,

have climbed higher than our healing hills

and no broom, however new, can do the task

……………………………….

Fear not the balding trees

Nor our soil turning to stone; 

It will surely rain here again

Where the dry season has overstayed …. (26)

The lines above presents rain as a sustainer, preserver and restorer of 

hope. The poet captures the land in despair because of a long period of 

drought. Having experienced a long period of drought, the trees are 

'balding' and have withered as a result of lack drought and the effects of 

the scorching sun. The soil itself becomes very dry, tauten and solid. The 

only thing that can ameliorate the situation is the coming of the rains 

which is long awaited and overdue because the land has been starved of 

food, nourishment and cleanliness. Lack of water, because of drought 

has made the land putrid thereby “breeding deaths”. No other form of 

cleaning agent can take away the stench in the land except the water in 

form of rain which is a cleaner. Here, the poet reiterates the cleansing and 

purifying potential of water. Water is thereforepresented as a symbol of 

purity, peace and harmony. The poet is optimistic for there is a ray of 

hope for the “balding trees”and the “soil turning stone” for it is certain 

that “it will surely rain again”. All hope is raised towards the raining 

season because it will surely make “the streets glitter again” and revive 

the entire dry land and trees back to life. From the tone of the poet, water 

restores both hope and life; even the “dead woods embrace sunrays 

again”. The poet is resolute in his beckoning on the rain for it is only by 

heralding the rain that his “heart knows peace”. As an advocate of 

environmental peace, the poet has a duty to speak hope and optimism in 

the land for he is so sure that “it will rain here again”.

Conclusion

Joe Ushie has clearly and consistently established himself as an eco-

conscious poet who is guided by his concern for nature, the 

environment, culture and postcolonial intrigues especially as it relates to 

his homeland, Nigeria and the world as a whole. Using the aesthetics of 

figurative language of imagery and symbolism of water bodies, the poet 

is able to establish the link between his poetry and his place of birth in 

order to express the effects of nature on him and the environment; by 

bringing out the ambivalent quality and nature of water which serves as 

both constructive and destructive element. These features affect his 

emotions and feelings and at the same time the poet uses them to pass 

valid messages to his readers about environmental degradation. The end 

result of environmental poetry, is not just for aesthetics, it assists and 

serves in creating awareness and in building a sustainable society 

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Christianity, Islamism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism etc; these 

religions all point to the same Supreme Being, and the common teaching 

of all religions is the golden rule:  treat others as you would want to be 

treated yourself (Melanie Pinola, Seven Important Lessons from World 

Religion Everyone Should Know) yet they engage in murderous 

religious bickering.

Since culture is people's way of life; other people's culture is other 

people's way of same life therefore it should be admired and respected. It 

is mere lack of wisdom that causes cultural discord since there is only 

one absolute truth and this truth is at the nucleus of philosophies, arts, 

civilization, ethos, music, and literature of the whole universe. All these 

have their meeting points at the absolute truth. Emeka Nwabueze 

confirms that “culture no doubt may vary but that is only at the 

peripheral (or marginal) level; the underlying principle that establishes 

every society is similar, if not the same” (9). It is only wisdom that can 

make one understand this. Therefore, at the background of all cultural 

discords, are material interests, greed, and hunger for superiority. A wise 

man needs not think that another people's culture is inferior. In food 

consumption for instance; people eat the kind of food that grows in their 

soil. Everybody should know that feeding is feeding; it does not matter 

the kind of food one eats or when one eats it. American food is not 

superior to Nigerian food if both serve the same purpose – to quench 

hunger and nourish the body. A wise man only admires and respects 

other people and tolerates (or corrects in a peaceful way) the aspect he 

fails to understand or do not synchronize with his own. People are 

expected to be open minded toward other people's cultures and by 

respecting them one is at the same time respecting the owner of such 

culture. But most of the time what is seen is bloated ego caused by the 

feeling that other people's culture is inferior.

However, the main essence of culture is to unite people through the same 

cultural values such as beliefs, traditions, and expectations. Scholars 

classify culture in different ways, but the basic types of culture are 

material culture; which include physical things created by the society 

and non-material; culture which include intangible things produced by 

the society. In Igbo land for instance, examples are social roles, ethics, 

beliefs, and language. Other scholars hold that there are other ways of 

classifying culture; such as: high culture, popular, and subculture. 

Ifeoma Nwosu Okeke is of the view that:

High culture…usually refers to cultural creations that have a 

particular high status…Regarded by arbiters of cultural taste as 

epitome of the highest level of human creativity. It is usually of 

high sophistication… popular culture comprises those cultural 

creations and activities that are shared mostly by the masses. It 

refers to the unsophisticated… sub-culture refers to culture within 

another culture (261-262).

When two groups, whose members are culturally diverse meet, they 

need to adopt a common set of social norms and conventions. This may 

involve people of different cultures including different religious groups, 

traditional values or people of different national origins who have 

different ways of interpreting the world. This type of international 

experience is called inter culture. Again, every society has her prevailing 

culture, therefore, a visitor or a minor group must balance his culture 

with the already existing culture of the society socially and 

psychologically, this is acculturation. Acculturation as a process of 

social, psychological and cultural change that stems from balancing of 

two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society in 

which an individual adopts, acquires, and adjusts to a new cultural 

environment (Acculturation, Wikipedia). In this view it is expected that 

in acculturation individuals from dissimilar beliefs are obliged to 

integrate themselves into a novel or more prevalent culture by engaging 

in the aspect of that more dominant culture, such as their customs and 

rituals but still hold onto their original cultural values and traditions.

As custodians (people who take it upon themselves to preserve the 

general ways of their peoples' lives by exploiting them in their creative 

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