Cultural renaissance and national development
One story that has gained prominence in the news in recent times is the abolition of an age-old cultural practice of killing children born with deformities in the Kasena Nankana West and East districts in the Upper East Region.
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It is interesting to note that in this day and age it took 12 years of public education and advocacy to change the mindset of some people that children born with deformities are full human beings but not any ‘spirit’ children as was the cultural perception.
It is unfortunate that such children were, hitherto, administered with poisonous herbs as a way of ending their lives in order to prevent them from bringing calamities on their families as the belief was.
One topic that also became a subject of discussion not too long ago was the appointment of Dr Henry Seidu Danaah, a visually impaired lawyer, as Minister in charge of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs against some cultural beliefs that abhor the practice of chiefs having direct contact with a physically challenged person.
These stories bring into sharp focus, again, the discussion on the relevance of some cultural beliefs to national development.
Culture is a very worthy subject, its importance for national development cannot be overemphasised. Unfortunately, culture is sometimes trivialised.
Whereas some reduce the understanding of culture to fetishism, others understand culture to be such archaic and anachronistic acts such as female genital mutilation, trokosi, regarding of children with deformities as ‘spirit children, among others.
Anthropologists have, however, given a deeper definition of culture as those forms of behaviour, practices and thoughts that are held, cherished and maintained as desirable for our lives.
Culture is said to be the oil that keeps society running. It is by culture that communities, societies and entire nations are sustained and developed. It is said that no society can make any meaningful progress without reference to culture.
If these definitions of culture are anything to go by, then such negative cultural values such as those that prompt one to regard the physically challenged as less human cannot have a place in these progressive definitions of culture.
If we desire to benefit from our cultural values, we can take a cue from countries such as Malaysia, South Korea, China, Japan and India among others that have adopted what is referred to as critical cultural renaissance.
Cultural renaissance or what is known as ‘sankofa’ in Ghanaian parlance is likened to a mythical sankofa bird that flies forward with its head turned backward reflecting the belief that, the past serves as a guide for planning into the future.
If development can be regarded as the enhancement of our living standards, then efforts geared towards development cannot ignore culture.
It is also worthy of mention that without our chiefs, who are the custodians of our culture, grass-roots democracy will be a daunting task, since there is no institution or government which can seek to successfully implement any idea at the community level without the involvement of traditional rulers.
Even as we seek to elevate tourism, today, from its current position as the country’s third foreign exchange income earner to the first, we need to be reminded of the important role that our cultural activities such as passage rites, festivals, traditional dances, funerals, among others, play in tourism promotion.
It behoves the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Arts, the National Commission on Culture, the Information Services Department and all other stakeholders to support Afrikids, among other NGOs, who are waging war against such inimical cultural practices.
Written by David Owusu-Amoah, a Public Servant