Keepers of Food and Directors of Water

On the Roots of World Religions

Ray Doraisamy
October 14, 2024

Visiting medieval Hindu temples, I was struck by how many of them involved large public wells and grain silos.

It reminded me of the word “Lord”.

Old English hlāford < hlāfweard, a compound of hlāf (“bread”) + weard (“guardian”); see loaf and ward.

And Bali’s irrigation system, gated by temples.

China’s close association between irrigation and the Mandate of Heaven.

The iron age Israelite temple at Tel Moza gives us additional clues about the beginnings of Abrahamic religion.

Among them, the prominence of a granary.

The control of the distribution of food and water remains paramount to the formation of temples.