Greetings, cececree.

Here are my theories on the song "Wade in the Water":

"Wade in the water" is an African American spiritual [Negro spiritual] that dates from at least the mid 19th century. This song was probably composed by more than one person. As is the case with other folk songs, the composers are unnamed and unknowable.

"Wade In The Water" was probably sung in the call & response patterns that are common to many Africans, African Americans, and other people of the African Diaspora.This religious song is made up of a refrain and floating verses [meaning verses that can be, probably were, and are still used in other spirituals].

It has become popular to describe "Wade In The Water" as a religious song that had an underlying practical use. The commonly held theory is that the "wade in the water" lyrics were a coded lesson for slaves as to how they could avoid capture when and if they ran away {i.e. if they walked in the water then the dogs and men chasing them would lose their scent}.

See http://www.negrospirituals.com/history.htm for this explanation.

However, I think that explanation-and the explanation of other
so-called coded "Negro" spirituals such as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and "Train A-Comin" are far too simplistic to me. As I have written on other Mudcat threads, though these songs may have been used sometimes as coded signals that a slave was preparing to run away, how many times could they have been sung and another slave disappeared before the massa and missus noticed the connection?

Not to mention that there were always snitches [house slaves or field] so it seems unlikely that no Black person ever told his or her "master" the secret meaning of these songs.

I believe that "Negro" spirituals probably more often than not were sung for their both their spiritual messages and the comfort they provided. At least after emancipation if not before, "Wade In The Water" was sung by church members as part of outdoor water immersion baptisms. And baptisms are occassion in which this song is still sung by some African Americans [if not others].

Water immersion and the spiritual power of water is very much a part of traditional West African religions. Different colors were also used in traditional West African religious practices to represent and distinquish one diety and his/her followers from another.

Therefore it seems to me that the references to colors in these often quoted Wade In The Water verses have more significance than just rhymes:

See that host all dressed in white
God's a-going to trouble the water
The leader looks like the Israelite
God's a-going to trouble the water

See that band all dressed in red
God's a-going to trouble the water
Looks like the band that Moses led
God's a-going to trouble the water

-snip-

Click http://www.wemba-music.org/orisha.htm
to read about the color symbolism used by the Yoruba {Nigeria}orishas {dieties/forces of nature}.

---

River dieties are very central to Akan {Ghana, West Africa}religions. See this excerpt from an online article about Akan religious beliefs:

" Earlier traditional beliefs also held that the future child, who is already formed from the blood, Mogya, of it's mother's family and endowed with the Ntro, spirit of its father, is led by an akragya to Nyame. The akragya, or Kra progenitors, are seven planetary deities who assist the Supreme Being. A golden bath is brought in, which the akragya bathes the child by pouring water over it. Nyame then utters the Nkrabea, the message of destiny, then lets fall a sparkling drop of water from an adwera leaf into the child's mouth, which is very similar to an African naming ceremony.

This is the "water of life", nkwan suo, which is believed to contain a living image of Nyame, like the figure of a person in a mirror. The water then penetrates the whole body of the child until it is filled with Honhom (divine breath) and wakes up alive. Before the child leaves Nyame, it is given the Hybea or the command to perfect and complete its Kra. Because only a pure and unsullied Kra, consisting entirely of goodness, can become one again with the Supreme Being, otherwise it must be reincarnated."
Source: Akan religion

-snip-

The Christian practice of baptism [as represented by John the Baptist and Jesus]thus merged very well with traditional African practices and beliefs. Lyrics in African American spirituals that refer to crossing a river may symbolize moving from one "state of being" to another {from "un-saved"-a non-believer/not a member of the church-to "saved", meaning a believer/a member of the church} But a higher {more traditional African} meaning of baptism meant that a person was receiving some of the spiritual power inherent in the water..and symbolized that that person was newly born.

Lyrics in African American spirituals that speak of "crossing a river" also meant moving from earthly existence to life after death. The Jordan river also symbolized the Ohio river which led to the free states. The "Jordan river" then could have both a religious meaning and a secular meaning {"moving" from life as an enslaved person to life as a free person}.

If you don't believe I've been redeemed
God's a-going to trouble the water
Just follow me down to the Jordan's stream
God's a-going to trouble the water

-snip-

Cececree, I encourage you to take what I have written as thoughts in rough draft form. I'm interested in hearing your and other thoughts about these theories.

Best wishes,

Azizi