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Faculty of Humanities, and Social Science and Education BETWEEN ALIENATION AND BELONGING IN NORTHERN GHANA The voices of the women in the Gambaga ‘witchcamp’ Larry Ibrahim Mohammed Thesis submitted for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies June 2020 i BETWEEN ALIENATION AND BELONGING IN NORTHERN GHANA The voices of the women in the Gambaga ‘witchcamp’ By Larry Ibrahim Mohammed Master of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education UIT-The Arctic University of Norway Spring 2020 Cover Photo: Random pictures from the Kpakorafon in Gambaga Photos taken by: Larry Ibrahim Mohammed i ii DEDICATION To my parents: Who continue to support me every stage of my life To my precious wife: Whose love and support all the years we have met is priceless. To my daughters Naeema and Radiya: Who endured my absence from home To all lovers of peace and advocates of social justice: There is light at the end of the tunnel iii iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to a lot of good people whose help has been crucial towards writing this research. My supervisor, Michael Timothy Heneise (Assoc. Professor), has been a rock to my efforts in finishing this thesis. I want to express my profound gratitude and thanks to him for his supervision. Our video call sessions within the COVID-19 pandemic has been of help to me. Not least, it has helped to get me focused in those stressful times. Michael Heneise has offered me guidance through his comments and advice, shaping up my rough ideas. Any errors in judgement and presentation are entirely from me. I am also grateful to Professor Torjer Andreas Olsen, from the Center for Sami Studies for his guidance. Torjer Andreas Olsen was my initial supervisor until his official duties changed. I remember how our discussions in his office helped trimmed my excess ideas into a manageable task for my thesis. I am grateful for his support and also for allowing me access to some book collections from his library. My appreciation also goes to Professors emerita Liv Helene Willumsen and Randi Ronning Balsvik for their immense support. Our initial conversations in Spring 2019 aroused my interest in witchcraft studies. Since then, we have met occasionally to discuss the progress with my studies. You both have graciously offered me consistent pieces of advice and guidance on my research. Thanks for the essential role you play in my infant academic journey. I would also like to acknowledge the entire staff of the Center for Sami Studies (SESAM) at the University of Tromsø. I say thank you for offering me your listening ears whenever I come to your doors. I am particularly grateful for the funding support I received to enable me to conduct my fieldwork. As if that was not enough, when I had the opportunity to volunteer at the 12th Session of EMRIP in Geneva, you graciously provided me with financial support. I will like mention Professor Else Grete Rachel Issa Djesa and Hildegunn Bruland. Thanks, SESAM for the memories we created together. Our journey to Olmmáivággi (Manndalen) stays with us forever. Giitu! I say thank you to Kubura Ali for introducing me to her family in Gambaga. I am particularly grateful to the elderly women in Gambaga, Sampson Laar of the Go home Project and all my research participants. My gratitude again goes to the Center for Women and Gender Research (Kvinnforsk) for their cash and kind support. I am particularly grateful for the office space at the Center and all the smiles that greeted me in the corridor. My final bouquet of gratitude goes to my colleagues’ students in the MIS18 cohort for good companionship. I say a big thank you to my bosom friend and brother, George Nafiu Mpoah, whose unflinching support all the years we met is priceless. v vi ABSTRACT While there have been numerous scholarly works on witchcraft beliefs, that of the phenomenon of ‘witchcamps’ are rare. In recent times, Ghana has come under the spotlight for being home to six settlements dedicated to sheltering ‘witches. These settlements are community-led initiatives that provide shelter for people accused of witchcraft. These ‘witchcamps’ are seen as a form of prisons where the rights of its inhabitant are curtailed. With its disproportionate number of women, various Governments have interpreted this phenomenon as a dent on the country’s image and they have variously signaled disbandment of the ‘camps’. However, the women in these so-called camps have protested the government’s intentions, claiming that it will jeopardize their safety. The focus of my research is the Gambaga ‘witchcamp’. The methodology of this research is situated within the field of indigenous studies. It employs a post-colonial indigenous research paradigm which amongst other things, give prominence to the value systems, community beliefs and experiences of marginalized people. This study is the result of six weeks of fieldwork conducted in Ghana in the summer of 2019. During my fieldwork, I variously stayed in Gambaga, Accra and Tamale gathering data. I conducted interviews with some of the women accused of witchcraft, spoke a spiritual diviner and some members of the Gambaga community. Also, this study drew on archival materials in order to have an idea of how traditional values have been resilient in the lives of the local people. My study interrogates three problems. Firstly, to understand the processes and events leading to a person settling in the witchcamp. Secondly, to find out reason was to find out the significance of the settlement to the local people. Finally, this study investigates why women formed the majority of those in the witchcamp. The finding shows that contrary to public misconceptions, the so-called ‘witchcamp’ in Gambaga provides shelter and security to the women. The processes leading to an accused person settling in the witchcamp reveals a body of traditional and local conception of witchcraft belief. Finally, the study found out that while witches can be both men and women, accusations of witchcraft have typically been influenced by local conception of gender. Thus, a woman based on her ‘sex’ stood a greater risk of been accused of witchcraft. vii viii Table of Contents DEDICATION .............................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. vii ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................... xiii GLOSSARY: ....................................................................................................................................... xiii Chapter one Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 General Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The people of Gambaga and the ‘witchcamp’ ............................................................................... 3 1.3 Research Problem ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Indigeneity in the Ghanaian Context ............................................................................................. 8 1.5.1 Situating my research within Indigenous Studies ................................................................................... 9 1.6 Thesis outline .............................................................................................................................. 10 Chapter Two: Theory and Literature ........................................................................................ 12 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 12 2.2 Indigenous Religions ................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Mystic Power, the use of Magic and Witchcraft .................................................................................. 14 2.2.2 Moral and Natural Evil ........................................................................................................................ 16 2.3 Women and the accusations of witchcraft .................................................................................. 18 2.4 Foundations; Feminism and the Feminist Fraternity ................................................................... 21 2.4.1 Gender and Critical Feminist Approaches ............................................................................................ 24 2.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter Three: Methodology and Methods ............................................................................. 29 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 29 ix 3.2 Post-colonial