A spirit child in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

is a disabled child who is believed to possess magical powers to cause misfortune. 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 A witch doctor (also spelled witch-doctor) was originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed to be caused by witchcraft. The term is now more commonly used to refer to healers, particularly in regions which use traditional healing ...

. Spirit children are referred to as ''chichuru'' or ''kinkiriko'' in the

Kassena-Nankana district Kassena-Nankana District is a former district that was located in Upper East Region, Ghana. Originally created as an ordinary district assembly in 1988. However on 29 February 2008, it was split off into two new districts: Kassena-Nankana East Dis ...

in Northern Ghana. These children primarily come from poor, rural areas. However, if a spirit child is known to be "good" there are no punishments for the child or their family. Similar practices are also occurring in other places in sub-Saharan Africa. Similar practices include "witch babies in

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

, snake children in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...

and the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

, spirit children in

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

, and mingi children in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Causes

Physical characteristics

Birth abnormalities that spirit children exhibit are

large Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (or ...

or small heads,

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, me ...

, premature teeth and broken limbs. The cause of a spirit child may also be from

crop failure Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

or the death of a

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

. Intentional killing of a

totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

animal can also cause the spirit of the animal to jump into the human being.

Disabilities and illnesses

Spirit children often have disabilities or chronic illnesses. 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. This "refusal to thrive" indicates that the child may be a spirit masquerading as a child. Families fear their child as there is little information about the truths of the practice. Families also believe that once a spirit child is born they will destroy the family's home.

Attracting spirits

It is believed that women can attract a spirit if they walk while they eat. These spirits are attracted to human food and will enter the woman's

womb The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The uter ...

, impregnating them. 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". Many people also regard series of still births to be same child returning. When this occurs, the child is mutilated with a

razor blade A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before t ...

so that the same child cannot return.

Community response

Members of the community describe spirit children as "impulsive, wise, crafty, and

mischievous Mischief or malicious mischief is the name for a criminal offenses that is defined differently in different legal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism, there can be a legal differenti ...

." Community members also note that the spirit children often have

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

. Among all ethnic groups, women are more likely than men to have witchcraft beliefs.

Treating spirit children

Religious beliefs

Strong religious beliefs encourage these practices. It is believed that these children do not deserve a place among humans. Sentiments of infant

alterity Alterity is a philosophical and anthropological term meaning "otherness", that is, the "other of two" (Latin ''alter''). It is also increasingly being used in media to express something other than "sameness", or something outside of tradition or co ...

explain the cultural

psychodynamics Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate t ...

of parents killing their children. The actions taken to kill the spirit is based on religious beliefs.

Preparing the concoction

Spirit children are treated by

concoction Concoction is the process of preparing a medicine, food or other substance out of many ingredients, and also the result of such a process. Historically, the word referred to digestion, as conceived by Aristotle who theorized that this was the resu ...

men. The family seeks out a concoction man to treat the spirit child with a dongo. The men prepare a tea or herbal infusion, as known as a "bunbunlia". Inside of the dongo, there is "black medicine" that the men add to tea. The black medicine is composed of a burnt or charred herbs that are mixed with

shea butter Shea butter (, , or ; ) is a fat extracted from yellow the nut of the African shea tree (''Vitellaria paradoxa''). It is ivory in color when raw and commonly dyed yellow with borututu root or palm oil. It is widely used in cosmetics as a moi ...

Administering the concoction

An elder woman in the child's family typically administers the

rather than the concoction man. 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". The concoction sends the spirit back to the bush since the spirit children were believed to be spirit bushes impersonating humans. The bush is an undomesticated forest space. Other sources say that the disabled children return to the world of their ancestors. Abuse of these disabled children include social, capital, physical and emotional abuse.

Government response

Birth registration

The practice was criminalized in Ghana in 2013, yet is still widely practiced due to the lack of birth registration. Deaths are often not recorded, so the occurrence of murdering spirit children is unable to be known. One study suggests that between 22 and 27% of infant mortalities are attributed to spirit children practices. A study conducted by the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

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. Rights of the child are not guaranteed without a birth certificate since they are not legally registered.

Advancements

Ghana passed the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1965 requiring all births and deaths to be registered. 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". Birth registration still remains a problem since rural areas since there are less registration offices and staff in rural areas. According to information from 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, the births of 28.89% children in Ghana have never been registered. This rate is the lowest among children born to young mothers, those without formal education and mothers living in rural areas.

Advocacy

In 1991,

Ben Okri Ben Okri (born 15 March 1959) is a Nigerian-British poet and novelist.Ben Okri"
British Council, ...

published the book

The Famished Road ''The Famished Road'' is a novel by Nigerian author Ben Okri, the first book in a trilogy that continues with ''Songs of Enchantment'' (1993) and ''Infinite Riches'' (1998). Published in London in 1991 by Jonathan Cape, the story of ''The Famis ...

. This book brought attention to the practice of killing spirit children. In 2013,

Anas Aremeyaw Anas Anas Aremeyaw Anas, better known as Anas, is a Ghanaian investigative journalist born in the late 1970s. He utilizes his anonymity as a tool in his investigative journalism work. Anas is a politically non-aligned multimedia journalist who spec ...

, an undercover reporter set out to find the people responsible for the practices. Christianization also has helped limit the occurrence of spirit children practices. AfriKids is a child rights Non-governmental organization that has created education programs about the practice of spirit children. Since 2002, AfriKids has ended the practices in 58 communities and preventing about 243 deaths. Joe Asakibeem works with AfriKids. Concoction men, mothers and elderly women in the child's family are given payments from AfriKids for them to stop the practice.

References

{{reflist, 2 Disability in Ghana Spiritualism Religion in Ghana Modern witch hunts African witchcraft Conspiracy theories in Africa Disability in Guinea-Bissau Disability in Africa