![Witches camp at Nalerigu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Witches_camp_at_Nalerigu.1.jpg)
Witch camps are settlements where women 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 ...
who have been accused of being
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
es can flee for safety. Women in such camps have been accused of witchcraft for various reasons, including
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
. Some camps are thought to have been created in the early 20th century. The Ghanaian government has enacted measures to eliminate such camps.
Description
Women suspected of being witches sometimes flee to witch camp settlements for safety, often in order to avoid being
lynched
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
by neighbours.
Many women in such camps are
widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died.
Terminology
The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...
s; relatives are believed to accuse them of witchcraft in order to seize their late husbands' possessions.
Many women in the witch camps also suffer from mental illness, a poorly understood phenomenon in Ghana.
In one camp in
Gambaga
Gambaga is the capital of the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region of Ghana. Once a residence of Mamprusi-kings it is still the capital of East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, a municipality in the North East Region of Ghana. ...
in the north, women are given protection by the local
chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...
, and in return, pay him and work in his fields.
The Anti-Witchcraft Allegations Campaign Coalition-Ghana (AWACC-Ghana) has reported that the number of outcasts residing in witch camps is growing, and that food supplies there are insufficient.
Locations
There are at least six witch camps 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 ...
, housing a total of approximately 1,000 women.
The camps are located in Bonyasi,
Gambaga
Gambaga is the capital of the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region of Ghana. Once a residence of Mamprusi-kings it is still the capital of East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, a municipality in the North East Region of Ghana. ...
, Gnani, Kpatinga,
Kukuo and Naabuli, all in
Northern Ghana
The Northern Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country and was the largest of the sixteen regions, covering an area of 70,384 square kilometres or 31 percent of Ghana's area until December 2018 when ...
.
Some of the camps are thought to have been created over 100 years ago.
The
Ghanaian government
The Government of Ghana was created as a parliamentary democracy, followed by alternating military and civilian governments in Ghana. In January 1993, military government gave way to the Fourth Republic after presidential and parliamentary electi ...
has announced its intent to close the witch camps and educate the public that witches do not exist.
In December 2014,
Minister for Gender and Social Protection Nana Oye Lithur disbanded the Bonyasi camp located in
Central Gonja District
Central Gonja District is one of the seven districts in Savannah Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger West Gonja District on 23 December 1988, until the part of the district was split off by a decree of president Jo ...
and re-integrated its residents into their communities.
As of 2015, the Ghanaian government had shut down several witch camps.
See also
*
Gambaga Witch camp
Gambaga Witch camp is a segregated community within Gambaga township in the Northern Region of Ghana established in the 18th century to accommodate alleged witches and wizards who are banished from their communities.
The camp has about 25 round ...
*
Witchcraft in Ghana
*
Prayer camps
*
Spirit children
*
Ritual servitude
Ritual servitude is a practice in Ghana, Togo, and Benin where traditional religious shrines (popularly called fetish shrines in Ghana) take human beings, usually young virgin girls, in payment for services or in religious atonement for alleged m ...
*
Fetish priest
In Ghana, Togo, Benin and other countries of West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghan ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Witch camps in Ghana
''Video by Yaba Badoe about women in Ghanaian camps''
Women in Ghana
Religion in Ghana
Refugee camps in Africa
Modern witch hunts
African witchcraft
Violence against women in Ghana