Krzysztof Maniocha
In the Name of Jesus
How do you praise your God? How do you pray to Him? Do you believe in Jesus Christ?
Ghanaians believe. Posters and billboards advertising conventions, new churches, miracle prayers, religious matters of all sorts are spread all around Ghana. Pastors of every Christian denomination proclaim the Word of God in radio and television, in buses, street corners and market squares. Everywhere you can hear the word: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! His name and image are found in many contexts-often employed more in a magical way than as a personal approach to God. Self proclaimed pastors and prophets are another thing. We should remember what the Carpenter from Nazareth said: ‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing’. Being a pastor in Ghana is partly a way of making money. Being a well established pastor in Ghana can prove extremely lucrative. Mixed in with authentic pastors are a great number of tricksters, but exploring this phenomenon was not the purpose of my project.
In this story I have tried to capture the power of prayer, what it means to people, and the many forms and traditions it takes within Christianity. I visited numerous prayer camps, places where all Christian denominations gather to concentrate on prayer and fasting. In the course of my visit I met people who stay and fast up to forty days and take no food at all, who are in short, quite comparable to biblical characters. Most of these believers come from Ghana, some travel from neighbouring countries such as Togo and Cote d’Ivoire. In general they are members of various Charismatic, Pentecostal, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. They pray in tongues (it is believed to be a gift from the Holy Spirit known as glossolalia); they clap their hands, dance, play tambourines and drums, break the hold of demons over people and spend hours on prayers. Some attendees gather on a mountain hoping to maximise the efficacy of prayer by praying over various physical objects such as olive oil, visa application, passport and money. Such articles are used as a point of contact with God in the hope that God can bless these items.
On one hand this Christianity accepts the will of God, on the other there is strong emphasis on success, winning, getting what is prayed for. Unlike orthodox Catholicism, fasting is not treated as a way to sacrifice your body to God but rather to gain a favour from Him such as the power of healing or prophecy. One could question many aspects of this approach of Christianity but there is one area for sure, where these people score points in contrary to many lukewarm in faith westerners: these people commit themselves completely to prayer. Most of them are well aware of the importance of taking care of their spirituality and worshipping God. What might be regarded with a cynical smile by a westerner is here in Ghana treated completely seriously.
Bio
Krzysztof Maniocha was born in 1979 in Poland. He has spent the last thirteen years in Ireland. During this time he graduated from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, with a BA ( Honors ) Degree in professional photography. He has spent several years assisting leading commercial photographers and working as a fixer for foreign photographers. Additionally, he has been freelancing in fields such as advertising, documentary work and press photography.
Krzysztof’s documentary stories have been featured with the photojournalist agency, ‘Uspecto Images’, whom he’s been involved with since 2011.
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I spent a couple weeks in eastern Ghana with a group of missionaries from Iowa. Yes, Ghanaians do believe once told about Christianity. I saw some disturbing ways in which that introduction into Christianity was made. Sermons were given in isolated villages before a clinic started in the morning, and nobody saying that the villagers’ place in line would be safe if they didn’t want to listen. There was an “exorcism” to cure a man with a sore back. There was a mass baptism in a hotel pool the day after a village was introduced to the religion.
“Being a well established pastor in Ghana can prove extremely lucrative.”
You are right on the money there. The pastor the group of missionaries dealt with had two houses, a nice car, and very nice clothing. His only source of income was from the money sent over from the Iowa church.
In short, from what I saw from religious groups is that the missionaries were there to help others and their church in a pretty balanced split. It was not purely benevolent.
The people of Ghana was simply beautiful in every way imaginable. As warm and friendly as anywhere I have been. They were the epitome of Christian ideals with or without knowing it. I miss them and hope to go back some day.
Congratulations of being published here, and thank you for bringing back the memories of such a wonderful country.
Good photos all, and all remind me of scenes I have seen in the US but with visual variations in a different setting. These comments, “Being a well established pastor in Ghana can prove extremely lucrative.” and “One could question many aspects of this approach of Christianity,” and even “but there is one area for sure, where these people score points in contrary to many lukewarm in faith westerners: these people commit themselves completely to prayer.” Seem applicable to a good many things I have seen in the US. “US” and “Westerners” are not monolithic words. Diversity in all areas is who we are.
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Fascinating and a little disturbing as well. But great documentary work and wonderful photography (image #2 is a mind blower!) Good stuff, Krzysztof; keep it up!