Anomabo residents defecate along beaches to pacify gods
About 70 yards from the landing beach, there is a modern 10-seater water closet facility constructed for the fisher folk by the Mfantsiman Municipal Assembly. But they are not interested. And why should they be? Their gods would be angry with them if they do not defecate on the beach.
“Two of the gods in this town - Ekitsaba and Obosantsi, demand that we defecate on the beaches,” 28-year-old Akomea Sekyi, a fisherman, told the Daily Graphic. “You see, they use the faeces to produce fish for us. Any time we stop defecating they get angry and our catch is very low. What is worse, they kill."
A few years ago, some employees of Zoomlion used to clean the beach. One of their supervisors gave an edict that no one should defecate on the beach. We made him aware of the consequences of that decree, but he ignored us. We complied. But a few days later the gods got angry and killed that Zoomlion supervisor. In fact, a few minutes before he died, he intimated that one of the gods appeared in the form of a human being and attacked him.
“In the past seven years, Obosantsi alone has killed three people for trying to stop the practice. So as for defecating on the beach, we cannot stop,” he said shamelessly.
The Deputy Apofohen (Deputy Chief Fisherman) at Anomabo, Mr Thompson Enninful, confirmed that the gods liked faeces and demanded it from them. However, he said, the fisher folk had been directed to defecate only at designated places at the beach where the gods were known to operate.
“We have erected a red flag at some places to show that defecating at those places is unacceptable, but people will just not comply,” he said.
Asked why the fisher folk declined to use the 10-seater toilet facility, he said they could not afford to pay the 50 pesewas charged and also because the facility closed at 10 p.m. and opened at 5.30 am.
“Even if we had the money, what happens when someone wants to use the facility after 10 p.m.,” he asked.
But the caretaker of the toilet, Mr Eric Kwesi Biney, told the Daily Graphic that the fisher folk would not use the facility even if it was opened for 24 hours every day.
He, however, said the facility could not be opened for 24 hours because as a caretaker, he had to make way for the gods to use the facility, adding that they (the gods) used the toilet from 11.30 p.m to 3a.m.
“At about midnight on a certain day, as caretaker, I visited the facility. There was nobody here, I was alone. Suddenly one of the gods emerged in the shape of a woman and warned me never to come to the facility at midnight. The god explained that they used the facility from 11.30pm to 3 a.m,” he said.
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About 70 yards from the landing beach, there is a modern 10-seater water closet facility constructed for the fisher folk by the Mfantsiman Municipal Assembly. But they are not interested. And why should they be? Their gods would be angry with them if they do not defecate on the beach.
“Two of the gods in this town - Ekitsaba and Obosantsi, demand that we defecate on the beaches,” 28-year-old Akomea Sekyi, a fisherman, told the Daily Graphic. “You see, they use the faeces to produce fish for us. Any time we stop defecating they get angry and our catch is very low. What is worse, they kill."
A few years ago, some employees of Zoomlion used to clean the beach. One of their supervisors gave an edict that no one should defecate on the beach. We made him aware of the consequences of that decree, but he ignored us. We complied. But a few days later the gods got angry and killed that Zoomlion supervisor. In fact, a few minutes before he died, he intimated that one of the gods appeared in the form of a human being and attacked him.
“In the past seven years, Obosantsi alone has killed three people for trying to stop the practice. So as for defecating on the beach, we cannot stop,” he said shamelessly.
The Deputy Apofohen (Deputy Chief Fisherman) at Anomabo, Mr Thompson Enninful, confirmed that the gods liked faeces and demanded it from them. However, he said, the fisher folk had been directed to defecate only at designated places at the beach where the gods were known to operate.
“We have erected a red flag at some places to show that defecating at those places is unacceptable, but people will just not comply,” he said.
Asked why the fisher folk declined to use the 10-seater toilet facility, he said they could not afford to pay the 50 pesewas charged and also because the facility closed at 10 p.m. and opened at 5.30 am.
“Even if we had the money, what happens when someone wants to use the facility after 10 p.m.,” he asked.
But the caretaker of the toilet, Mr Eric Kwesi Biney, told the Daily Graphic that the fisher folk would not use the facility even if it was opened for 24 hours every day.
He, however, said the facility could not be opened for 24 hours because as a caretaker, he had to make way for the gods to use the facility, adding that they (the gods) used the toilet from 11.30 p.m to 3a.m.
“At about midnight on a certain day, as caretaker, I visited the facility. There was nobody here, I was alone. Suddenly one of the gods emerged in the shape of a woman and warned me never to come to the facility at midnight. The god explained that they used the facility from 11.30pm to 3 a.m,” he said.
more
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/artikel.php?ID=326597#
