The Tsawe Wulormor of Kpone, Nuumo Tsawe Otrome II, has rejected suggestions that Ghana’s traditional deities have abandoned rivers, lagoons and the sea because of increasing pollution.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, the traditional priest said deities, according to Ghanaian traditional belief, remain permanently in the places they inhabit regardless of the extent of environmental degradation caused by human activity.

He explained that once a deity establishes its presence in a particular location, it remains there indefinitely and does not relocate because of pollution or other human actions.

Nuumo Tsawe Otrome II described the sea as one of the most revered deities in Ghana’s traditional cosmology, noting that it shares a deep spiritual connection with many other deities across the country.

According to him, the sea was created to cleanse spiritual impurities rather than serve as a dumping site for refuse such as plastics, rubber and other forms of waste.

He argued that this is why debris dumped into the sea is often washed back onto shore, insisting that the sea was never intended to absorb physical waste.

The traditional priest blamed the worsening state of Ghana’s beaches and water bodies on the gradual erosion of cultural values and the growing disregard for customs that once protected the environment.

He noted that many sacred forests, groves and water bodies that communities previously preserved through traditional beliefs have now been encroached upon or destroyed.

Nuumo Tsawe Otrome II stressed that traditional deities should not be viewed solely as forces of punishment, describing them instead as patient guardians that tolerate human excesses for a time.

He, however, warned that continued disrespect for nature and sacred places could eventually result in consequences, pointing to recurring floods and other environmental disasters as signs that nature ultimately responds to human actions.

His remarks come amid growing concerns over illegal mining, deforestation, pollution of rivers and beaches, and persistent flooding across parts of Ghana, all of which have renewed conversations about environmental stewardship and the role of traditional values in protecting the country’s natural resources.