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Paper short abstract

This paper discusses the ‘penumbral zone’ operating at the Roman Catholic shrines (grottos) in Ghana. It focusses on the position and positionality of women-pilgrims as conflict solvers. Particular interest is on un-official rituals and the circulation of objects brought from pilgrimage sites.

Paper long abstract

The position and positionality of women within the RC Church in Ghana (as well as in many other places) is often described as a ‘gender paradox’. Women significantly outnumber men in various church-related activities while their role as religious leaders seems limited by the patriarchal official church structures. Various rituals and events, such as pilgrimages and retreats organized at the Roman Catholic shrines in Ghana (so-called grottos), also attract many women.

The paper focusses on the ‘penumbral zone’ of these gatherings and the role of women within this lateral dimension of pilgrimage. I am particularly interested in un-official rituals performed during the pilgrimages and the circulation of objects brought from these sites. The activities often involve trans- and inter-religious interactions. Such interactions can emerge around the sacred sites during the pilgrimage (for instance, among the Muslim and Christian women who sell food or water to pilgrims), at the shrines themselves (where people from various religious traditions can participate in certain rituals), as well as at people’s homes when they return from pilgrimage (circulation of ‘holy water’ and other healing objects among non-Catholic neighbors, family members and colleagues).

In my analysis I will apply the concept of ‘translation’ understood as creative processes involving women from various backgrounds who interact with one another in the lateral pilgrimage zones. Unofficial networks formed during these processes can be seen as disarming various conflicts connected with ethnic, family, inter-religious relations and generating bottom-up agency of women in Ghanaian society.