tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post8725566314045338959..comments2023-08-13T05:26:06.112-04:00Comments on Vinegar and Honey: Witches Hold Conference In GhanaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-81314626986331110912007-10-09T19:40:00.000-04:002007-10-09T19:40:00.000-04:00Vin, after reading your articles along with some i...Vin, after reading your articles along with some information I found, I get the sneaking suspicion that this "conference" may also be a hoax. Some of these countries controled by some singular despot tend to generate their own brand of news whether based in reality or more often in their own fantasies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-62218289875049826022007-10-09T14:21:00.000-04:002007-10-09T14:21:00.000-04:00sue..yeah, it's enough to make your head spin! LO...sue..yeah, it's enough to make your head spin! LOLJanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16083702120097667613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-71707472140229932972007-10-09T14:20:00.000-04:002007-10-09T14:20:00.000-04:00vin..thanks for the additional information.I menti...vin..thanks for the additional information.<BR/><BR/>I mentioned in my post that superstition is a powerful and effective weapon, and I'm sure that it abounds everywhere, including in the minds of officials and citizens, and could be used to control the actions of others.<BR/><BR/>The lust for power will cause some to use any means to obtain it.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16083702120097667613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-47795325457387780882007-10-09T14:11:00.000-04:002007-10-09T14:11:00.000-04:00rockync..it was surprising to me to come across th...rockync..it was surprising to me to come across that article.<BR/><BR/>I haven't checked out the other sources that you mentioned.<BR/><BR/>What surprised me, I suppose, is the global aspect of it, and the fact that they mentioned Satanists, and other countries.<BR/><BR/>I don't know if one could ever understand the mindset of anyone who practices the occult, especially when it comes to the sheer depravity mentioned in the article.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16083702120097667613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-48655212859521751852007-10-09T13:46:00.000-04:002007-10-09T13:46:00.000-04:00Wow... my head is spinning. (No, that wasn't meant...Wow... my head is spinning. (No, that wasn't meant to be a pun.)suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17087761009975204727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-91743915923199013352007-10-09T11:05:00.000-04:002007-10-09T11:05:00.000-04:00Here are a couple additional news article excerpts...Here are a couple additional news article excerpts on Ghana to put some perspective on this recent news;<BR/><BR/>http://www.ghanacbc.org/june200712.html<BR/><BR/>Ghana: Media Leads Anti-Gay Witch-Hunt<BR/><BR/>The anti-gay campaign began when Ghanaian media began reporting in late August that an "international conference" of gays and lesbians would be held in Ghana, creating a firestorm of protest from newspapers, radio talk show hosts, and religious leaders.<BR/><BR/>But the "conference" which had unleashed weeks of homophobic media comment and religious calls-to-arms turned out to be a hoax.<BR/><BR/>http://www.afrol.com/News2001/gha002_witchhunt.htm<BR/><BR/>afrol News, 7 April - <BR/><BR/>In a lawsuit that could make history in Ghana, 80-year-old Janet Tibu is seeking damages from 12 men, including the village chief and a church minister after they branded her a witch. Branding women witches is seen as a powerful control measure against critical local elements. <BR/><BR/>Women accused of witchcraft are subjected to abuse and other cruel treatment, and their fate is usually determined through trial by "ordeal." Banished women and their children are denied basic rights, such as access to safe drinking water, food, shelter, health care and education. Dating back to the 17th century, the Ghanaian tradition of witchcraft blames every death or misfortune on someone, usually a woman. <BR/><BR/>According to BBC Africa, Mrs. Tibu was "found guilty of casting a spell on a local herb doctor and condemning him to poverty and impotence." The herbalist said at the ordeal "there was never any money in his bank account, his crops were ruined by pestilence and patients were no longer coming to see him." He said his son, who had confessed to being a wizard, claimed that Mrs Tibu was responsible. <BR/><BR/>In 1998, the Ghanaian parliament passed legislation providing specific protection for women and children. The provisions of the bill ban the practice of "customary servitude" (known as Trokosi) and in particular protect women accused of witchcraft. <BR/><BR/>According to the national Ghanaian Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), as many as 5,000 women inhabit so-called "witches' villages" in four districts in the Northern Region. In some cases, the arriving women had been sentenced to leave their homes by village authorities who claimed to have the power to determine who were witches. In other cases, relatives, or the women themselves, came to the village believing that they were witches, and asking to be protected and/or cured of the affliction. <BR/><BR/>Although the women face no formal legal sanction if they leave, most fear that they would be beaten to death or lynched if caught outside the penal villages. Forced labour also occurs at the camps for women accused of witchcraft.Rio Vista Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00874243711162984051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-91982774736429450442007-10-09T10:37:00.000-04:002007-10-09T10:37:00.000-04:00Well you have certainly given me something to pond...Well you have certainly given me something to ponder Jan. I suspect that if the article is bonified then it may likely be either a hoax or some substandard form of smear campaign. Perhaps a feeble attempt at breaking up local interest in witchcraft. If that is the ultilmate case then all the article succeeds in doing is put more spotlight on the cult.<BR/><BR/>Personally, as a faithful Believer in God, I have a certain interest and belief in Satan's exsistance and the many forms that he manifests himself, but more often than not the devil is in the details and not the recipient of superstitious stone throwing by any sect in society.Rio Vista Boyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00874243711162984051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-23055683057000588182007-10-09T09:27:00.000-04:002007-10-09T09:27:00.000-04:00I too have no interest in such practices except in...I too have no interest in such practices except in trying to understand what motivates a culture and their practices. I guess my interest is more anthropogical. What I gathered from the website I stated above was that there are women being falsely accused of witchcraft and having to flee for their lives; not unlike our own witch trials in this country so long ago. I hope you will keep up with this and let us know if this conference actually takes place. I'd be interested to know how much is fact and how much is hype. Of course, now that the cat is out of the bag, perhaps they will have their gathering someplace else.<BR/>More disturbing is the idea that people would think of causing mayhem and misery to fellow human beings. What is so broken in a person that they would delight in harming another?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-64837501154719516122007-10-09T00:55:00.000-04:002007-10-09T00:55:00.000-04:00rokync..I understand what you are saying, but this...rokync..I understand what you are saying, but this article is not one that is circulating the net, neccessarily.<BR/><BR/>It is an actual article from Ghana's own homepage..whether or not it is taken seriously over there I don't know, but they must have some reason for publishing such things.<BR/><BR/>It is a site given to my husband by one of his employees who happens to be from Ghana, and it is his source of news from home, he says.<BR/><BR/>I am not interested in witchcraft, voodoo, or any other occultic practice, but I did think the article was an interesting one.Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16083702120097667613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071607692933192813.post-59138173077151238792007-10-09T00:24:00.000-04:002007-10-09T00:24:00.000-04:00Hi Jan,I am always leery of spectacular stories ci...Hi Jan,<BR/>I am always leery of spectacular stories circulating the 'net. So many times they are perpetuated by some person or group trying to further their own agendas. <BR/>I found a couple of blogs by self proclaimed witches and it seems like they haven't heard of this conference until this article. That seems odd since shouldn't someone immersed in that culture know these things? I did find a blog here <BR/><BR/>http://thegallopingbeaver.blogspot.com/2005/12/witches-of-ghana.html<BR/><BR/>This gives another aspect to the subject of witchcraft in Africa.<BR/>Growing up in America, I never gave much thought to the practice, but I suppose there are places where witchcraft and voodoo and other related superstitions are taken pretty seriously.<BR/>I just don't know what to make of this one, but like the KKK and other groups that thrive on the misery of others, I just tend to ignore them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com