Facts from Fiction, Myths from Reality, Widowhood Rites in an African Society: A Barbaric Tradition or a Consolidation of African Values?

In many African societies, when a man dies and leaves his wife (or wives) behind, culture demands that the widow (or widows) undergoes certain traditional mourning rituals before and after the burial of her deceased spouse, after which she can be cleansed of the ghost spirit of her late husband. Therefore, the main essence of the rites is to break the spiritual relationship between the deceased husband and the surviving wife (or wives). Unfortunately, most studies on widowhood rites in Africa generally bemoan the so-called dehumanising treatment of widows, ranging from denial of basic human rights, to intense public display of sorrow. In this paper, we demonstrate - through a vivid description of how the widowhood rites are performed among the Dagbamba of northern Ghana - that contrary to what has been termed as barbaric practices against women, the widowhood rites were not instituted to devalue womanhood in Africa.