Lack of virgins frustrate Dipo Rites; girls who had sex without abortion now considered

The annual Dipo Rites of the Ga-Adangbe people in Dodowa is facing a major setback due to a lack of virgins nowadays.

The Dipo rites, which is a puberty rite of passage for girls, require them to be virgins before going through the process.

However, with the scarcity of virgins in the community, the mothers have decided to allow ladies or women who have had sexual intercourse but haven't aborted a baby to go through the process.

This development has raised concerns among the Ga-Adangbe people as it is unacceptable for non-virgins to participate in the Dipo rites.

Mrs Lydia Amihere, a TV producer at Obonu FM expressed her worries about the situation, asking, "What are we doing? What are we going to do about it? Are we imposing death on our children - especially the girl child, regarding our tradition?"

The Dipo rites, according to her, is a tradition that teaches girls how to treat their husbands, cater for themselves, and even how to handle menstruation, especially for those who have not experienced it before going through the process.

She noted that the girls are also taught about the ethics of the Ga-Adangbe and Ga culture. The duration of the process varies, depending on the clan or traditional area. Some take seven days, while others take two weeks.

The girls are also taught about sex and how to go about it with a man, but only after marriage.

Mrs. Amihere revealed that she performed her Dipo rites when she was about 16 years old.

According to her, the scariest aspect is that during the Dipo rites, the girls sit on a traditional stone, and if anyone has had sexual intercourse before, she gets stuck on the stone until libation is poured before she can be set free.

Mrs. Amihere recounted an incident where a woman was stuck on the stone until some elders came to perform libation before she could get up.

About Dipo Rites
The Dipo rite is a puberty rite performed by a few Dangme Groups namely the Shai and the Krobo. It is a rite that transitions a female from Childhood into Womanhood. In both the Shai and Krobo communities going through the Dipo rite is a prerequisite for becoming a woman who is capable of fully participating in the community, being a wife and having a family. In Ancient times those who did not do it or got pregnant before the Dipo rite was done were considered outcasts, some banished from the community.

During the performance of the Dipo rites the Woman is spiritually cleansed in the case of the Krobo the God Nana Kloweki is the main God called upon. The initiates would be aged between 10-14 and the rite traditionally could take up to three years of which the girls had to remain on the Krobo mountain.