Traditionalists give interpretations to eclipse

Koforidua, March 28, GNA - A Koforidua-based traditionalist, Mr Akuoko Gambia, had complained of the over commercialisation of the eclipse of the sun to the extent that it had become a source of conflict in some families.
He said the over commercialisation of the issue had made it possible for crooks and people with negative intentions to produce fake shades, extort money from people and expose them to dangers. Mr Gambia, who was giving his view in an interview on the impending solar eclipse with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Monday in Koforidua, said to the traditionalists, the eclipse had always been regarded as "normal part of creation" and did not attract any special ceremony.
Mr Gambia said, when the issue was not commercialised, such events passed off without any funfair, "many do not bother to look at the sun, because normally, people do not look at the sun when walking or doing their normal work".
He cautioned that in the current situation, whereby people's minds were being focused on looking at the sun for some "unusual happenings", would rather expose a lot of curious children, who would not be able to purchase or access the recommended eclipse shades to be attracted to look at the sun only to have their eyes damaged.
A herbalist and spiritualist at Aboagena, near Tinkong-Mangoase, Efo Kwesi Kuma, stated that the eclipse do happen "because of God's disapproval of the sins of man".
He said such events demonstrated the powers of the Supreme Being and often, "when such events do occur, some unusual activities do take place, which were not supposed to be seen by ordinary people." Efo Kuma observed that "people often try to challenge nature by trying to observe things, which are not supposed to be seen on certain days" adding, however that, "there are always prices to be paid for any disobedience, which could be immediate or happen in the near future."