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Witchcraft in Ghana
Witchcraft beliefs are very real concerns for many Ghanaians and influence attitudes and daily behaviors. Shaped by colonial legacies, other religions, contemporary thought, and the current government in Ghana, witchcraft in Ghana is dynamic and intersects with other facets of life in Ghana. Because witchcraft is largely considered bad or evil, the fear of witchcraft can cause a variety of responses, some of which are harmful for the accused.
Witchcraft is a worldwide phenomenon, deeply rooted in many African countries and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, including in Ghana. However, specific beliefs in or perceptions of witchcraft vary between the world's countries and within regions of Ghana. Bayie is the Twi word most closely translated as "witchcraft" used by the Akan people in Ghana. The Akan are the ethnic numerical majority in Ghana, comprising roughly 50% of the population.[citation needed] As a result, their witchcraft beliefs are the most prevalent and well-researched, although other ethnic groups may have conflicting spiritual beliefs. Unless specified, the following characterizations of Ghanaian witchcraft are applied as generalizations.
In Ghana, witchcraft is primarily practiced by women—although there are also male witches (or wizards)—and is passed down through matrilineal descent. The Akan believe that witches can only bewitch maternal kin, while Ewe people believe that witches can bewitch anyone.
Shelagh Roxburgh concluded through field research that there is no clear definition of what witchcraft is exactly, but there is a common factor in what civilians perceive it as: it causes harm. Witches are distinguished from healers, who use their powers for aiding rather than "evil". Witches are said to be able to cause infertility, bring disease, create poverty or material loss, cause conflict, destroy personal destiny, snatch sexual organs, and even kill.
Precolonial practices for determining a witch include odum poison ordeal and "corpse-carrying". Corpse carrying refers to the practice in which people would carry a dead body and the body would point to the individual responsible for the death through witchcraft. Precolonial responses to those guilty of witchcraft included exile, medicine usage, public executions, cleansing at a shrine, and even selling individuals to slavery.
Tales of witch beliefs and accusations occur through various forms of media including television, newspaper, and magazines, and law. However, research in Eastern Ghana indicates that Akan who live by the Kwahu sandstone plateau often engage with witchcraft informally; suspicions are spread through word-of-mouth away from formal public affairs.
When Ghana was colonized by the British in 1874, the state reserved the right to administer capital punishment for witchcraft and pre-colonial witchcraft test were similarly outlawed. However, native tribunals continued to judge witchcraft cases without legal authority. In 1927, the Native Administration Ordinance (NAO) granted the Gold Coast Tribunals the official authority to judge witchcraft cases, which brought them into legal compliance and legitimized native tribunal cases.
Some researchers consider witchcraft perceptions and beliefs as opportunities for Africans to be able to imagine and perceive their own world outside of colonial objectives and values; Shelagh Roxburgh, for instance, claims that news media sensationalism of witchcraft-related violence is a continuation of the colonial objective to rewrite African realities and dismiss witchcraft.
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Witchcraft in Ghana
Witchcraft beliefs are very real concerns for many Ghanaians and influence attitudes and daily behaviors. Shaped by colonial legacies, other religions, contemporary thought, and the current government in Ghana, witchcraft in Ghana is dynamic and intersects with other facets of life in Ghana. Because witchcraft is largely considered bad or evil, the fear of witchcraft can cause a variety of responses, some of which are harmful for the accused.
Witchcraft is a worldwide phenomenon, deeply rooted in many African countries and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, including in Ghana. However, specific beliefs in or perceptions of witchcraft vary between the world's countries and within regions of Ghana. Bayie is the Twi word most closely translated as "witchcraft" used by the Akan people in Ghana. The Akan are the ethnic numerical majority in Ghana, comprising roughly 50% of the population.[citation needed] As a result, their witchcraft beliefs are the most prevalent and well-researched, although other ethnic groups may have conflicting spiritual beliefs. Unless specified, the following characterizations of Ghanaian witchcraft are applied as generalizations.
In Ghana, witchcraft is primarily practiced by women—although there are also male witches (or wizards)—and is passed down through matrilineal descent. The Akan believe that witches can only bewitch maternal kin, while Ewe people believe that witches can bewitch anyone.
Shelagh Roxburgh concluded through field research that there is no clear definition of what witchcraft is exactly, but there is a common factor in what civilians perceive it as: it causes harm. Witches are distinguished from healers, who use their powers for aiding rather than "evil". Witches are said to be able to cause infertility, bring disease, create poverty or material loss, cause conflict, destroy personal destiny, snatch sexual organs, and even kill.
Precolonial practices for determining a witch include odum poison ordeal and "corpse-carrying". Corpse carrying refers to the practice in which people would carry a dead body and the body would point to the individual responsible for the death through witchcraft. Precolonial responses to those guilty of witchcraft included exile, medicine usage, public executions, cleansing at a shrine, and even selling individuals to slavery.
Tales of witch beliefs and accusations occur through various forms of media including television, newspaper, and magazines, and law. However, research in Eastern Ghana indicates that Akan who live by the Kwahu sandstone plateau often engage with witchcraft informally; suspicions are spread through word-of-mouth away from formal public affairs.
When Ghana was colonized by the British in 1874, the state reserved the right to administer capital punishment for witchcraft and pre-colonial witchcraft test were similarly outlawed. However, native tribunals continued to judge witchcraft cases without legal authority. In 1927, the Native Administration Ordinance (NAO) granted the Gold Coast Tribunals the official authority to judge witchcraft cases, which brought them into legal compliance and legitimized native tribunal cases.
Some researchers consider witchcraft perceptions and beliefs as opportunities for Africans to be able to imagine and perceive their own world outside of colonial objectives and values; Shelagh Roxburgh, for instance, claims that news media sensationalism of witchcraft-related violence is a continuation of the colonial objective to rewrite African realities and dismiss witchcraft.