The Office of the Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse says customary rites performed on Saturday, March 30, for a minor and the 63-year-old Nuumo Borketey Laweh XXXIII, Gborbu Wulomo, are for her marriage to the Gborbu deity.
It said the rites were to enable the girl to assume the role of Naa Yoomo Aywomode, one of the four traditional and religious wives of the Gborbu deity.
“We would like to emphasise that there is no carnal relationship or marriage involved as perceived by many.
“It has become necessary that the Office of the Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse set the record straight on the matters arising concerning the customary and traditional rites performed over the weekend ..,” a statement signed by Rev. D. N. Gyasi Ankrah, Director of Administrations, Office of the Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse, said.
The ceremony, perceived by many as marriage to the 63-year-old, took place on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Nungua, a suburb of Accra, and has since been condemned by government agencies, international organisations, the local and international media.
The statement stressed that, the marriage was to the deity and that the responsibilities of the minor would be to act as a mother to all the priests and priestesses in Nungua.
During festivals, she would carry the corn wine to the festival grounds for praises and thanksgiving to be offered to God Almighty and also clean and perform ablution for the Gborbu temple during the annual Kplejoo Homowo Festival.
Again, she would be expected to feed all deities at the cardinals of the Meridian Rock, which is at the centre of the Earth and situated at Nungua and be responsible for the Aywemoede and Shade deities, duties solely for a virgin.
The statement said the items presented on Saturday were not the usual items presented during marriage rites between a male and a female, and that they were to aid the girl in her traditional duties.
Narrating how the 12-year-old was chosen to perform that role, Rev. Ankrah said the Naa Yoomo Ahwemoede seat had been vacant for the past 300 years after the demise of the former occupant.
He said spiritual consultations were made and the mantle fell on the minor, who was prophesied to play that role before her birth.
Rev. Ankrah said the Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse was a law-abiding citizen and would not attempt to violate the constitution of the republic, which he had defended over the years.
