A spirit child in Ghana is a disabled child who is believed to possess magical powers to cause misfortune. [1] Disability in Ghana is greatly stigmatized and the only way considered acceptable to deal with the problem is to kill them via advice by a witchdoctor. [2] Spirit children are referred to as chichuru or kinkiriko in the Kassena-Nankana district in Northern Ghana. [3] These children primarily come from poor, rural areas. [4] However, if a spirit child is known to be "good" there are no punishments for the child or their family. [3]
Similar practices are also occurring in other places in sub-Saharan Africa. [5] Similar practices include "witch babies in Benin, snake children in Mali and the Ivory Coast, spirit children in Guinea-Bissau, and mingi children in Tanzania". [5]
Birth abnormalities that spirit children exhibit are large or small heads, spina bifida, premature teeth and broken limbs. [6] The cause of a spirit child may also be from crop failure or the death of a livestock. [7] Intentional killing of a totem animal can also cause the spirit of the animal to jump into the human being. [8]
Spirit children often have disabilities or chronic illnesses. [7] 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. [6] This "refusal to thrive" indicates that the child may be a spirit masquerading as a child. [6] Families fear their child as there is little information about the truths of the practice. [5] Families also believe that once a spirit child is born they will destroy the family's home. [7]
It is believed that women can attract a spirit if they walk while they eat. [8] These spirits are attracted to human food and will enter the woman's womb, impregnating them. [8] Actions that attract spirits include "using unapproved entrances and exits to a house, washing another woman's calabashes at the riverside, and bathing at night". [8] Many people also regard series of still births to be same child returning. [3] When this occurs, the child is mutilated with a razor blade so that the same child cannot return. [3]
Members of the community describe spirit children as "impulsive, wise, crafty, and mischievous." [7] Community members also note that the spirit children often have malnutrition. [7] Among all ethnic groups, women are more likely than men to have witchcraft beliefs. [4]
Strong religious beliefs encourage these practices. [9] It is believed that these children do not deserve a place among humans. [10] Sentiments of infant alterity explain the cultural psychodynamics of parents killing their children. [11] The actions taken to kill the spirit is based on religious beliefs. [9]
Spirit children are treated by concoction men. [7] The family seeks out a concoction man to treat the spirit child with a dongo. [7] The men prepare a tea or herbal infusion, as known as a "bunbunlia". [7] Inside of the dongo, there is "black medicine" that the men add to tea. [7] The black medicine is composed of a burnt or charred herbs that are mixed with shea butter. [7]
An elder woman in the child's family typically administers the concoction rather than the concoction man. [5] Following the death of the child, "the concoction man wraps it in an old sleeping mat, disposes of the body in the bush, and conducts a ceremony to ensure that it does not return to torment the family". [5] The concoction sends the spirit back to the bush [6] since the spirit children were believed to be spirit bushes impersonating humans. [6] The bush is an undomesticated forest space. [12] Other sources say that the disabled children return to the world of their ancestors. [10] Abuse of these disabled children include social, capital, physical and emotional abuse. [10]
The practice was criminalized in Ghana in 2013, yet is still widely practiced due to the lack of birth registration. [13] Deaths are often not recorded, so the occurrence of murdering spirit children is unable to be known. [3] One study suggests that between 22 and 27% of infant mortalities are attributed to spirit children practices. [4] A study conducted by the University of Alberta Ethics Review Board and the NHRC Institutional Review Board, found that 36% of the death of spirit children are due to natural causes, including post-mortem deaths. [7] Rights of the child are not guaranteed without a birth certificate since they are not legally registered. [13]
Ghana passed the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1965 requiring all births and deaths to be registered. [13] 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". [13] Birth registration still remains a problem since rural areas since there are less registration offices and staff in rural areas. [14] According to information from 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, the births of 28.89% children in Ghana have never been registered. [15] This rate is the lowest among children born to young mothers, those without formal education and mothers living in rural areas. [15]
In 1991, Ben Okri published the novel The Famished Road. [3] This book brought attention to the practice of killing spirit children. [3] In 2013, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, an undercover reporter set out to find the people responsible for the practices. [16] Christianization also has helped limit the occurrence of spirit children practices. [17]
AfriKids is a child rights Non-governmental organization that has created education programs about the practice of spirit children. [18] Since 2002, AfriKids has ended the practices in 58 communities and preventing about 243 deaths. [19] Joe Asakibeem works with AfriKids. [20] Concoction men, mothers and elderly women in the child's family are given payments from AfriKids for them to stop the practice. [5]