A Healing of the Spirit

The Shaman and village children dancing to the beat of the surrounding drums.

The Feima Monkey Sanctuary, lunch with the Prime Minister, and a Spiritual Healing.

First, would like to express that as much as I am in love with my new home away from home; I am missing, appreciating, and looking forward to Locust Fork and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I cannot wait to actually hear the voices of family and friends and to actually be able to rest assured that everything is ok. You never know how much you appreciate something until it is completely absent from your life. One primary thing that this experience has already taught me is to not take advantage of anything- not coffee with a friend, not a phone call from mom or dad, not a kiss from your love, not a burrito from Taco Bell, not anything! These small things and so very much more make up our blessed, united, and respected aspects of The United States of America which people across the world are only dreaming for. Upon arriving at home I will be a changed person with a broader admiration for the things that I have and the relationships that I cherish. Sunday was the infamous visit to Fiema monkey sanctuary. Throughout this program in the recent years, the sanctuary has been one of the most highlighted adventures and I now personally see why. Feima monkey sanctuary is surrounded by two primary villages, Feima and Boabeng, that have a total population of around 300. These local villagers not only live by the monkey sanctuary, but live with the monkey sanctuary and consider it as close as family. The two species of monkeys in Feima monkey sanctuary are the Mona and the Black and White Colobus. A myth surrounds these precious creatures and it goes like this- Long ago there were brutal tribal wars throughout the region as well as the villages surrounding Feima. It was said that while Feima was at war with an enemy tribe, the monkeys surrounded their village chief from head to toe and protected him from any harm. To this day the people inhabiting the area of Feima monkey sanctuary see the monkeys as their protectors and treat them with as much respect as their own human neighbor. This is all the way to the point of burying every deceased monkey in a cemetery that monkeys and prized chiefs inhabit after death. The monkeys are so very gentle and friendly and treat you like one of their own. In stepping into the forest with only a few small calling cries, the monkeys swing over to say hey from all directions. With the peanuts in hand that Dr. Seth purchased for us in the village before we arrived, the monkeys were following our every move as we fed them through the forest paths we hiked. The Mona is the typical monkey you will see in Feima but the Colobus is the very shy one that you will only see high in the treetops. They will eat peanuts right out of your hand and sit by you just like a best friend. It is absolutely amazing. I envy this direct relationship with nature so very much. To be able to live among these amazing creatures of comfort is a dream within itself. Along with experiencing the monkeys of Feima, we encountered trees as old as 300 years old and plant and wildlife that are lifelines to the local people in terms of physical and spiritual medicine. This idea of a solely dependent relationship with nature is something so foreign to my life in America. After personally seeing the relationship and observing the spiritual power that nature can bring into a family, I am positive that this aspect of Ghana is something America should look up to. The day ended with dinner from the wonderful Chef Tony which cooked scrumptious corned beef just to our taste, and a crazy game of Charades! I have not played Charades in so so long, but now our group is officially hooked. The games began in Blair and Annie's room with girls vs. boys against Zach, Michael and Davey and ended with the vision of Davey with a t-shirt over his head and a shoe in hand, pretending to be the bride off bride wars. We laughed to tears, it was absolutely priceless! The next day was suspected to be quite the relaxing one with just traveling on the schedule for the day, but to our excitement we were scheduled a surprise lunch with the Prime Minister of Ghana's Brong Ahafo region and the mayor of Sunyani. We began with a tour of the government office and introductions to the Prime Minister and his operating crew. He was very pleased to meet and begin a relationship with so many Tuscaloosa residents as he and four others from Sunyani, Ghana have an upcoming visit to Tuscaloosa in plans to discuss governmental matters and specifications regarding their partnership with Tuscaloosa as their sister city. Despite his extremely busy schedule he still took the time to sit and discuss each of our majors with us and open the floor for question and discussion. Afterward he hosted a lunch for us at the nearby hotel and along with his already overwhelming generosity, he organized a personal tour of the Sunyani Regional Hospital. Again, we were shown such amazing gratitude. As we toured the Sunyani Regional Medical Center I was in quiet dis-belief. As this hospital is one of the most prized hospital and teaching facilities in Ghana, the facilities were absolutely accommodating and effective but in a whole new light. There was no such thing as comfort here. At one point throughout the tour we were brought directly through the maternity ward and were shocked at a vision of a room filled with 10 women, all either holding babies or in labor. Mothers were separated by only a sheet that was left open to allow air to circulate through to them and their infants. There was one lady particularity