Watch as Takoradi mourners bathe dead body in river as ritual for ‘water spirit child’

A disturbing video has surfaced on social media showing mourners in Takoradi performing traditional rites in a stream for a deceased child believed to have been “given by a water spirit.”

The viral footage captures a group of men and women carrying a coffin to a riverside, where the coffin was bathed as part of final funeral rituals.

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The mourners could be seen lowering the coffin into the river and performing various rites in accordance with what they described as long-standing traditional customs.

According to community members, the child was considered a “water spirit child,” and tradition required that the body be washed in the river before burial.

One observer, who spoke off-camera, explained, “This is a tradition. The deceased is the child of the river, so they have to bathe the body in the river before we bury it. If you haven’t seen this before, this is it.”

Reports indicate that the ritual was performed to honour the spiritual origins of the child, whom the community believed was sent by the river deity.

Watch the video below

Mourners performed traditional rites in a stream somewhere in Takoradi for the deceàsed, whom they believe was a ch!ld given by the water spirit. pic.twitter.com/efuyJc2x4c

— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) November 30, 2025

A disturbing video captures the moment a group of people transported a coffin to a riverside to perform what they described as final rituals. It is believed that the deceased was considered a river spirit or water-related entity. pic.twitter.com/prhOM7kh4a

— THE STATE NEWS (@THESTATENEWSS) November 30, 2025

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