“He was nearly lynched by the Zinabo community for his refusal to perform an age-old ritual to a fetish priest”, an eye witness and a concerned member of the Zinabo community in the Nzema area narrated looking quite distress. The right and life-saving approach to take was for him to run away from the community.
That’s the story of a man who had to run away from his community for the fear of being persecuted for his new found belief in God and utter disregard to his ancestral obligations. This should have, indeed, been a matter of choice, a matter of right to association. But, no. This storyline is highly familiar amongst many rural dwellers where ancestral worship is somewhat pervasive. There have been a number of unreported issues of human right abuses because of choices made by the chosen ones – persons selected by priests and priestesses to serve as the concoction maker for the fetish priest or priestess.
Henry Blay, a middle-aged man’s case is situated in this context. This stark revelation of societal rejection and collective abuse was brought to the light by a community member, who out of compassion and fear, hinted some local journalists and the police about the community’s ploy to visit on Henry Blay punishment and atrocities for his refusal to serve the high priest as the ‘concoction maker’ of the community.
Zinabo, a town known for its staunch belief in traditional religion and doctrines, is a community in Nzema area of the Western Region of Ghana. According to eye-witness narration, as substantiated by a maternal uncle, Henry was ordained, from childhood, to be the concoction maker for the priest. He was the chosen one the community awaited to enstool when he aged. But, things changed.
Henry upon his journey of dissent, thus becoming a Christian, twisted literally his own fate. Henry found solace in a lady he became friends with, Cynthia Tetteh who encouraged him to be strong in his faith and the decision he had taken.
Cynthia had promised Henry of protection from the onslaughts of Henry’s family. The choice of serving God, according to Henry’s family is alien to their heritage and norms of and were not prepared to let that slide peacefully.
The doctrines of Christianity, as known, are in sharp contrast with ancestral/traditional worship and speaks against worshipping of other dieties, a practice that Henry’s family still revere.
“He wasn’t ready to bend the principles of his new found belief in Christianity and God and so when time came for him to perform the rituals to the diety our family has been serving for years, he opted out”, a maternal uncle of Henry shared in an interaction. The assumption was that, Henry’s mind had been polluted by his girlfriend, Cynthia.
What was to follow was a streak of abuses by the family. Uncles to Henry did not understand why he had made that choice since his acceptance to serve as a concoction maker would have bestowed on him property and entitlements. “He has chosen a wrong path and we’ll not accept such humiliation. We shall do all we can as family to ensure the right thing is done. The right thing is for him to become the concoction maker for the priest. If he fails to accept, we shall exact the needed punishments. We can’t just let one person sacrifice an age-old tradition for nothing”, an uncle intimated.
Henry was once beaten to a pulp by some young school children when he bolted to a nearby forest whiles being chased. He was lucky to have been saved and was able to limp to the community police station, soaked in blood and in bruises to lodge a complaint.
According to one uncle who confirmed this, the family has avowed to make sure he’s fulfilled a childhood prophecy through every necessary means.
As it stands, Henry Blay, is literally an outcast and has been barred from from entering his community. He now lives with the fear of being caught and abused again.
Two things are likely to happen to him upon his eventual return to his community. Either become a concoction maker by force or performing the abandoned rituals and be showcased to the entire community as the approved servant of the priest or be punished by the community for abdication of duty.
