Ghana is a country located in Western Africa. It is bordered on the West by Côte d’Ivoire, the North by Burkina Faso, the East by Togo, and the South by the Atlantic Ocean. The country gained independence from British rule on March 6, 1957. The religions practiced in Ghana vary widely. About a quarter of the population is Christian and thirty percent is Muslim (living mainly in the north); the remainder follow traditional religions. Regardless of religion, there are several widely held superstitions among the citizens. One of these is witchcraft. Witchcraft, as defined is a form of sorcery, or the magical manipulation of nature for self-aggrandizement, or for the benefit or harm of a client. In Ghana, some people openly practice forms of witchcraft as a means to cast spells of protection and good health. Others however, are believed to use the sorcery to impose harm on others. The vast majority of accusations and rituals involve relations between peers, kin, and co-wives. Overall, the most common victims of witchcraft accusations in Ghana tend to be women. Women in Ghana are accused of practicing witchcraft as a result of widely held superstitions, economic and social insecurities, and as means of explaining misfortunate and inexplicable events.
Africa is a continent with an abundance of traditions and customs. This is evident even in the attitudes of relatively modernized or “westernized” citizens today. The citizens of Ghana take traditional superstitions and beliefs very seriously. One of these superstitions is that witchcraft is real and that it poses a serious risk to ones well being. In the film Witches in Exile, director Allison Berg travels the streets of the capital of Ghana, Accra. Berg stops with her translator to ask various citizens on the streets of the capital city about their perspectives on the idea of witchcraft. According to the BBC World Service, more than 90 percent of Ghana's 21-million citizens fear falling victim to a sorcerer's spell. The citizens of Accra lead rather modern lifestyles compared to Ghanan citizens in the rural Northern region. Still, some superstitions, like witchcraft, transcend the social and cultural boundaries of the country. Even university graduates who have spent time in the United States talk of old women suddenly turning people into fireballs or pulling snakes from people's stomachs. The majority of people that Berg speaks to agree that witchcraft is indeed a reality. They also agree that upon accusation, the proper punishment of a woman should include public ridicule, stoning, or even death. The question is where these notions of supernatural forces originate. Although Ghanan citizens live modern lives in this independent, post-colonial country, their beliefs have “nothing to do with colonialism but with phenomena deeply ingrained in the African psyche and in African ways of life.” It is the long history of African traditions and values that play the central role. Father John Kirby, founder of Tamale Cross-Culture Institute in Ghana comments that “The widespread belief of the existence of witchcraft is thought to stem from Ghana’s most common form of socialization; storytelling”. Children are told stories by their elders as a means of education. These stories are intended to promote socially acceptable and responsible behavior. One example of a story told to children is mentioned in the film Witches in Exile. The story claims if you go out at night, and stay out very long, the witches of the village will be out and about. They will confront you and they will steal your soul. It appears that the socialization process of Ghanans is partly to blame for their commonly accepted ideas and values. These engrained beliefs, true or not, have a major influence on their everyday lives. A sociology professor at the University of Ghana explains to students that the question of whether or not witchcraft exists is irrelevant, “people believe in it and it affects their behavior. That is what matters”. The research suggests that the belief patterns of a society change very slowly over time, even with modern influences. The ideas and beliefs that people are raised with often determine the way they feel and act. The idea of witchcraft is one of these engrained beliefs common among the people of Ghana.u
Economic and social insecurities in the country of Ghana, as well as other parts of Africa, play a major roll in the perpetuation of witchcraft allegations. Economic insecurities such as a lack of money, food or decent living conditions are common among the poorer citizens of Ghana. The average daily income of the typical citizen in Ghana is about $0.60. When life becomes difficult or unpleasant, feelings of frustration and anger are typical. These built up emotions require a form of outlet. At times the outlet of anger is directed towards women. According to a group of Ghanan women interviewed in the film Witches in Exile, beatings and ridicule are more frequent when there is hunger. At times ridicule may involve witchcraft allegations. In addition, older women are often targeted because they are seen to have less value to the family. Women lack value if they are perceived as too old to remarry or if they are unable to have children or perform physically demanding tasks such as retrieving water and fetching firewood. Therefore older women must rely on others to support them. This places additional strains on families struggling to make ends meet. Socially, witchcraft can be seen as a tool used by the people of Ghana to attempt to control negative elements within their society. The harsh reactions of the people towards an accused witch demonstrate fears associated with a potential breakdown of their society. As Father John Kirby explains in the film Witches in Exile, “Witchcraft is a social-evil concept; a method of response for Africans to preserve the good of society. We [Westerners] do the same thing when we say God wants us to go to war because evil is threatening the society”. The battle against witches, to Ghanans, is like any battle a civilization may face. From this perspective, the act of violently lashing out towards those who are accused of being witches is merely an attempt to cleanse the society of evil. The insecurities of life in Ghana, both economic and social, play a significant role in the perpetuation of witchcraft and sorcery allegations.
