We went to the University of Ghana, Legon where we
were given a guest lecture from Dr. Godson Ahortor on "RELIGION, RITUAL,
HEALTH AND DISABILITY IN WEST AFRICA". Interestingly, Dr. Abortor is
visually impaired due to coronary ulcers he has had since birth, and so hearing
his views on the topic of disability were of particular relevance. He was a
brilliant professor with a huge amount of knowledge to share—I need to do
further research on the topics he was discussing in my own way, so that I can
really grasp and understand the information and what it means in the larger
sense. After discussing the lecture with my classmates, however, I was able to
gain a clearer sense of the information, which I will share below. The
following is what I took away from the lecture.
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| University of Ghana, Legon |
Our lecture was about how
religion functions in Ghanian… and West African society, and about how it directly
impacts the views that the society has on disability and disabled persons. The
religions in Ghana are: majority Christian followed by Muslim and Traditional
African Religion. Professor Ahortor discussed the negative attitudes
surrounding disability and how these are grounded in religion and culture. The
archaic beliefs are still very present today and affect the state of healthcare
for those in need.
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| Liz, Darci, Janelle, and Mehir at University of Ghana... SAY CHEEEEEESE, CHALE! |
All religion in Ghana is
grounded in the values of African Traditional Religion (ATR), which believes
that spiritual justifications and spiritual healings are at the forefront of
health. The spiritual cause is behind everything. This religion was the most
discussed in the lecture and the one that was of most interest to me, as it is
so different from my own beliefs. In ATR they believe that there is a heavy
spiritual component to health that we in America do not prioritize.
**WHO definition of Health**
Health is
a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity.
In ATR there is a belief in reincarnation, however
if there is evil in a person, which is anything that threatens life, then a
person will be cremated so that they cannot rest peacefully with their family
in death. Some evil acts are abortions, hurting animals or disabled people,
murder, infertility and not giving birth. They emphasize the need for
contributing to the society (growth), which is not something important only in
ATR.
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| University of Ghana |
In terms of disability, the
belief is that if it threatens life then it is evil---- Disability and sickness
is caused by something spiritual (not medical, bad luck etc). An example of
something negative spiritually causing bad health would be a curse, harboring
ill feelings, evil or immoral acts or powers, spiritual powers. Disability is
seen as a Divine Punishment.
One example Dr. Ahortor gave was
that if a child becomes sick and goes to the hospital and is not getting better
it is because there is something bad in the house causing the child to remain
sick, something like a curse. The cause is believed to be metaphysical and
until the parents resolve the issue that is supposedly making the child sick,
they will not get released.
ATR believes that children
born with disabilities did something in a past life and are being punished or
the parents have done something evil and are being punished. When a child is
born with a disability they are regarded negatively. They are kept indoors and
treated as outcasts. They are subjected to ill treatment from peers in the form
of taunting, insults, physical abuse and such.
In terms of healthcare and
healing, there is a primary religious influence which comes in the form of
confession, exorcism, reconcillation
with family and purification rituals. One of the other lecturers that spoke to
our class answered my first question of the course, which was “Is there a
stigma associated with disabled persons?” with a NO… at the time I found this answer
very, very strange. I knew that there was no way that this was true, and
questioned why she would say that there was not a stigma and I continued to
think about this question throughout the rest of my trip.
The two women that spoke to
our class seemed to have a different view about disability that most of the
other individuals and institutions that we encountered. I can’t help but think
there is something about gender and education, as these women were both very
educated. Perhaps they do not think that there IS a stigma, or maybe there is
not one where they grew up or how they live. The theme for me of this trip was
taking in information and deciding what to believe, think and make of it. I
learned quickly not to take what anyone said at face value and do my own
research and analysis after the fact…. This is something I am still doing.
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| Friends taking a breather at the Moven Pick 5 Star Hotel in Accra, Ghana |
I was not surprised at the
information we were given at the University of Ghana, it is basically what I
would expect the view of disabled persons to be especialy as there is such a
religious component in the society and a need for everyone to pull their weight
in the family. It is hard to survive in the best of circumstances so I can
understand why adding disability just makes things so much harder. The answer
for me is always education.. but of course we must acknowledge the
underdevelopment of Ghana and that fact that Ghana has only been independent for
around 50 years
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