Spirit Children
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Spirit child is a
Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...
term for a disabled child who is believed to possess magical powers that cause misfortune.
Disability in Ghana The Ghana Statistical Service reports from their 2021 census indicate that approximately eight percent (2,098,138 individuals) of the Ghanaian population experience some form of disability, with a higher prevalence among females (8.8%) than male ...
is greatly stigmatized and very often the only way considered socially acceptable to treat disabled children is to kill or exorcize them with the assistance of a witchdoctor. Spirit children are referred to as ''chichuru'' or ''kinkiriko'' in the former
Kassena-Nankana district Kassena-Nankana District is a former district that was located in Upper East Region, Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, a ...
of Northern Ghana. These children primarily come from poor, rural areas. However, if a spirit child is found to be "good" there are no punishments for the child or their family. Similar concepts and rituals include the "witch babies" of
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
, the "snake children" of
Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
and the
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
, and the "mingi children" of
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
".


Causes


Physical characteristics

Birth abnormalities that spirit children exhibit are
large Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...
or small heads,
spina bifida Spina bifida (SB; ; Latin for 'split spine') is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the vertebral column, spine and the meninges, membranes around the spinal cord during embryonic development, early development in pregnancy. T ...
,
hydrocephalus Hydrocephalus is a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) builds up within the brain, which can cause pressure to increase in the skull. Symptoms may vary according to age. Headaches and double vision are common. Elderly adults with n ...
, premature teeth and broken or deformed limbs. A spirit child may also be blamed on a
crop failure Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
or the death of village
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
. Intentional killing of a
totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...
animal is thought to cause the spirit of said animal to jump into a human host.


Disabilities and illnesses

Spirit children often have disabilities or other chronic illnesses. If the mother is sick during pregnancy, the child may also perceived to be a spirit child. If a child refuses to eat, they may also be a spirit child. This "refusal to thrive" indicates that the child may be a harmful spirit. Families fear their child as there is little information about modern childcare accessible to them and believe that the child will eventually destroy the family's home.


Attracting spirits

It is believed that women can attract a harmful spirit if they walk while they eat. Supposedly, these harmful spirits are attracted to human food and will enter and impregnate the woman's
womb The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more fertilized eggs until bi ...
. Other actions that attract harmful spirits include "using unapproved entrances and exits to a house", washing another woman's calabashes at the riverside, and bathing at night. Many regard series of
stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetus, fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without vital signs, signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt (emotio ...
s in a village to be the same spirit child returning. When this occurs, the most recent stillborn is mutilated by the villagers so that the same child cannot return.


Community Aspects

Members of the community describe spirit children as "impulsive, wise, crafty, and
mischievous Mischief (or malicious mischief) is the name for a class of criminal offenses that are defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a lega ...
." Community members also note that the spirit children often have
malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...
syndromes. Among all the ethnic groups found in Ghana, women are more likely than men to have witchcraft beliefs. Indeed, strong
animistic Animism (from meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, Rock (geology), rocks, rivers, Weather, ...
religious beliefs combined with
food insecurity Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Similarly, househo ...
encourage these practices. It is commonly believed that spirit children do not deserve a place among humans. This strong religious belief of infant
alterity In philosophy and anthropology, alterity refers to the state of being "other" or different (Latin ''alter''). It describes the experience of encountering something or someone perceived as distinct from oneself or one's own group. The concept of al ...
explains the cultural
psychodynamics Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate t ...
of parents killing their children.


Explanation of the ritual


Preparing the concoction

Spirit children are treated by "concoction men". The family seeks out a "concoction man" to treat the spirit child using a "dongo" (a sacred cup made from
animal horn A horn is a permanent pointed projection on the head of various animals that consists of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone. Horns are distinct from antlers, which are not permanent. In mammals, true horns ...
). The men will also prepare a tea (the "concoction") with a root known as "bunbunlia". Inside of the dongo, there is a "black medicine" that the men add to the tea. The black medicine is composed of various burned plant parts that are mixed with
shea butter Shea butter ( , , or ; ) is a fat (triglyceride; mainly oleic acid and stearic acid) extracted from the nut of the African shea tree ('' Vitellaria paradoxa''). It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or ...
.


