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THE SISAALA |
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The toddler pictured below is wearing a nadima necklace, a charm which the Sisaala believe protects infants from illness, witchcraft and death. "When misfortune strikes a Sisaala, it is thought to be the result of someone's secret envy or hatred, or the ill-will of irritated ancestors who feel slighted or under-appreciated by the current generation" (Politics of Divination Among the Sisaala). As Christ is preached, some are beginning to question the worth of a necklace offered up on mud altars to ancestors and sprinkled with the blood of chickens. That God has become a man, that his name is Jesus, that he died and came back to life, that he has authority over all principalities and powers, even over ife and death, is good news indeed to a people who have, until now, been enslaved by their fear of ancestors and evil spirits...
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The People The Sisaala are an unreached people group (fewer than .5% are professing Christians), numbering 121,000 and located in northwest Ghana. They're small and thin due to heavy workloads. Whatever else might be said of them, this much is true: The Lord has a people for himself among them...
Climate and Life The Sisaala live in the flat grasslands of northwest Ghana. The climate is hot with two seasons: Humid & rainy (March thru September) and dry & dusty (October thru February). Sisaala homes are made of mud-bricks and grass. All household and village chores are done by hand -- electricity and machinery aren't a part of village life. Few communities have safe drinking water, making them vulnerable to water-borne diseases. Click here to learn about SIM Ghana's "Hand-Dug Well Project."
Religion Most Sisaala villages converted to Islam from traditional religion two generations ago. They believe in God as Creator but do not know of his saving work in Christ. Their underlying belief system remains ancestor worship. They fear the loss of their ancestors' protection, a possibility which breeds fear and distrust. The Lord is at work among them, however: Forty Sisaala received Christ as Savior in response to outreach efforts in 3 communities in 2004. There are still 89 communities without a church or credible gospel witness. |
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