On Witchcraft

You might be thinking-- is this some sort of early Halloween post? Well, most Ghanaians don’t celebrate Halloween, so that would be a no. However, if you are in Ghana, not a day goes by without hearing some story or comment about witches or juju (like voodoo). This got me curious-- what do Ghanaian witches do? What do they look like? So, to get me out of my house and better integrated into my community, I took a day to ask people for the answers to these questions.

Q: What is a witch?

A: Someone who is accused of casting spells, causing problems for the community. The vast majority of the accused are women, although some are men. Oftentimes, the accusation is based upon strange behaviors seen or sounds heard from the house of a “witch.”

Many report that witches become invisible in the night or turn into black cats to be able to carry out their magic (hence why black cats are often killed in Ghana). Only the ones being victimized by their sorcery can see them when they are invisible.

Q: What are some examples of spells witches have performed on people?

A: (In the form of direct quotes from people I interviewed)

“There was a woman in my village who was pregnant for two years and then died.”

“I have heard that the reason that Nigerians are so good at cheating people out of money (think the Nigerian prince scheme) is because they rely on witchcraft to compel them to give the money.”

“In my village, there was a woman who would sell food by the side of the road. One day, two children died after eating from her stand. They accused her of being a witch and poisoning the children because they were related to the chief.”

“A cousin of mine was loved by a woman but he did not love her back. Everyone knew this. A year later, he became sick suddenly and died in a week. The woman was a witch-- she had given him a powder to help with some skin problems he was having and then some time later he died. She was angry that he did not love her.”

“In this area, a family lived in a house with their son. They never left the house. But then the man started leaving the house but no one ever saw the son. He said he killed his son. We drove his family out. They were witches.”

Q: How are you proven to be a witch?

A: The accused person must come forward with the accuser and at least one other man. A fowl must be slaughtered and thrown in the air-- if it lands, on its side or stomach, the person is a witch.

Q: What is the difference between witches and juju?

A: Juju is magic that is done for pay from knowledge that is passed down within a family over generations. Witches are not born as such, and must pay a juju practitioner to become one. A witch relies on powers and can have her powers neutralized but a juju practitioner relies on knowledge of spells that can never be taken away (and thus these people can never be “neutralized.”

Q: Can a “salaminga” (white person/non-Ghanaian) be a witch?

A: Yes. He or she only needs to pay a juju practitioner to become one. There have been reports of Ghanaians marrying salamingas only to be killed for their blood (to use in witchcraft).

Q: Can a witch stop being a witch? Or is she forced to stay one forever?

A: She can stop if she goes to a juju practitioner and pays to have her powers removed. Additionally, her powers can be forcefully removed by community members (see the question below).

Q: What do you do with witches if you catch them?

A: It is hard to catch a witch, but if you accuse someone of being a witch, first you must carry out the discernment ceremony (see: “How are you proven to be a witch?”). Then, a religious leader or chief must perform a traditional neutralizing ceremony that is only effective around the shrine where it was performed. Thus, witches are forced to live in communal camps, the biggest in the Northern Region. The conditions in these camps are poor, as these “witches,” most of whom are women and many of whom are elderly and/or have disabilities, are not given any government assistance. Additionally, as there are no schools in these camps, witches’ children do not attend school.

Why don’t these witches just leave? Besides the fact that their powers are “neutralized” in these places, most fear being killed if they go back to their villages (most accusations of witchcraft occur in remote villages rather than big cities like Bolga or Tamale).

A look into a Ghanaian witch camp. Image credit

Q: Is the belief in witches lesser than in the past or is it still a belief shared by most people?

A: In the south, the belief in witchcraft is less than it is in the north (the south apparently believes more strongly in regular juju). In cities, the belief has gone down because people have become more educated and there are a few international human rights organizations that have come in to show people that witchcraft is not real. However, in villages, the belief remains, as evidenced by the continued existence of witch camps (nevertheless, in recent years, the number of “witches” sent to these camps has steeply declined). Additionally, since 2014, the country’s Office for Gender and Social Protection has been working to shut down these camps.

Just for fun: the Ghanaian sign for "witch"