Trokosi as a Form of Modern-Day Slavery - Term Paper Example

Trokosi as a Form of Modern-day Slavery Number Trokosi as a Form of Modern-day Slavery Trokosi is a religious culture involving the sexual slavery of mainly the female fraternity. The movement focuses on the cultural practices and beliefs of West Africa, witnessing the implementation of a rule requiring virgin girls to be given out to tend to the needs of priests in select traditional places of worship. The religion is common in Ghana, Benin and Togo, even as its true agenda remains secret in the same way as Occultism. The agenda of the religion can be traced to its classical practice of sexual servitude and has faced severe criticism for the same. Background of Trokosi The term “trokosi” was derived from the local Ewe dialect in Ghana and Togo, meaning “wives of the gods" (Kankpeyeng, 2009). The virgin girls are regarded as wives of the symbolic god who is feared, respected and honored at various traditional places of worship. Trokosi and voodoo are similar in the sense that both bank on some magic to woo and retain the followers. From the 16th century, the Ewe is believed to have been expelled from the Niger River delta towards the west. During this tumultuous era their gods of war assumed great title and significance, projecting fetish priests above the chiefs in terms of influence. They continue to be the most feared, respected and influential individuals in the better part of the rural West Africa. Practically, the priests use fetish slaves as concubines in the perceived holy places. The slaves must respect his command and be ready to make sacrifices, sometimes in pain (Alford, 2005). If they object, they are punished in the fields to produce valuable goods for sale by the priests. Sometimes they are ordered to serve the priests sexually for free. In addition, the victims do not stand a chance to receive any mercy and are cut off from the rest of the population. Trokosi is a general term used in reference to both the religious practices or the organization and the victims of the traditional form of occultism. Selection and responsibilities According to Bales, Trodd and Williamson (2011) the fact that the occult movement is premised upon mystery is itself a shared attribute with Trokosi. Joining Trokosi is non-negotiable to the potential victims and their respective families. In addition, settling the dues of a Trokosi is a unilateral decision of a priest or the entirety of the shrine of the African traditional religious movement through a process referred to as "atoning." As Alford (2005) said, the fact that the religion is keen on appeasing the spirits of a male ancestor, a kin or a relative is similar to occultism since both are shrouded in mystery. The priests are often the ones to serve the requirement on the family with an assurance that by paying a Trokosi, the family would be cushioned against the wrath of the gods that might be visited on them and their neighbors if they refused to honor the call. The mysterious tasks that a family choses their virgin daughter to do by becoming a shrine slave add to the occultist nature of the religion. For instance, the forced Trokosi is then tasked see to the needs of the revered idols present in the perceived holy place, giving sacrifices to them, cleaning and maintaining them, and the nearby environment. Some reports indicate that as the Trokosi carry out their duties, they are needed to facilitate transgressions in order to attract more slaves to the place of worship (Kankpeyeng, 2009). The girls also see to the needs of the priest and their concubines within the shrine without questioning. Common tasks such as tilling his fields, harvesting crops, drawing water, burning charcoal, and doing basketry for sale are the order of the day (Bales, Trodd, & Williamson, 2011). Trokosi also acts as the priests’ sexual toy; priestesses always meet the needs of the elders of the shrine (Wiafe, 2000). And as it is the case with occultism in which undue sacredness is imposed upon idols and other select ordinary human beings, Trokosis have a sacred obligation to sleep with the priests because the latter’s sexual organs are considered holy. In contrast, as opposed to the Christian and Islamic teachings on showing kindness to every individual, the Occultist-Trokosi witnesses no affection being shown in any sexual encounters between the girls and the priests. The general life of the Trokosis Trokosis are usually handled in an inhumane manner. According to Wiafe (2000), in the event that they fail to meet their required work output or if they show disrespect or annoy the priest at the shrine, they are usually handed corporal punishment. In order to keep their faith, they are taken through constant blackmail, that they will face curses and put to death should they deliberately fail to honor the demands of the priest in as much the same way as occultism. The Trokosis are outlawed from putting on ordinary clothes or footwear; they are required to walk