How do you know she is a witch?

Day 17 - Sokode (Togo) to Tamale (Ghana)

A long driving day as we cross the border to Ghana. This small northern border had just a couple of buildings yet it still took 90 minutes for us to be processed and allowed to continue.

We stopped for lunch after crossing the border in the town of Zabzugu. We made our way to a local bar to eat our pre-made lunches, the owners seemed very pleased to see this group of foreigners buying drinks, taking photos of us and shaking our hands on the way out.  

Our next stop was at village of the Dagomba ethnic group where the chief welcomes people (almost all women) who have been exiled from their own village after being accused of being witches. The children swamped us as soon as we stepped out of the van and didn't leave us alone until we were back in the van. 

We were taken to meet the chief and were allowed to ask him questions about the witches. Reasons for being accused of witchcraft include the death of someone in the family or suspicion of creating a disease. Many have misunderstood mental health issues and most are elderly women no longer of any use in the village and if their husband has died banishing them enables their land and possessions to pass to the husband's family. 

When a person has been accused they are banished from their own village and they have to go to the chief of the village to be assessed (providing they aren't lynched first). The chief cuts the throat of a chicken, whether it dies on its back or front determines whether she is a witch or not. The "witches" live in their own compound and when we visited were all sombrely sitting in a small area where was some shade, away from the rest of the village. The chief's gesture appears to be a good one but further research indicates that in some cases the women are treated almost as slaves. It was a very sobering visit.

We stopped in Tamale, the third largest city in Ghana, for the night, and were housed in an annex to the main hotel. Our meal that night was very similar to most of the others we'd been having. Throughout the trip it's been omelettes and coffee for breakfast, lunch and dinner are usually a choice between chicken, beef or fish, accompanied by either, rice, french fries, grilled plantain or mixed vegetables. Occasionally there is the offer of pizza or spaghetti, and dessert is sliced fruit.