Spirit children
Traditional belief about disabled children common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spirit child is a Ghanaian term for a disabled child who is believed to possess magical powers that cause misfortune.[1] Disability in Ghana 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.[2][3] Spirit children are referred to as chichuru or kinkiriko in the former Kassena-Nankana district of Northern Ghana.[4] These children primarily come from poor, rural areas.[5] However, if a spirit child is found to be "good" there are no punishments for the child or their family.[4]
Similar concepts and rituals include the "witch babies" of Benin, the "snake children" of Mali and the Ivory Coast, and the "mingi children" of Tanzania".[6]
Causes
Physical characteristics
Birth abnormalities that spirit children exhibit are large or small heads, spina bifida, hydrocephalus, premature teeth and broken or deformed limbs.[7] A spirit child may also be blamed on a crop failure or the death of village livestock.[8] Intentional killing of a totem animal is thought to cause the spirit of said animal to jump into a human host.[9]
Disabilities and illnesses
Spirit children often have disabilities or other chronic illnesses.[8] 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.[7] This "refusal to thrive" indicates that the child may be a harmful spirit.[7] Families fear their child as there is little information about modern childcare accessible to them[6] and believe that the child will eventually destroy the family's home.[8]
Attracting spirits
It is believed that women can attract a harmful spirit if they walk while they eat.[9] Supposedly, these harmful spirits are attracted to human food and will enter and impregnate the woman's womb.[9] 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.[9] Many regard series of stillbirths in a village to be the same spirit child returning.[4] When this occurs, the most recent stillborn is mutilated by the villagers so that the same child cannot return.[4]
Community Aspects
Members of the community describe spirit children as "impulsive, wise, crafty, and mischievous."[8] Community members also note that the spirit children often have malnutrition syndromes.[8] Among all the ethnic groups found in Ghana, women are more likely than men to have witchcraft beliefs.[5]
Indeed, strong animistic religious beliefs combined with food insecurity encourage these practices.[10][11] It is commonly believed that spirit children do not deserve a place among humans.[12] This strong religious belief of infant alterity explains the cultural psychodynamics of parents killing their children.[13][11]
Explanation of the ritual
Preparing the concoction
Spirit children are treated by "concoction men".[8] The family seeks out a "concoction man" to treat the spirit child using a "dongo" (a sacred cup made from animal horn).[8] The men will also prepare a tea (the "concoction") with a root known as "bunbunlia".[8] Inside of the dongo, there is a "black medicine" that the men add to the tea.[8] The black medicine is composed of various burned plant parts that are mixed with shea butter.[8]
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.[6] 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.[6] The "dongo" and "concoction" are said to send the spirit back to the bush [7] as spirit children are believed to be harmful nature spirits that impersonate humans.[7][14] Other sources say that the dead child returns to the world of their ancestors.[12]
Government response
The tradition was criminalized in Ghana in 2013, yet is still widely practiced due to the lack of birth registration.[15][4] One study suggested that between 22 and 27% of infant mortalities are attributable to the spirit children tradition.[5] A study conducted by the University of Alberta 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.[8] Rights of the child are not guaranteed without a birth certificate since they are not legally registered.[15]
Ghana passed the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1965 requiring all births and deaths to be registered.[15] 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".[15] Birth registration still remains a problem since rural areas since there are less resources and labor force availability in rural areas.[16] According to information from 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, the births of 28.89% children in Ghana have never been registered.[17] This rate is the lowest among children born to young mothers, those without formal education and mothers living in rural areas.[17]
Advocacy
In 1991, Ben Okri published the novel The Famished Road.[4] This book brought attention to the practice of killing spirit children.[4] In 2013, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, an undercover reporter set out to find the people responsible for the practices.[18] Christianization also has helped limit the occurrence of spirit children practices.[19]
AfriKids is a child rights Non-governmental organization that has created education programs about the practice of spirit children.[20] Since 2002, AfriKids has ended the practices in 58 communities and preventing about 243 deaths.[21] Joe Asakibeem works with AfriKids.[22] Concoction men, mothers and elderly women in the child's family are given payments from AfriKids for them to stop the practice.[6]