River Daugava, Riga, Latvia

The International School of Riga, located in the city of Riga in the country of Latvia, participated in World Rivers.

 Seventeen students from Grade 2 dipping white fabric in the River Daugava.

The Daugava originate from the Valdai Hills in West Russia (where it is known as the Western Dvina.) The river travels Belarus before arriving in Latvia and emptying into the Gulf of Riga. 

The Dagava runs through the middle of the city of RIga with the Old Town on the East bank.

Riga, the capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states. Above is Riga’s skyline circa 1920s. Below is a close up of one of many of the canals, early 20th century, that service the population.

Riga was founded in 1201 a and The Daugava has been a major provider of drinking water and  transportation, and more recently three hydroelectric dams – with another controversial one planned.

Below are vintage postcards of the city of Riga.

A 1650 drawing od Riga by Johann Christoph Brotze and a woodcut from 1575 are antique artworks. Vintage photos show a view transportation on the river in the 20th century and a frozen river with people crossing. Lastly, an ancient map.

Nam Mae Kok, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Mae Nam Kok, or The Kok River, is a major tributary flowing through northern Thailand into the Mekong River.

6th Grade students, from the Lanna International School in Chiang Mai Thailand, took an adventure to the river’s edge to dip cloth. Students learn about their region’s ecosystem and the life it sustains.

The Mae Nam Kok emerges from the hills of Burma’s Shan State at Tha Ton and then winds across the wooded hills of Chiang Rai Province to empty into the Mekong River just south of Chiang Saen town.

 1955 friends on the Mae Kok RIver

1966 flooding of the Mae Kok River:

Wainui River, Tata Beach, New Zealand

The Wainui River and Wainui Falls are located on the South Island of New Zealand in the Southwest the Tasman region. The river is short, but powerful. 

Part time New Zealand resident, Heidi Hough, traveled the Hummingbird Highway and hiked to along the river and to the falls.

The water source are are close to the Abel Tasman National Park, a native forest of nikau palms, rata trees and ferns. The habitate has attracted naturalists for centuries.

The rivers courses through dense bush and a narrow gorge to eventually to the 66 ft tall Wainui Falls. The Wainui Inland Track follows and the river for several miles and climbs a rapid height to view the falls.

The Wainui River deposits into the salt marshes of Golden Bay, named for the gold discovered in 1857.

From the earliest times to the present day, flax has been plentiful in Golden Bay. For the Māori it was essential to daily life, used to make clothing and rope. By the 1840’s several flax mills operated in area of Collingwood, providing work for the Māori, but closed around WWI.

The location surrounding the Wainui River also attracted the industries of gold mining, coal extraction, and logging in the mid 19th century and continued strong until the 1970s.

Kaveri and Kabini Rivers, Karnataka, India

The Kaveri RIver and Kabini Rivers in south western India are both considered sacred rivers.The rivers are fed by different rivers and flow eastward and merge in Tirumakudalu Narasipura, in the Indian state of Karnataka.  

Kitty Schulz, an annual ashram resident, creative, and arobatic performer, dipped a two pieces of cloth, one in each river. A Small scarf with red stripe was dipped in Kaveri RIver in Nanjanagudu, a town in the Mysore district famous for Srikanteshwara Temple. Segregated washing, ladies in the front and men to the rear washing away of sins at Gosai Ghat.
The ritual of bathing in a holy river is admired for the enduring devotion and tradition.
A women lovingly washes her husband’s back.This is the location where a large piece of cloth was retrieved from the rocks to dip into the Kabini River. Tiny beauty combing her hair on the steps (ghats) leading down to the river.

The larger scarf, found floating in the water early, was dipped where the two rivers merge at Tirumakudalu Narasipura

The fabric resembles the dhotis, the cloth men wear into the river. The temple priests, and other Brahmins, often wear white dhotis with golden embroidery around the edges. Priest chanting and men bathing beside a “temple,” a stone pole in the middle of the river. On top, is a sacred statue of the Nandi, the bull guarding the abode of Lord Shiva.

The men are freshly shaven, most likely the haircut is part of purification ritual which includes bathing in the river and often scattering ashes of a cremated relative. 

The holy confluence ofthe Kaveri RIver and Kabini Rivers is a national attraction where the Hindu pilgrimage, Kumbhamela, takes place.


HEADLINES: The 125 year Kaveri River water dispute,  Soon, We May Not Have a Cauvery River to Fight Over