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Topic: Trokosi

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	Daily Nation On the Web (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		The Trokosi tradition in Ghana was cited as a form of savagery against women, particularly the girl child.
		Trokosi is a form of slavery where virgin girls are given to priests to appease the gods for sins committed by their ancestors.
		"Trokosi means 'slaves of the gods' and the duty of the girl is to wash, cook, fetch water, clap and sing for the priest," said a spokeswoman.
	www.nationaudio.com /News/DailyNation/300799/News/News70.html (154 words)

	Trokosi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		Trokosi is a traditional practice of sexual slavery in some parts of Ghana, Togo, and Benin.
		In this practice, young girls, usually under the age of 10 and often as young as five, are given to village fetish shrine priests as sexual/domestic slaves or "wives of the gods" in compensation for offenses allegedly committed, or debts incurred, by a member of the girl's family, or for favors sought from the shrine.
		This last group consists of those vestal virgins who are sent into servitude at the shrines of the Troxovi due to crimes allegedly committed by their senior or elder relatives such as mothers, fathers, uncles, and grandparents.
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Trokosi (406 words)

	Ghana
		The girl, who is known as a Trokosi or a Fiashidi, then becomes the property of the shrine god and the charge of the shrine priest for the duration of her stay.
		During the atonement period, most Trokosi do not live in the shrines, which generally are little more than fenced-in huts with small courtyards; many remain with their families or stay with members of the shrine who live nearby.
		In many instances, when a Trokosi woman dies, even years or decades after she has completed her service and resumed her life in the village, her family is expected to replace her with another young girl, thus continuing the association of the family to the shrine from generation to generation.
	www.state.gov /g/drl/rls/irf/2003/23710.htm (2963 words)

	What's At Stake: Tell Ghana: Enforce Anti-Slavery Laws
		Like many other Trokosi girls, she was given to atone for the sin of a male relative.
		Trokosi, in the Ewe language, means "wife of the gods." It is part of a traditional religious system, ju-ju, in which a fetish priest mediates between the gods and the people.
		Because Trokosi occurs as a religious superstition in a remote region of the country, it is difficult to observe.
	ga0.org /campaign/ghana/explanation (643 words)

	Speak Truth To Power Defender Profile (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Trokosi comes from an Ewe word meaning "slave of the gods," and is understood as a religious and cultural practice in which young girls, mostly virgins, are sent into lifelong servitude to atone for the alleged crimes of their relatives.
		Dogbadzi speaks out against Trokosi, traveling the country, meeting with slaves, and trying to win their emancipation; and increasingly, she is not alone in her courageous stance.
		My next step to disbanding Trokosi is to ensure enforcement of the law and to get allied organizations in the Republics of Togo and Benin to stop this practice in their respective countries.
	www.speaktruth.org /defend/profiles/profile_02.asp (1781 words)

	Trokosi in Ghana
		It is an aspect of African traditional religion, a cultural practice, and a science that evolved among the ancestors of two patrilineal groups in Ghana: the Ewes of Tongu and Anlo of Volta region and the Dangmes of the Greater Accra region.
		Trokosi is manifested in shrines and is embodied in a deity or god called Tro or Troxovi.
		Proponents of Trokosi may still argue that little noise is made when men in other parts of the world beat their wives into submission, subject them to inhuman treatment, or when young Arabs kill their own sisters for straying into perceived wrong sexual relationships with foreigners.
	www2.ncsu.edu /ncsu/aern/trokony.html (3371 words)

	kids
		A trokosi, in its commonest and most humiliating form, is a virgin who is yet to have her first period and who is given to society to atone for the sin or offence committed by a relative.
		Trokosis, as described, are found in the Tongu area of the Volta region and a slightly different practice known as the fiasidi system is found.
		Needless to add that, children of the trokosi fathered by the priests and other functionaries in the shrine are not catered for, let alone sent to school.
	www.dispatch.co.za /2000/03/16/features/KIDS.HTM (1105 words)

