Divine Rulers in a Secular State

The Superstition that Dismembers the African Child: An Exploration of the Scale and Features of Juju-Driven Paedicide in Ghana

“…In this particular case, Okomfo Anokye, unarguably the most celebrated traditional priest in the history of Ghana, who was a bosom friend of the then Asante monarch (King Osei Tutu I), divined that the Asante would be victorious only if three chiefs volunteered to be sacrificedone was to be buried alive, the second was to be slaughtered for vultures to feed on his flesh, and the third volunteer would lead the Asante soldiers fully armed but would not fire a weapon or defend himself even if he was attacked by the enemy. Three chiefs volunteered to be sacrificed, and the Asante won the battle (Anti 1971;Kallinen 2016;Kwadwo 1994;Mbogoni 2013;McCaskie 2007). The fact that the Asante people were victorious as predicted by the fetish priest, perhaps, reinforced the belief in the efficacy of human sacrifice (or rituals with human ingredients) and the belief that certain individuals in society have extraordinary powers to manipulate events.…”

‘Thou shalt not worship idols’

“…Firstly, the early conflicts between chiefs and members of both Protestant and Catholic mission churches sprang from the perceived idolatrous nature of traditional rituals just like the contemporary Pentecostal criticisms of chieftaincy. Hence, it can be argued that the Pentecostals are actually carrying on a lengthier historical Christian debate on the acceptability of chieftaincy and other aspects of traditional culture (see Kallinen 2016;. 4 Secondly, even though many churches have nowadays adopted a much more welcoming stance toward traditional culture than the Pentecostals-the post-Vatican II Catholic notion of 'inculturation' being a prominent example-they still consider some parts of it as undesirable and insist that they have no place within Christianity (see, e.g., Mpanga 2017: 67-108;Sarpong 1995: 288-296).…”