AFRICANEWS
GhanaChristianity and tradition on collisionReligionby Amos Safo
Once more Ghanaians have been awakened by the clash between tradition and Christianity which this time turned violent in the process causing the destruction of property running into millions of cedis. The clash occurred when the Ga Traditional Council (a council of chiefs that represents the landowners of Accra) on May 1, 1999 announced a ban on drumming and excessive noise making. The ban which is an annual exercise that precedes the celebration of a traditional festival called "Homowo" which literally means chasing hunger away. According to the traditionalists, it is celebrated to pray to the gods for a bumper harvest. This year's ban took effect from midnight May 3, and ended on June 3. Before it took effect some churches had served notice that they would not obey the ban since it infringed on their freedom of worship and belief. In a statement, the Christian Council, the Catholic Bishops Conference and the Ghana Pentecostal Council described the ban imposed on noise making and drumming by the Ga Traditional Council as an infringement on the constitutional rights of the churches. The statement argued that the imposition was compelling them to involve themselves in traditional beliefs that are contrary to their faith. A similar statement from leaders of some Charismatic churches also argued that the decision to impose the ban on drumming constituted a direct attack on their belief in the sovereign lord. They said the Ga Traditional Council had no power to enact and enforce laws. "We also know that there is no constitutional provision that allows any group of religious adherents to impose their beliefs on another group" Yet the traditional authorities would have none of it. When the first Sunday after the ban came into effect, traditionalists armed with offensive weapons stormed some churches that were singing and dancing and beat the congregation, confiscating their instruments in the process. The attacks were so violent that they generated heated debate on the various media with calls for a halt on attacks on churches. There were also calls on churches to respect the ban in the interest of peace. Neither side was prepared to heed the call for compromise. Much as the churches thought that obeying traditional rules meant idolatory, the traditionalists felt that the defiance by the churches was an affront to their culture. As the confrontation wore on, the Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Mr Emile Short issued a statement explaining that the ban had no legal backing and could not be enforced. The statement urged the traditionalists to appeal to the Christians to accept the ban instead of imposing it on them. The Traditional Council did not take the Commission's intervention lightly and threatened to continue the assault as long as the churches continued to defy the ban. A presidential staffer on Chieftaincy Affairs, Nana Akuoko Sarpong also called on charismatic churches to reach a compromise with the Ga Traditional Council on the annual banning to end the dispute. Nana Sarpong recongnised the important roles some churches are playing in society but accused some of them of disrespecting Ghanaian culture. A meeting held between the traditionalists and ministers of state yielded nothing even though the ministers tried to explain the rather delicate issue of balancing observance and respect for tradition and culture with the rights of freedom of worship as enshrined in the Constitution. Inspite of the intervention of ministers, the chiefs went ahead and warned the police to stay out of their efforts to enforce respect for their culture. To show their seriousness, on May 9 local media reported that 100 traditional youth armed to the teeth ransacked the Gospel Light International, The Victory Bible Church and the Christ Apostolic Church all in the same neighbourhood. They reportedly took away instruments and church collections realised for the day. Spokesmen for the churches told reporters that they were attacked even though they were not drumming. And on 30 May a mob of Ga youth reportedly attacked worshippers of Apostolic Faith Ministry, leaving one person in a coma and five seriously injured. The attackers reportedly bolted with all the instruments and the offering for the day. In all the attacks, the police did not make a single arrest. One common feature of the collision was that the assailants targeted only the charismatic churches, leaving the orthodox churches believed to respect African culture. Reacting to the clash between culture and tradition, the President of the Methodist Conference, Rev Dr Alex Asante-Antwi advised Christians to avoid blanket condemnation of the country's culture. Dr Antwi said the attitudes of some ministers of the gospel tend to polarise the country's religious beliefs instead of harmonising the various religions for the spiritual development of the country's culture. He said the traditionalists deserve respect and humility from Christians. Dr Antwi explained that the church has been slow in accepting the fact that Christianity could be richer if it is blended with the culture of the people. He said the clash between the Ga traditional Council and some churches is a manifestation of the enmity between the church and traditionalists which could have been averted if there was mutual trust. "Ghanaians must not alienate themselves form their culture because they have become Christians", he concluded. At the time of filing this report, the ban had been lifted with no concrete agreements reached to forestall a recurrence, but certainly this year's clash has revived calls for some traditional beliefs to be modified so that they come in tune with constitutionalism.
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