	Forefront \| GHANA: Juliana Dogbadzi (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Trokosi is a form of slavery based on religious traditions that continues in Ghana, Togo, Benin and southwestern Nigeria.
		The word Trokosi can be translated as "Slave of the Gods." According to this religious custom a family must offer a virgin daughter, typically from eight to fifteen years of age, to the local shrine, when a relative commits a crime, ranging from petty theft to murder.
		What worsens the situation of many former Trokosi slaves is that they find themselves charged with the sole responsibility for themselves and the children they bore as a result of the repeated rape they suffered in the shrines.
	www.forefrontleaders.org /partners/africa/juliana-dogbadzi (826 words)

	Every Child Ministries - Slave Children (Trokosi)
		In practical terms, trokosi are slaves of the priests who serve the idol gods of the shrines—working long hours without pay and often without having their simplest life needs met, serving him sexually in any way he demands, and being deprived of all normal human affection.
		Other girls are given into trokosi slavery by their families in payment for the services of the priest, seeking the favor of the gods in order to assure a good crop or success in an exam.
		Trokosi slave girls are forced to chant praises to the idol gods, offer sacrifices and do heavy manual labor in the priest's fields all day without any compensation, while strictly forbidden to eat even a morsel of the grain they raise.
	ecmafrica.org /page.aspx?id=36223 (3050 words)

	Slavery in Ghana
		The word trokosi in the Ewe language means "slaves of the gods." Once given to the priest, a girl becomes his property and is made to carry out domestic chores such as cooking and washing, as well as farming and fetching water.
		Although other trokosi were liberated from the Awlo-Korti shrine where Abla was enslaved, after the law was passed Abla continued to live in the shrine effectively under the control of the priest because her aunt was afraid that otherwise the curse of the gods would revisit the family.
		One hundred and thirty trokosi priests who have released all trokosi from their own shrines and now oppose the practice were so incensed by the inaccuracies in the US Government reports that they met on 4 January 2002 to refute in very specific terms the US Government's claims.
	www.sos-sexisme.org /English/slavery.htm (613 words)

	Feminist Wire Daily Newsbriefs: Print This Page (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Trokosi (meaning "wife of the Gods") is the custom of sending young women and girls to be cared for by priests in order to protect the family from evil, to apologize for sins committed by a male family member, or to give thanks to the Gods for blessings received.
		Human rights activists are calling Trokosi "one of the country's most serious human rights problems." It is estimated that currently, almost 4,000 females are enslaved by priests in 51 shrines throughout Ghana.
		Supporters of Trokosi claim that women who are part of the shrine life are heroes and role models in their families.
	www.msmagazine.com /news/printnews.asp?id=2143 (247 words)

	Australia helping to liberate Trokosi slaves in Ghana
		She does not know the age at which she was brought to the shrine as a Trokosi slave.
		Trokosi is the practice where young virgin girls are offered to religious shrines as reparation for the sins of family members.
		The priests and shrine elders subject their victims to persistent sexual abuse and children - particularly girls - who are born to a Trokosi mother and fetish priest become the property of the shrine.
	www.ausaid.gov.au /closeup/trokosi/default.cfm (487 words)

	Human Rights Brief - Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law - Washington College of Law
		The custom of trokosi is part of a traditional fetish belief system, according to which gods or spirits reside in various ritual objects and shrine priests.
		Modern trokosi slavery takes a slightly different form as seen from the story of a nine-year-old girl named Abla Kotor, whose family sent her, at the age of six, to the Awlo-Korti shrine in Tefle in southeastern Ghana to atone for a crime her father committed.
		In Ghana, the trokosi practice is most prevalent among two patrilineal groups: the Ewes of Tongu and Anlo, and the Dangmes of the greater Accra region.
	www.wcl.american.edu /hrbrief/07/1ghana.cfm (2814 words)

	ewe tradition
		A 'Trokosi', in its commonest and most humiliating form, is a virgin, who is yet to have her first period and given to society to atone the sin or offence committed by a relative.
		Most 'Trokosi' in the latter category are not meant to live in the shrine.
		A recent survey shows that there are at least 39 active 'trokosi' shrines in the Volta and Dangme areas: 18 in the Tongu North (Adidome), eight in the Tongu South (Sogakope), five in Ketu, three in Keta, two in Dangme West and one in Akatsi district.
	freespace.virgin.net /asantedom.com/asantedom/archive/ewe.html (1191 words)

