Statistics maintain that overall, the population in Ghana is
Christian with about 15% Muslim. A
strong current of traditional beliefs, superstitions, witchcraft, juju,
underlie both of these, especially with the older generations. Here in the far north, the predominant
religion is Islam. Nevertheless, co-existing peacefully with the mosque, you
will find a variety of Christian sects: Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian.
Zebilla Catholic Church
Religion is extremely important. Religious gatherings form one of the major
opportunities for socializing (that or the local pito (local brew) bar or spot
(pub))! Church services are long and
full. The tro-tros and taxis all have
biblical epithets adorning their windows: “in God we trust” and the like. Everyone wears T shirts and polos with handy
quotes or advertising their church.
Interestingly, these are all Christian in origin though the wearers are
not.
Your religion is one of the early questions you are asked in
introductory conversation. Most business
meetings begin and end with a prayer; Muslim to begin and Christian to end, or
vice versa. On Fridays the office is
very quiet as the Muslims visit the mosque at midday and often fail to
re-appear; Christians seem to down tools in sympathy! Likewise the attendance in Islamic schools is
poor on Fridays, particularly if it also happens to be a market day and despite
the fact that school closes at 12pm instead of the usual 1.30pm. I’m not sure if other schools close early but
my guess would be that they do!
Our house is very near to the Anglican Church. On Sundays the service can last between 2 and
3 hours. There are also meetings and
services throughout the week. We are
frequently (when I say “we” I mean “I”
since Paul can sleep through an earthquake) woken at 4am by the priest calling
his congregation in to prayer. He uses a
megaphone so as to drown out the muezzin who is also in full swing by then!
Now that the dry season has begun, the locals have a little
more leisure time. So on Friday evenings
they gather in force in the church to have fun.
The drums and other instruments, the singing and dancing, fill the
airwaves from 8pm – 11pm when, thankfully, peace resumes. I say thankfully because, I’m sorry to be
critical here, it is not in any way tuneful.
A good African drumming session might be acceptable, even welcome, but
no! We have the modern, pop style band,
with very little training or skill.
However, the singers and dancers don’t mind and God is praised in a very
jolly and wholehearted fashion. Perhaps
the sound is distorted over the 50 metres to our house and then through our
paper thin walls.
Our neighbouring Anglican Church
The drums and cymbals are toned down a little for Sunday
worship. To me, both Friday and Sunday
seem, from a short distance, to be very loud and riotous. It may be the fact that they are conducted in
the local language of Kusaal; or that the priest shouts his prayers through the
microphone over the top of the chorus.
Either way, I am not tempted in; in fact, quite the opposite – I find
the style very aggressive and quite threatening. So, I prefer my own, more modest times for
contemplation, prayer and reflection.
Our Catholic friend is also complaining about the length of the Sunday
service and is considering creating his own time.
You don’t have to be a Muslim to attend the Islamic schools
but Muslim girls are expected to wear veils.
In primary schools I believe there are Arabic lessons after main school:
I think these are optional. Office
buildings have designated mini-mosques and a few prayer mats – not widely
frequented but they have occasional use.
A few weeks ago we all enjoyed a National holiday (possibly Eid but we
couldn’t work it out). On this occasion
the Muslims were out in force, visiting the mosque and afterwards forming a
wonderful parade through the little street of Zebilla displaying all their fine
clothes. Very beautiful!
Despite the importance of these formal religions the old
traditions persist. During one of our
school screening sessions we discovered a boy, probably 9 or 10, with extremely
poor vision (possibly blind in one eye) and red, sore eyes. When his father was called in to school he
told us that at the child’s birth, the placenta had not been disposed of
correctly (some kind of ritual involving burning) and therefore the boy was
cursed. Consequently nothing could be
done about his eyes. My Special
Educational Needs Officer tried his best to persuade them to visit the hospital
but we are still uncertain of his success.
Without treatment this boy is suffering unnecessarily.
There are other stories about children born with a disability
– “spirit” children. There is a strong
belief in witchcraft and witches can be blamed for all manner of
misfortunes. Most of these children are
hidden away; some are “disposed of”. I
had read this in my guide book before I arrived but I didn’t really believe it
could happen in this day and age. Well,
it does! Part of my role here is to add
weight to the argument that treatment is available and there is no witchcraft
involved in disability; they call it “sensitizing the community”. The aim: to get these children and adults out
into the open, treated, nurtured and enjoying life.
And on that note, I will close. God Bless!
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