‘DuabƆ’: a practice travelling through ages

On Friday, September 16, 2016, Enimil Ashon wrote an article in the Daily Graphic with the headline: “Why are we so cursed”. When I saw the caption of the said article, it impelled me to revisit something that I have been thinking over for some time now.

This article, however, is not a rejoinder to Ashon’s article neither is it a commentary of what he wrote in his piece. But my interest is on a word he used in his headline: “cursed”.

It may or may not sound droll to you when someone says “I will curse you”. I am at this point tempted to ask you if you believe in curses or have ever been cursed or has someone ever threatened to curse you before?  I may equally ask you if you have ever wondered why people use curses? 

The above mentioned questions are deep rooted concerns on the minds of many people around the globe. The use of curse (s) or the act of cursing is one of the ancient belief practices in the world. It has existed in many societies, including Ghana.

Etymology

Many Ghanaians, for instance, believe in the existence of the Supreme Being known in the Akan language as ‘Nyankopon’ and the existence of the lesser gods, also called ‘abosom’ (plural form of ‘bosom’) in the Fante dialect.

Those who believe in the lesser gods worship God through them (abosom) while those who believe in either Christianity or Islam do worship God through Jesus Christ or Prophet Mohammed respectively.

Generally, all the well-known religions in the world, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism among others believe in the existence of the supreme God and also do recognise the existence of the lesser gods. The lesser gods are worshipped mainly by traditionalists’ in their shrines, managed by fetish priests and priestesses.
 
Curse

Curse, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is defined as “a rude or offensive word or phrase that someone use when they are angry” or “a word or phrase that has a magic power to make something bad happen”.

The use of curse is without doubt, one of the known belief practices that is feared by many people in the world, particularly in the Ghanaian and other African societies. Curses are believed to have devastating spiritual effects. 

In the Akan language, for example, a curse is known as ‘dua’, ‘Noli’ in Dagbani, and “LƆmu” in Ga. However, the act of cursing is known in the Akan communities as “duabƆ”.

In the Bible, for instance, curse was first used by God when Adam, Eve and the Serpent disobeyed Him in the Garden of Eden.

“And the lord said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:14).

Similarly, the Quran also cited God of having cursed those who do not believe in him.

“Surely Allah has cursed the unbelievers and has prepared for them a burning fire” (Surah Ahzab, 33:64).

All believers believe that their God or gods is/are just. Because of this belief, whenever someone feels cheated, one of the ways of seeking justice is to summon the person who has cheated him or her before his or her God or gods. But in extreme cases, when people feel cheated or provoked, they often resort to the use of curses.

It is believed that ‘abosom’ worshippers are frequent users of curses. This is because the ‘abosom’ are believed to be quick in their action than the supreme God in the Ghanaian society.

Notoriety of curses

In recent times, the use of curses has become common in many parts of Ghana. This spiritual weapon of mass destruction is particularly used on people who are regarded as enemies.

At public functions, for instance, some linguists who pour libation sometimes unintentionally invoke curses as part of their prayers. Some parents too unknowingly have also placed curses on their children based on their utterances.

Items for cursing

Some of the popular materials used in invoking curses in Ghana includes fresh eggs of local fowls, alcohol, roads, cars, water, and ordinary word of mouth. However, the curses are done with the names of deities.

Notable deities whose names are used in invoking curses in the country includes “Antoa Nyamaa, an Ashanti region based deity, Tano in Brong Ahafo Region, Okye in Ekumfi, Tagnyam in Savelugu, bagbag-pagurigu in Gushegu, Pataangye in Western Region, and Apaape in Bomaa in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Christian views

Speaking in an interview with Pastor Abraham Gaise, the General Overseer of the Christ’s Church Universal in Accra, he said there were many forms of curses, including family curses, which he explained could stay in a family for more than 200 years if nothing was done about it.

He said some of the effects of family curses includes poverty, prostitution, drunkenness, bad marriage, bareness and sickness among others.

“It is only God that can undo curses and set us free from its powers in our lives”, he said, adding that “We shouldn’t take for granted whatever word that comes from our mouths”.

He added that “it is wrong for Christians to use curses on their fellow men. We have to pray for our enemies and not to curse them”.

Reported cases

On October 30, 2015, the Daily Graphic reported that to settle the deadlock in the election of who becomes the Presiding Member for the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), some supporters of one of the two candidates for the position, Nana Kofi Senya, resorted to the invocation of curses to compel members of the assembly to vote for their choice”.

Similarly, on June 22, 2013, the Daily Guide in a story captioned: “Christians who invoke curses are shameless” in which the Chairman of the Church of Pentecost and President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Apostle Dr Opoku Onyinah, was quoted of having expressed disgust about the rate at which Christians resort to invoking curses as a shortcut for self-vindication.

Apostle Onyinah said Christians who indulged in the act of cursing were total disgrace to the Christian community and needed repentance, suggesting that Christians who invoked curses should be dealt with according to the principles in the Bible.

Fetish priests

When contacted, Nana Gyedu, an Agona Wiamoase based spiritualist in the Ashanti Region, said curses had dire consequences on the people they were pronounced upon.

He said anybody could curse but the curse would work depending on the matter that brought the curse.

He explained that when a person was cursed, the gods constituted a jury to investigate the case as to whether to act on the curse or not.

“The gods have their own court so when someone curses somebody, the gods sit on the matter and if the person cursed was at fault, the gods will kill the person or let the person suffers the content of the curse and vice versa”, Nana Gyedu said.

He, however, said if a person commits a crime or offends someone and realised his or her fault and apologised, no curse would work on such a person.

He said unlike first where people under curse had their legs swollen, the dynamics had changed and that cursed victim would feel ill without getting a permanent cure for it and die out of it.

He, however, said there were two ways through which a curse could be overturned, explaining that one could either see the person who placed the curse or see a spiritual person to overturn the curse.

Writer’s email: [email protected]