	The Trokosi: Religious Slavery Today - eNews for September 14, 2004 (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Trokosi is a word meaning, "wife of the gods", showing the sexual side of the servitude.
		Most trokosi girls are given to be slaves prior to adolescence, some as young children, and spend their days working long hours without pay in the priest's fields or serving the gods in the shrine.
		Trokosi slavery is known to exist in Benin, Nigeria and Togo, but most of the information about the practice has been gleaned from women in Ghana.
	www.khouse.org /enews_article/2004/805/print (543 words)

	About the trokosi slaves
		Most trokosi begin their life of slavery in pre-adolescence, some as young as 4 years.
		Trokosi are always girls—literally “wives of the gods,” forced to perform sexual services for the idol priest.
		Trokosi slaves are found in several West African countries.
	www.thinkwow.com /slavechild/about_the_trokosi_slaves.htm (116 words)

	Christ Church Hawthorn - Anglican - Hawthorn, Victoria - Missionaries
		The Trokosi women must also care for any children they bear as a result of their encounters with the priest.
		Trokosi is an ancient traditional religious practice peculiar to the Ewe tribe in Ghana, Benin and Togo.
		IN supports villages that have liberated Trokosi and in particular runs a Vocational Training Centre for ex-Trokosi and other women affected by the practice to be trained in practical skills and counselled for reintegration into their communities.
	www.christchurchhawthorn.org /app/w_page.php?id=72&type=group (1443 words)

	SABCnews.com - africa/west_africa
		Awlesi Amegawi lost both her freedom and her will to live 40 years ago when she was given away as a slave to a Ghanaian priest to atone for the sins of a family member.
		Amegawi, a wizened woman in her fifties, is a "trokosi" or the spouse of god.
		Trokosis have to sport fl or blue clothes all the time to indicate their status.
	www.sabcnews.com /africa/west_africa/0,2172,19827,00.html (704 words)

	AFROL Gender Profile - Ghana
		Trokosi, a traditional practice found among the Ewe ethnic group and in part of the Volta Region, is an especially severe abuse and a flagrant violation of children's and women's rights.
		It is a system in which a young girl, usually under the age of 10, is made a slave to a fetish shrine for offenses allegedly committed by a member of the girl's family.
		The provisions of the bill ban the practice of "customary servitude" (known as Trokosi), protect women accused of witchcraft, double the mandatory sentence for rape, raise the age of criminal responsibility from 7 years to 12, criminalize indecent assault and forced marriages, and raise punishments for defilement, incest, and prostitution involving children.
	www.afrol.com /Categories/Women/profiles/ghana_women.htm (1995 words)

	Liberating girls from 'trokosi': campaign against ritual servitude in Ghana
		Trokosi is also practiced in Benin, Nigeria and Togo, but most information on it comes from Ghana.
		Akope is adamant: "The practice of trokosi is a crime and it should be stopped completely.
		A majority of participants said they were not familiar with trokosi and were not aware of the law against it.
	www.un.org /ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol15no4/154troko.htm (1031 words)

	Phorum :: VIROOTS.COM Online Forum :: Do not be afraid
		Trokosi, in the Ewe language, means "slaves of the gods." It is part of a traditional religious system, ju-ju, in which a fetish priest mediates between the gods and the people.
		Trokosi are not lured or abducted, but rather sent to shrines by relatives who fear misfortune if they do not atone in this way.
		Although the Trokosi must provide food and clothing for themselves and their children, they are permitted to retain only a fraction of wages they earn outside of the shrine.
	www.viroots.com /phorum/read.php?2,242 (1919 words)

	General News of Wednesday, 17 August 2005
		Trokosi is a slavery-like practice of Ewes especially those in the southern of the Volta region in which women are required to become property of the god or gods of a fetish shrine in order to atone for a families' prior wrongdoing or to appeal for relief from natural misfortune such as famine or disease.
		ECM said there are at least 2,200 girls and women bound to fetish shrines as Trokosi, but this number does not include their children.
		The families of the Trokosi are expected to pay the bills for up keep after the woman is released, but often times the shrines run out of funds during the service period and this results in cutbacks in food for the Trokosi.
	www.ghanaweb.com /GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=88306 (679 words)