barefoot and wear drapery of a uniform color, usually dark blue, black, white red or yellow for easy recognition (Gillard, 2010). The uniform garb is believed to be important to instilling fear among the rest of members of the public, thus prevents any undue interactions with them. Owing to these restrictions, a number of the victims of servitude have revealed to foreign aid agents that they are treated inhumanely in the course of their work. Trokosis are normally kept unaware of the grounds for their forced labor and sexual abuse, but those trace their misfortunes through their family members and kin ultimately find out (Gillard, 2010). Some of the girls are offered for abuse at a very tender age provided the priest has claimed the gods are full of wrath over minor mistakes such as failing to properly honor the shrine for helping with the location of a missing item. In addition, organizations that work to free shrine slaves often report other serious offenses like purported murder and cases of bad luck like misplacing jewelry by their forebears (Kankpeyeng, 2009). As occultists seek to expand their following at any price, many Trokosi are conditioned to be supportive of and engage in prayers that increase more sins in the society, so that more Trokosis can be sought to cleanse the people of the murk at the shrines. Trokosi is seen as a single organization with the same beliefs and practices; however, their sentences and traditions differ from one shrine to another (Bales, Trodd, & Williamson, 2011). Perhaps the commonest tradition of the movement is that when the enslaved girls begin their monthly period, they are taken through an initiation ceremony, which then paves way for the fetish priest who has been arguably ‘appointed’ by the gods to sleep with them as he deems fit. But, unlike occults who do not surrender anybody from their membership, women who have lost their sense of attractiveness are sometimes allowed to rejoin their families in a manner that raises the issue of the duration and the motive behind their service. As Alford (2005) indicated, practices differ from across the shrines, but most of the traditional places of worship never allow the fetish slaves to reunite with their families. Interestingly, gods and the fetish priests have the least of worries as to the possibility of the women losing their loyalty and escaping from the shrines. Their continued service is guaranteed by virtue of fear among members of their respective families and the communities from which they were drawn (Bales, Trodd, & Williamson, 2011). The people believe that helping such women to escape would make them vulnerable to the gods’ curses. The modern-day slavery Trokosi as a form of modern slavery takes a somewhat different trend as evidenced in the life of a nine-year-old girl known as Abla Kotor (Aird, 2014). Her kin sent her to slavery at 6 to the Awlo-Korti shrine in Tefle, located in Ghana’s southeastern region to appease them for her father’s offense of rape (Bales, Trodd, & Williamson, 2011). And in order to undo the curse, Abla was forced to live and toil for a fetish priest, Kotinuor Akorli, until he was convinced the spirits of the gods had been atoned. Abla’s parents surrendered her into the modern slavery life, where the girl encounters psychological and physical abuse including rape by the Ewe priest. In the current world, these atrocities combined with her denial of education, movement and access to her family are manifestations of modern forms of slavery meted against many Trokosi young girls (Aird, 2014). Conclusion Generally, occultism and Trokosis are similar in the sense that both are shrouded in mystery. It is extremely hard to understand how sending young girls to the shrines against their wishes may yield forgiveness of past wrongdoings by the gods. Equally unclear is how the fetish priests are an embodiment of the gods. However, the religious practice has instilled tremendous fear among different families which must offer their young girls to serve as slaves in the shrines whenever they are directed to do so by the priests. The fear of attracting more curses keeps the girls faithful and loyal to their masters. This paper focused on the practices of the Trokosi in relation to occultism. The two have more similarities than differences, but more research should focus on their comparison to Western slavery of the 19th century. References Aird, S.C., (2014). Ghana’s Slaves to the Gods. Retrieved http://www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/v7i1/ghana.htm Alford, D., (2005). Sex Slaves Slow Freedom. Christianity Today, 49(2), 22. Bales, K., Trodd, Z., & Williamson, A.K., (2011). Modern Slavery: A Beginners Guide. New York: Oneworld Publications, 2011 Gillard, L.M., (2010). Trokosi. New York: Xulon Press. Kankpeyeng, B.W., (2009). The Slave Trade in Northern Ghana: Landmarks, Legacies and Connections. Slavery & Abolition, 30(2), 209-221. Wiafe, S., (2000). Slaves of tradition. New Internationalist, 328, 8. Read More