In which I grapple with culture and tradition...

The world of Ghanaian culture and tradition is basically unfathomable.  Nobody gives you the same story.  Everybody has a story (many) to tell.  Usually they don’t make any sense to the uninitiated white man.  Here are just a few of the “facts” I can piece together…

Witchcraft

The word witch is synonymous with demon or evil spirit and in a 1999 survey 92% of the population believed in witchcraft.

Witches are in fact fallen angels; the angel spirits took possession of rivers, trees, animals, humans etc and became the gods of Africa.  So, in essence, all Africans live under the curse of these fallen angels and all evil acts originate from the demons.  Any disasters in your life; disease, accident, miscarriage, murder etc are linked to these fallen angels/witches.  You can inherit ancestral curses.

Demons can enter humans through being a witness to a trauma; even watching a disaster movie on TV can leave you vulnerable.

So, I guess it’s important to stay on the right side of the demons by following traditional rules.

Funerals

A safe, smooth passage from this world to the spirit world is vital. This is yet another major part of Ghanaian life and culture which is very complicated and confusing.  There are as many different rituals and traditions as you and I have had hot dinners.  As the ancient traditions mingle with Christianity and Islam; as the tribal traditions become muddied by intermarriage; as the younger generation gains education, new rituals are born.  I find the process quite disturbing, haunting and unfathomable.  Here are some random impressions…

Christians will have a coffin if it can be afforded.  The more money you have, the more ornate the coffin; in Accra you can get aeroplane, train…anything goes…style coffins.  Otherwise it’s a white shroud.

                                         Anything goes coffins!

Whilst Christian and Islam burials all have a traditional element to them, there is also a strictly traditional style funeral.

In general, burials take place within hours of the death.  Funerals can happen up to a year or so later – when the family has enough money to host a big, sometimes week long, party.  However, I’ve just returned from Kumasi where I’ve learnt that the Asante tribes can leave bodies in the mortuary for up to two years so that burial and funeral can take place together (except if you are Muslim when the maximum time that can elapse between death and burial is 40 days).

 

I'm told that in some areas there is a strict dress code for every day of the funeral if you are close family...or even nearly close!

 

Family and friends help to dig the grave.  Most of these are within the family compound or land (some are very inconveniently placed in the middle of the fields that farmers need to plough!).  Traditional graves  are upright and located by an upturned half-pot. 

 

 

Christian graves are large but look like those in a UK churchyard. 

 

I’m not sure about the Muslim equivalent.

A soothsayer stands in the grave to receive the body.  Sometimes he gets buried with the body but appears miraculously elsewhere!  It’s a very important and coveted job (for some reason).  He wards off evil spirits. The belief is that after death a person goes to the land of the dead; in effect another plane or dimension, not the equivalent to heaven or other group definitions.  I think the soothsayer is supposed to facilitate this transition.

In the Upper West Region (we are Upper East) there is at least one tribe which “stages” the body.  The body is placed on a chair, on a raised platform.  The mourners conduct a wake around the body, dancing and ululating.  Close family will remain with the body throughout the night, before burial.

Here in the Upper East, gunpowder is used by traditionalists to explode across the land (sometimes causing death in itself because they use very makeshift equipment).  The wealthier the family, the more explosive the burial. 

After the burial the wife/widow is supposed to stay at home for 40 days (numbers vary).  She is visited by the whole community and any other hangers on (like us).  She has to sit in her room, on her mat, looking suitably forlorn, doing nothing, for 40 days!  Tradition has it that this is to make sure that if she happens to be pregnant it must be from her husband since she hasn’t been allowed anywhere else…no point in the family looking after a baby someone else has fathered!  I’ve just read a story whereby 3 old ladies were rescued from being shut in a room for 9 years after the death of their husband, the king.  This has nothing to do with pregnancy and a lot to do with Human Rights!  For the rest of the family, when you visit, the men seem to gather in a big circle outside the compound whilst the women congregate inside.  There is a great deal of ritual handshaking, beginning with the men.

Widows also have to undergo some sort of purification/cleansing ritual to get rid of the evil spirit of their late husbands.  Customs are many and varied but examples might be, drinking the water that the late husband’s body is washed in or having your head shaved!

Family, friends and colleagues are expected to visit the family to sympathise and offer support (monetary).  After a suitable period a member of the family then visits all the sympathisers to say thank-you.  The process is a community affair. 

Office staff arriving to sympathise with the family of a work colleague.

The funeral is a big party where animals are butchered and roasted, drumming, singing and dancing happen, family and friends gather from far and wide (at your expense if possible).  It can last a week or more.  Again, the more wealth you have, the bigger the party.

At the funeral the soothsayer may accuse one of the attendees of killing the deceased eg by a curse or evil thoughts (very embarrassing!).  The soothsayer is in communication with the “dwarf” world – spiritual beings which float around and whisper to them.

 

Courtship

A traditional courtship has many aspects.  Once the relationship is established, when the male visits the female’s house he is expected to take gifts for each member of the family.  This happens for about three visits before he can state his intentions!  If the family is not impressed with your gifts then you’re in trouble!  Both families conduct thorough investigations into the “stock” of the betrothed before approval is given.  There is also the question of how many cows your future wife is worth.  The female has to spend several weeks with her future mother- in- law to learn about the family/tribal traditions and to keep house appropriately.  I’m not quite sure what her dowry is.

I’m told that modern couples get round these traditions by getting pregnant.  Then nobody cares and I’m not quite sure what happens.

A final gem (Thank-you Adam)

There are only a small number of cats in the area.  When I commented on this I was told that cats are killed and eaten before they reach 5 years old.  At that age the cat becomes too “human”, they understand what is being said and become a bit of a threat to the family.  My question is, since families don’t know the ages of their children, how do they remember the age of the cat?!