	Fiji Women's Crisis Centre (FWCC) :: Slavery in Ghana (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		The word trokosi means in the Ewe language "slaves of the gods." Once given to a priest, a girl is his property.
		Even when girls are released, in accordance with the tradition, a trokosi is married for life to the god, and she may be required to render services at the shrine anytime after her release.
		Many released trokosi are unable to marry and remain in concubinage to the priest and to other men for the rest of their lives.
	www.fijiwomen.com /index.php?id=1085 (655 words)

	PM - Ghanian woman speaks out against tribal customs allowing slavery
		She was sent to a village shrine and became the slave of a Trokosi priest in order to atone for the sins of a family member.
		She was instead taken a Trokosi shrine and became part of a bizarre practice carried out by certain tribes in Western Africa.
		The slaves are usually young females given by their families to the local Trokosi priests to atone for the sins of another family member.
	www.abc.net.au /pm/content/2005/s1452249.htm (611 words)

	Tell Ghana: Enforce Anti-Slavery Laws
		Trokosi, in the Ewe language, means “wife of the gods.” According to a religious tradition called ju-ju, virgin daughters must be offered to fetish priests as atonement for the sins of family members or the gods will bring misfortune or even death upon them.
		In 1998, the Ghanaian parliament amended legislation to ban the practice of Trokosi and strengthen punishment for offenders; however, they have done little to enforce the law.
		By not enforcing the Criminal Code Amendment Act of 1998, which was passed to eradicate ritual and customary slavery, you are complicit in the sexual and labor exploitation of women and girls as young as nine for fetish priests.
	ga0.org /freedom_action/alert-description.html?alert_id=2004316 (894 words)

	EquityFeminism.Com (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		Although a law was passed three years ago in Ghana outlawing it, up to 3,000 women are still estimated to be enslaved as a result of the practice.
		Trokosi is a religious practice of the Ewe who inhabit Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana.
		One of the Ewe's religious beliefs is ju-ju -- the notion that the gods punish one person's sins by causing the death of other family members until the sin is forgiven by the gods.
	www.equityfeminism.com /index/2001/02/12 (1168 words)

	African Culture Online - African Culture Forums, News, Articles, Photos, Radio - Trokosi (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
		If Abla is sent to the shrine she will become a "Trokosi," or a "wife of the gods." Trokosi is a religious and cultural practice found predominately in the Volta Region of Ghana.
		While specifics of the practice vary, Trokosi generally means that a virgin girl is sent to serve at a shrine where she is symbolically given to a deity to atone for the sins or criminal acts of a relative.
		Once a girl becomes a wife of the gods, she must live and work in the shrine where, in some cases, she is used as the sexual partner of the priest.
	www.africancultureonline.com /forums/showthread.php?t=4189 (2673 words)

	The Blender: --Trokosi Slaves, Ghana--
		Trokosi is an ancient religious practice that is in stark contrast to Ghanaian and international human rights law.
		The women are freed after negotiations between ING and the fetish priests in the Trokosi shrines, with the whole community involved in the process.
		Hugh evans was over in ghana recently with other Oaktree people and INternational needs Ghana, and he met Mercy and Patience(IN Ghana trokosi worker) and they all came to tintern for oour DFL in august and the next week mercy and patience came with a lady from I.Needs.
	www.worldvision.com.au /stir/blender/forum_posts.asp?TID=291&PN=1 (1106 words)

	Ghana- Facts on Trafficking and Prostitution
		Thousands of virgin girls are given to priests to appease the gods for crimes committed by relatives of the family in the Trokosi tradition in Ghana.
		When the Trokosi girl begins to menstruate she becomes the sexual property of the priest.
		At the age of 12, Abla Kotor was given to a local priest in atonement for the rape that resulted in her birth, the rape of her mother by her mother's uncle.
	www.uri.edu /artsci/wms/hughes/ghana.htm (452 words)

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