Offinso traditional council performs rituals to pacify river god

The Offinso Traditional Council has performed a ritual to pacify the Offin River god on behalf of some NPP youth group who called its name to invoke curses on their leaders.

The chiefs, led by Nana Kwaku Wiafe, chief linguist of the traditional area, gathered on the banks of the river and slaughtered a male sheep and fowls to the river god to prevent a possible calamity in the area as a result of the action of the youth.

It would be recalled that some aggrieved NPP youth in the Offinso South constituency went to the Offin River with fowls and schnapps to invoke curses on some of their leaders whom they accused of trying to manipulate the process to disqualify their preferred candidates in the up-coming constituency primaries.

The Offinso traditional council after hearing the act, traditionally arrested the perpetrators and summoned them before the palace of the paramount chief to answer some charges.

Among the charges were going to the river god without passing through the right process and not seeking permission, calling other river gods whilst they were inside river Offin, wrong choice of words and insult to the river as well as insulting the people of Offinso as prostitutes.

The youth accepted the charges and ran to Nana Boakye Yam Ababio, the Nkwantakesehene to intercede on their behalf.

They were fined and ordered to bring 24 sheep, one box of schnapps, six crates of eggs and six fowls.

They were however, ordered by the chiefs to bring at least two sheep, three fowls, three crates of eggs and a box of schnapps following the intervention of Nana Boakye Yam.

The chiefs after receiving the items went to the river to perform the rituals as demanded by custom and traditions of the area.

Nana KwaKu Wiafe, the Chief Linguist, after the process, explained to the Ghana News Agency that the rituals were performed to reverse the curses and also pacify the river god to prevent a possible outbreak of a calamity in the area.

He said the traditional council was happy that everything went on successfully indicating that, the gods had accepted the pacification.

Nana Wiafe appealed to the youth never to joke with gods, since their power and wrath could be deadly.

He pointed out that the chiefs were now going to sit down to determine the type of punishment to be given to the offenders.

Mr Akwasi Adu Gyamfi, who led the group to invoke the curses, expressed remorse for their action, saying they did that out of anger and thanked the chiefs for the intervention.