Traditional Priest Says Ghana’s Deities Have Not Abandoned Polluted Rivers and Seas

His Eminence Nuumo Tsawe Otrome II, Tsawe Wulormor of Kpone, has dismissed claims that pollution and environmental degradation have forced traditional deities to abandon Ghana’s rivers, lagoons and seas.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z with arts and culture journalist Kwame Dadzie, the revered traditional priest explained that, according to Ghanaian traditional cosmology, deities remain in their designated places forever, regardless of human activities or the condition of the environment.

He stressed that once a deity chooses a place of abode, it remains there permanently.

According to him, the sea is one of the most powerful deities in Ghana’s traditional belief system and maintains spiritual connections with many other deities. He noted that the sea was created to cleanse spiritual impurity, not to serve as a dumping site for plastic waste, rubber and other pollutants.

“The sea was created to wipe away spiritual dirt, not the physical waste that people dump into it. When people throw such waste into the sea, it returns it because that is not its purpose,” he said.

Nuumo Tsawe Otrome II blamed the worsening pollution of beaches, rivers and other water bodies on the gradual erosion of Ghana’s traditional values and cultural respect for nature.

He emphasised that humans and nature are inseparable, saying communities once protected sacred forests, groves and lands, but many of these sites have now been encroached upon and desecrated.

The traditional priest also rejected the belief that deities exist only to punish people, describing them as patient and tolerant. However, he warned that persistent abuse of nature and sacred sites could eventually lead to consequences such as destructive flooding, which he believes serves as a reminder that the deities are still present.

His remarks come as Ghana continues to battle the effects of illegal mining, deforestation, polluted rivers and recurring floods, issues that have reignited discussions about environmental protection and the role of traditional cultural values in safeguarding the country’s natural resources.