12 things you didn’t know about ‘reincarnated’ 12-year-old Gborbu bride
Many are born, wander in the world, and die oblivious of their purpose.
But others have their destinies carved out even before the waters of their mothers break.
Very few find themselves in the league of the latter.
Like the famous play, The Gods Are Not To Blame, where a soothsayer foretold the birth and fate of Odewale, so we are told by the traditional authorities of Nungua, one of the major blocks of the GaDangme State, that there was a prophecy many years ago that a girl will be born in this era to carry the mantle of a great queen and priestess who died some 300 years ago.
With speed, 12-year-old Naa Okromo has been ushered into a union without any qualms by her parents at a tender age with Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, the Gborbu Wulomo, resulting in a great controversy pitting tradition against modernity and common law.
Custodians of the traditional African religion believe the ceremony to lead Naa Okromo into the big shoes of her great predecessor, taking a new title as Naa Yoomo Aywemuede, is a marriage to their powerful Gborbu deity.
However, civil society organisations, activists, state institutions and legal brains are convinced that what happened on Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Nungua, was child marriage to the 63-year-old Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse, the high priest (spiritual head) and the Overlord of the GaDangme State, a violation of Ghana’s laws.
Information gathered indicates that Naa Okromo’s diligence and purity as a virgin and her lineage set her apart as the chosen one for the Gborbu deity.
As the debate roars with an avalanche of widespread condemnations, the public continues to ponder about the “wonder child” and her significance to the GaDangme State.
The Ghana Report has gathered information from the Nungua Traditional Council, chiefs and custodians who are familiar with the matter and brings you some interesting revelations about Naa Yoomo Aywemuede:
- She performs special rituals to usher Kplejoo Homowo celebrations.
Kplejoo is traditionally celebrated as a forerunner to the annual Homowo festival, which is celebrated by Ga lineages in the Greater Accra Region.
During this festival, various rites are performed in honour of the gods and prayers are offered for a bountiful food and fish harvest.
- She is a reincarnated being
According to the Director of Administration at the Office of the Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse, Rev. Dr. Daniel Nii Gyasi Ankrah, Naa Yoomo Aywemuede is a reincarnated being from centuries ago.
He explained that after the demise of the former occupant over 300 years ago, it is now the young lady’s turn.
He said it was prophesied before the birth of Naa Okromo to take up the mantle of Naa Yoomo Aywemoede.
- She doesn’t have a normal life
Responding to a question about Naa Okromo’s life, Rev. Dr Ankrah revealed that “she has no friends because she accepts and understands that the task ahead of her does not permit her to have a normal child upbringing. It is part of being royal.”
- She is a student and will continue to pursue education to the peak
The Nungua Traditional Council explains that Naa Yoomo Aywemuede needs to be enlightened and highly educated to lead with wisdom.
Hence, the recent rites performed will not curtail or hinder her from being in the classroom for formal education.
“Naa Yoomo attends one of the best private schools in Nungua. She has a chauffeur that takes her to school and brings her home. She’s been attended to,” he said.
- She was in her mother’s womb for two years
Nungua historians recount the pregnancy of the mother of Naa Yoomo Aywemued, whiche lasted for two years.
It was after Gborbu diety consultations and special rites before she was delivered.
- She walked after two years without crawling
“……And when she was even born, she sat. She wasn’t crawling, and she wasn’t walking for another two years. It was after the divine intervention of the gods of Nungua that she stood up immediately after the end of the ritual done for her. She stood up and started walking,” history from the Gborbu Palace claims.
- She is married to the Gborbu diety and not the Gborbu Wulomo
Again, custodians of the Nungua tradition have elaborated that Naa Yomo Aywemuede is married to the Gborbu diety (spirit), not the 63-year-old Gborbu Wulomo.
“The deity called Gborbu is spirit, but it has its symbol, a personality, which is the Gborbu Wulormo. So, Gborbu, the spirit, is not the same as the Wulormo. The deity has possessed somebody, and once the deity has possessed somebody in the Ga language, we say ‘ewue yo’, to wit, Gborbu has taken a wife for itself; it is the deity”.
- Naa Yoomo Aywemuede cannot marry any other man
Although priestesses of other deities can marry their preferred spouses who are not traditional priests and have children, Naa Yoomo Aywemuede is bound solely to the deity and can bear children for the Gborbu Wulomo but no other man.
- She is a royal from a lineage who serve the Gborbu deity.
The Nungua chiefs and elders state that Naa Yoomo Aywemuede is one of four roles played by indigenes of Nungua of particular heritage and ancestry from time immemorial.
The title Naa Yoomo Naa Yoomo Aywemuede goes with the appellation ‘Wo Dokum Yoo’, which goes far back in centuries.
- She is the mother of all the priestesses of the Ga-Dangbe land
According to the Nungua leaders, Naa Yoomo Aywemuede is the mother of all priestesses of the Ga-Dangbe land. Also, she serves as the head of all queenmothers.
- Aside from the Gborbu deity, she is also responsible for the Aywenuede and Shade deities.
As per traditional customs, Naa Yoomo Aywemuede is responsible for cleaning and ablution of the Gborbu Temple during the annual Kplejoo Homowo Festival and for the Aywemoede deity and Shade deity, which are purely performed by a virgin.
- She started performing her duties at age 6
“As we have indicated, for the past six years, she has been performing this particular rite, and for that matter, we have the elderly within the community that take good care of her,” the spokesperson for the Gborbu Palace emphasised.