Spirit child
Seven communities in the Kasena-Nankana East and West districts of the Upper East Region, known to be practicing the killing of alleged spirit children, have abandoned the practice.
A declaration is set to be announced on Saturday, April 26, 2013, at a grand durbar, following years of intensive education against the practice, by Afrikids Ghana, a Child Rights Non-governmental Organisation.
Mathew Abagna, who is Afrikids Ghana’s Kasena-Nankana Area Project Coordinator told Joy News Upper East correspondent, Albert Sore that Afrikids Ghana has over the years been able to debunk cultural beliefs that children born with certain deformities possess evil spirits.
The practice of ‘spirit children’ according to Abagna, is the consequence of ancient traditions and customs.
He explained that when a family gives birth to a deformed or disabled child, they approach village elders known as ‘concoction men’ and inform them that they suspect their child to be a ‘spirit child’ or possessing evil spirits.
The ‘concoction man’ then takes the father of the child to visit a soothsayer who confirms whether or not the child is truly evil, without ever actually laying eyes on them.
Once this confirmation has been received, the ‘concoction man’ brews a poisonous liquid from local roots and herbs and force-feeds it to the child, resulting in death.
But on Saturday, 7 communities in Upper East region, where the practice was prevalent, will put an end to the practice with a grand durbar.