Administering the concoction

An elder woman in the child's family administers the "concoction" (which may or may not contain toxic substances) to the alleged spirit child. Following the death of the child, the "concoction man" wraps it in an old sleeping mat, disposes of the body in the forest/bush, and conducts a ceremony to ensure that the harmful spirits do not return. The "dongo" and "concoction" are said to send the spirit back to the bush as spirit children are believed to be harmful nature spirits that impersonate humans. Other sources say that the dead child returns to the world of their ancestors.


Government response

The tradition was criminalized in Ghana in 2013, yet is still widely practiced due to the lack of
birth registration A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the en ...
. One study suggested that between 22 and 27% of infant mortalities are attributable to the spirit children tradition. A study conducted by the
University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
Ethics Review Board and the NHRC Institutional Review Board, found that 36% of spirit children deaths are due to natural causes, rather than by intentional means. Rights of the child are not guaranteed without a birth certificate since they are not legally registered. Ghana passed the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1965 requiring all births and deaths to be registered. Its goal is to "provide accurate and reliable information on all births and deaths occurring within Ghana for socio-economic development of the country through their registration and certification". Birth registration still remains a problem since rural areas since there are less resources and labor force availability in rural areas. According to information from 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, the births of 28.89% children in Ghana have never been registered. This rate is the lowest among children born to young mothers, those without formal education and mothers living in rural areas.


Advocacy

In 1991,
Ben Okri Sir Ben Golden Emuobowho Okri (born 15 March 1959) is a Nigerian-born British poet and novelist.Ben Okri" ...
published the novel
The Famished Road ''The Famished Road'' is a novel by Nigerian author Ben Okri, the first book in a trilogy that continues with '' Songs of Enchantment'' (1993) and '' Infinite Riches'' (1998). Published in London in 1991 by Jonathan Cape, ''The Famished Road'' ...
. This book brought attention to the practice of killing spirit children. In 2013,
Anas Aremeyaw Anas Anas Aremeyaw Anas, better known as Anas, is a Ghanaian journalist born in the late 1970s. He utilizes his anonymity as a tool in his investigative journalism work. Anas is a politically non-aligned multimedia journalist who specializes in pri ...
, an undercover reporter set out to find the people responsible for the practices. Christianization also has helped limit the occurrence of spirit children practices. AfriKids is a child rights Non-governmental organization that has created education programs about the practice of spirit children. Since 2002, AfriKids has ended the practices in 58 communities and preventing about 243 deaths. Joe Asakibeem works with AfriKids. Concoction men, mothers and elderly women in the child's family are given payments from AfriKids for them to stop the practice.


See also

*
Persecution of people with albinism Persecution of people with albinism (sometimes abbreviated PWA) is based on the belief that certain body parts of albinistic people hold supernatural powers. Such beliefs are present in some parts of the African Great Lakes region, and have be ...
*
Changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. ...
*
Kassena-Nankana District Kassena-Nankana District is a former district that was located in Upper East Region, Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, a ...
*
Prayer camps Prayer camps are religious alternative medicine institutions that are used for treatment of a variety of ailments in Ghana, and Togo. Purported treatment methods including beatings, forced starvation and other various forms of torture are commonly ...
* ''
The Famished Road ''The Famished Road'' is a novel by Nigerian author Ben Okri, the first book in a trilogy that continues with '' Songs of Enchantment'' (1993) and '' Infinite Riches'' (1998). Published in London in 1991 by Jonathan Cape, ''The Famished Road'' ...
''


References

{{reflist, 2 Disability in Ghana Disability in Guinea-Bissau Disability in Mali Disability in Ivory Coast Disability in Tanzania Disability in Africa Religion in Ghana Modern witch hunts African witchcraft Conspiracy theories in Africa Discrimination in Guinea-Bissau Discrimination in Ghana Discrimination in Mali Discrimination in Ivory Coast Discrimination in Tanzania Crimes involving Satanism or the occult African children