residents begging angry crocodile to allow them fetch water
A video of a traditional leader performing rituals to beg a crocodile deity to allow them to fetch water from a water body has gone viral on the internet.
In the video, the priestess clad in plain white cloth spoke Nzema indicating that the residents are Nzemas from the Western Region of Ghana.
Some residents had gathered at the river bank while the priestess communicated to the crocodile deity. After singing the appellation of the deity and pleading on behalf of the community members, the priestess threw six fresh eggs to the crocodile.
Briefly, after doing that, the crocodile began to move back into the water body. The priestess was given a live fowl by a man who served as a linguist also clad in white to be given to the crocodile deity.
The priestess began fresh incantation and begged the crocodile deity to accept the fowl and allow the villagers to fetch water from the water body.
While the priestess continued to plead, the residents present were also begging while others murmured. They shouted, “Nana, we beg you, accept it and have mercy on us.”
The priestess then threw the fowl to the crocodile. It caught the fowl and went back - making way for the people to fetch water. The people rejoiced and thanked the deity for accepting their sacrifice.
Comments shared by internet users indicate that the ritual was to ensure that residents are not attacked by the crocodile when they go to fetch water and also to prevent the water body from drying up.
Similar beliefs and rituals are upheld in many communities in Ghana. For instance, among most Akan groups, Tuesdays and Fridays are observed as sacred days. On such days, farmers and fishermen are asked not to visit their farms or fish. It is believed that, during the period, the gods roam the community to feed.
Aside from the spiritual connotation of such practices, it is believed that they are also techniques that were employed to safeguard and protect the environment.
Here is a video of residents begging the crocodile deity
Traditional leaders performed ritual to calm down angry crocodile in Nzema,Western Region to allow residents fetch water. pic.twitter.com/OZOLaMMMyb
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