Residents of the Bono East Region hold cultural beliefs that prevent them from consuming fish from certain rivers.
Maa Tiwaa, a native of Tanoso, in a recent interview with a blogger, Fanta Blaq, indicated that the fish in the Tano River are considered sacred and are likened to human beings.
This belief, she said, is rooted in the notion that the river god, Kwadwo Tano, regards the fish as children, making it a taboo to eat them.
“All the fish in the river are regarded as human beings, so we don’t eat fish from the Tano River. We bathe in the river. It is highly regarded in
community, We don’t joke with this river body at all,” she explained.
She further indicated that local traditions also dictate various practices surrounding the river.
For instance, women, she said, are prohibited from approaching the river during their menstrual periods, and individuals must not enter the water wearing footwear as a sign of respect.
It is also said that palm fruits are disliked by the river god, further underscoring the community’s reverence for this body of water.
“The river god was close to a goat, which many regarded as its friend. When the river god directed its last child to go to Techiman, the goat informed another child of this development. So, the river god instructed the last child to move to another area, Nsubea.
“In our childhood days, we used to bathe in the river. Women in their menstrual period are not supposed to go near it. One can’t enter the river with footwear. It also does not like palm fruits,” she stated.
The river, which is one of the major water bodies polluted by illegal mining activities, popularly referred to as galamsey, flows for 400 kilometres from a town called Traa, a suburb of Techiman, the capital town of the Bono East Region, to Ehy Lagoon, Tendo Lagoon, and finally Aby Lagoon in Ivory Coast, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean.
The water body is not merely a source of water; it is a significant spiritual entity, and the people hold it in deep respect, refusing to joke about or take lightly the customs associated with it.
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Source: www.ghanaweb.com