Life in Africa, like all places on Earth, does not come without unfortunate circumstances. These misfortunes range from illness to crop failures to sudden and seemingly unexplainable deaths of loved ones. In Ghana, tragic events such as these are common and sometimes attributed to the presence of witchcraft. This is a common method of explanation for unfortunate events among witchcraft-believing societies throughout Africa. The concept of witchcraft provides them with a natural philosophy by which the relations between men and unfortunate events are, and a ready and stereotyped means of reacting to such events. In the instance of a non-death related misfortune, a citizen may attempt to locate the sorcerer responsible for the event to bring it to an end. Only when the misfortune is death can vengeance or compensation be exacted for injury from witchcraft.” In the film Witches in Exile, the story of a Ghana woman named Pona is explored in detail. Her family encountered a shocking and unexpected ordeal. One of her five grand children had suddenly become very ill and died. With no logical explanation for the death, a small number of relatives began to speculate that witchcraft may have been involved. As an older, less productive member of the family, Pona was thought to be the most likely perpetrator. Pona was soon confronted by a mass of relatives and neighbors. The mob beat her relentlessly with sticks and demanded she confess to performing witchcraft. They then destroyed all of her belongings, and burned her house. Upon her forced confession, Pona was spared her life but was required to leave the village. With nothing left but her permanently spoiled reputation, Pona was forced to move to an isolated rural region north of Tamale. She found safety at Kokuo, a “witch camp” that was established for survivors like her. It is common practice for people in Ghana to attribute their misfortunes to the presence of evil. In this area of Africa, the absence of knowledge of modern science and human physiology often results in accusations of witchcraft. For example, accusations of witchcraft are made after family or neighbors misinterpret menopausal mood swings to mean a woman is possessed by demons. As education and modern medicine become more common in Ghana, some of these witch-related mysteries will hopefully be put to rest. There will, however, always be unexplainable events that occur in the country and the Ghanans are likely to still attribute these events to supernatural activities.
It is unfortunate that the women of Ghana frequently fall victim to accusations of witchcraft. The contribution of widely held superstitions, economic and social insecurities within the country and the lack of explanation for unfortunate and inexplicable events have lead to this outcome. The future, however, is not without hope. Education and modern medical care will likely assist in the reshaping of life in Ghana. Humanitarian aid groups have not overlooked the hardships these accused women face. For instance, Timaretama, a local nongovernmental group, offers small loans to women in the Gambaga camp, so they can start entrepreneurial ventures. Members of the Ghanan parliament want to close the camps. Unfortunately the social stigmas that survive the women in their home villages give them no where else to turn. None the less, the women at Kokuo claim, “at least at the camps there is freedom”.
Works Cited
Amatenstein, Sherry. “Helping ‘witches’ who live in exile.” The Christian Science Monitor 22 June 2006. 15 Nov. 2006.
Camaroff, Jean and John Camaroff. Modernity and its Malcontents: Ritual and Power in Post Colonial Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1993.
Evans-Pritchard. E. E. Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande. New York: Oxford University Press. 1976.
“Ghana, country, Africa” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001-04. www.bartleby.com/65/. 16 Nov. 2006.
“The Witchcraft Diaries” The Post 2 June 2006. 15 Nov. 2006
“Witchcraft” The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001-04. www.bartleby.com/65/. 16 Nov. 2006.
Witches in Exile. Dir. Allison Berg. 2005. DVD. California Newsreel, 2005.
Camaroff, Jean and John Camaroff. Modernity and its Malcontents: Ritual and Power in Post Colonial Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1993. 90.
Evans-Pritchard. E. E. Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande. New York: Oxford University Press. 1976. 18.
Hello, I tried desperately to contact Allison Berg or to get the movie. The website of the movie seems to be defunct and the emails there either.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I get this movie? I need it for my research. I would be so glad for help,
Felix, Felix_Riedel@web.de