Tema-Ghana, July 31, – The Tema Canoe Owners Association at Tema Canoe Beach has disclosed that they have been informed by the traditional priests and priestesses of Tema Manhean that there is a need to perform purification rights at the sea.
This comes in the wake of the deaths of two fishermen who died at sea when they, together with ten colleagues, had their canoe capsize on Thursday when they went on a Homowo festival customs fishing expedition.
The circumstances leading to the death have been conflicting, as the fishermen claimed a Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) patrol boat was used to hit their canoe, leading to its capsizing and subsequent death, an assertion GPHA management has denied.
Nii Adjeiteh Kwei, the Chairman of the Tema Canoe Owners Association, disclosed this when the Tema Metropolitan Security Council (MESEC) met with the leadership of the canoe beach on Thursday to commiserate with them and announce measures put in place to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident.
Nii Kwei, who is also the National Vice President of the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), said since the people of Tema were in their Homowo festive period, it was taboo for any death to occur in the town; therefore, the incident has spiritually dented the town and the celebrations, therefore the need for purification.
“Homowo is our festival, and therefore we have the right to celebrate it. They have dirtied the sea and town with what they have done, so there is a need for purification, and doing so required a lot of things,” he said.
He said they do not understand why such an incident must occur, especially when they have already informed the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture about the fishing expedition ritual during the closed season.
He said for the people Tema were performing that ritual called “ꬼshↄbulemↄ’ every Homowo annually as inherited from their ancestors before the introduction of the closed season, therefore harassing them to the extent of some of the fishermen dyeing was unacceptable.
Nii Odametey II and Nii Mattor, the chief fishermen for Awudum and Ashamang, respectively, expressed worry at the incident, saying it was unfortunate that after the GPHA had taken over all their coast, leaving them with limited places to fish, they were also not respecting their culture.
They called for a thorough investigation into the issue, and the perpetrators were duly punished to curtail such an occurrence again, adding that as law-abiding citizens, they strictly obeyed the closed season directive, noting however that the festival expedition was not negotiable, a stand they informed the Ministry of ahead of time.