that gave me pains to the stomach as she was in terrible labor, naked with sweating pains, and tossing side to side in the bed she was left to share amongst the other 9 ladies of that ward. I was flooded with emotion as I was thankful for the facility that was available to the women and other patients, heartbroken over their discomfort, and extremely appreciative for the amazing United States of America that I can call home. Later we arrived in Kumasi, had a round table discussion of our experiences so far ,and prepared for what awaited us the next day. Dr. Seth explained that we would be visiting the Shaman the next day and that we needed to read and discuss what to expect from this traditional leader. The Shaman is an indigenous healer, also called a traditional priest, and practices healing with plant, animal, or mineral substances with methods that are a part of the local culture. The Shaman is guided by particular deities that instruct him on each individual case that he is faced with. The deities allow him to lead the patient into a therapeutic consultation on what to change in his/her life and what to do to solve the immediate problem. Today we arrived at the Shaman's home and were greeted by the community surrounding a group of local drummers, singers, and dancers. The welcoming process was fantastic and thoroughly prepared us for the journey we were about to set out on. We were immediately seated and greeted by many priest and priestesses that had came from surrounding villages. It was not until we spoke to the Shaman out of his spiritual body that he said he had called the surrounding priest and priestesses to join him in greeting us and educating us on this indigenous healing process. I was honored at his thoughtfulness and so thankful to the priest and priestesses for enduring the inconvenience of travel for them and their family out of pure joy and appreciation for our visit. I can only begin to describe to you this amazing process, but I can start with the fact that it was the most educational, thrilling, and spiritually impacting moment of my entire life. Sounds of beating drums were surrounding us and in front were views of priest and priestesses adorned in spectacular decoration. Many of these healers were specifically recognized by their extravagant chalking of the face and exposed skin. This chalk is known to represent the many spirits that the priest and priestesses consult with throughout their healing process. While they are adorned and marked with the chalking they are said to be with the spirit, which guides their speech and every movement. When the spirit leaves them, they are dressed down to normal Kente and operation. As tradition states, we were greeted by drinking a glass of dry gin offered by the spiritual translators. This was followed by an offering of dancing shakers wrapped in decorated leather and made with hair. If you were handed a dance shaker by the Shaman, you were asked to dance. At one point the entire group was handed a dance shaker and we were all dancing a circle around the entire dirt dance floor surrounded by tents, smiles, and beating drums. We laughed and tried our hardest to follow the moves of the priest and priestesses the best that we could. The beat of the drums became addicting and I found myself lost in the rhythm. That moment put every dance class that I have ever had in my entire 12 years of dancing to shame. It was a spiritual healing beyond belief. As the dancing came to a stop, the head priest, the Shaman, went below a tree and was seated to invite those who had traveled for healing to present themselves to him. We observed the Shaman consult with three different individuals and slowly but surely gained an understanding of the indigenous healing process. The healing process begins with an egg offering to the Shaman and then an explanation of your visit. The Shaman then throws the egg and as it breaks, an x-ray of your mind is shown unveiling your inner thoughts and problems. While he is consulting you on your healing process, there are translators all around that translate the Shaman's spiritual tongue into the native Twi language. The Shaman evaluates whether your illness is caused by natural causation, spiritual forces, supernatural forces, or socially unacceptable behavior. After his instruction you are sent with blessing and the Shaman sleeps to rest from his spiritual being into his human being. After observing his healing process we proceeded to a round table discussion with the Shaman and the rest of the priestesses. We were allowed to ask anything and everything, and we did. One of the favorite questions from the group came from Kia. She asked what advice the Shaman had for us to live a long and happy life. He replied that the question was one of the best questions that he had ever been asked.. and instructed us in many ways. He explained that money, envy, or steering away from our education would not make us successful and that we needed to always observe and concentrate on a clean heart. I was in complete admiration of the Shaman and the surrounding community with their efforts to shine a light on their tradition for us to observe and appreciate. Today was so eventful and impacting that it is impossible to share my feelings in words tonight. I do know that I experienced diversity, respect, honor, and tradition today in its finest. I appreciated every minute of dancing and speaking with the Shaman and could have stayed there hours more despite the oncoming storm and grumbling stomachs of the group. Today truly changed my outlook on Ghana. I now have an unmeasurable respect and admiration for this country. Healed. Cheered. Blessed. Until Next Time, Life is Love