The Spiritual Spouse

Dadzengor is a 10-year old girl living in Dogbekofe, a village in the Volta Region of Ghana. After what is seen as her being possessed by her grandmother’s soul, she is betrothed to the gods and a ritual is performed to gratify them. She is obliged to spend every weekend ‘performing the ritual’ and is not allowed to speak about it. Although the ritual is affecting the little girl’s life, it is believed that failure to perform the ritual will result in dire consequences for her family. What is clear: her performance at school has slumped badly since the ritual was first performed.