In the Ghanaian village of Mafi Dove, childbirth is not just discouraged; it is forbidden. For generations, women leave their homes in labour, sometimes in unbearable pain, to deliver their babies outside the village. The reason is that the people of Mafi Dove believe that giving birth on their land offends the gods and defiles their sacred soil.
The Origin of the Taboo
Mafi Dove lies in Ghana’s North Tongu District in the Volta Region, a peaceful settlement of about 2,000 residents surrounded by farmland and forest. Its people trace the prohibition back centuries to the village’s founder and forefather, Togbe Gbewofia Akiti.
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According to Reageant Kwame Tsiditse Gbenua XIV, Custodian of Mafi Dove, Akiti once killed a buffalo while exploring new territory.
After the hunt, a spirit appeared in human form and told Akiti he had slain its beloved pet. The spirit, known as Gbe, forgave him but demanded that he and his descendants worship it under three sacred rules:
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No childbirth on the land
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No burials on the land
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No rearing of animals
Akiti agreed, and those commandments became the foundation of Mafi Dove’s identity. Mr. Osa, one of the village elders, explained it this way:
Any land where blood is shed, whether human or animal, is unclean. The spirit gave us this rule so we could live in peace. That’s why no one fights or kills here. You can sleep on the street and nothing will happen to you.
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For pregnant women, this sacred peace often brings fear. Once they approach their due date, they must leave the village, sometimes days/weeks in advance, to deliver in nearby communities such as Adidome, the district capital. When labour comes, they are rushed out by motorbike over rough, bumpy roads for nearly ten minutes. In Mafi Dove, cars are rare, and emergency medical support is minimal.
If a woman accidentally gives birth in Mafi Dove, a ritual must be performed to cleanse the land and protect the child, according to Mr. Osa.
You must report it immediately. If you hide it, you could lose the baby, or the child may be born with abnormalities.
Only after the baby’s umbilical cord falls off, symbolising separation from birth, can the mother and child return home.
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Mafi Dove Cemetery
Just as childbirth is banned, so too is burial. Mafi Dove residents are not buried within the village. Instead, they have a cemetery located beyond the community’s borders, where all deceased residents are laid to rest. To the people, this preserves the land’s purity and maintains its status as holy ground.
Kwame Tsiditse Gbenua XIV, the community’s custodian says it this way:
No dead body is allowed on this land. If you bury someone here, the land becomes unclean and the spirit forbids it.
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Will It Ever Change?
Over the years, Mafi Dove’s women have suffered dangerous complications from travelling in labour. The situation grew so concerning that Ghana’s Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection intervened. In collaboration with the local assembly, they built a health centre on the outskirts of the community.
The Mafi Dove Health Centre now serves the 2,000 residents, but challenges remain. Frank Afomanya, the physician assistant, says the clinic has no doctors, so in cases of emergencies, they have to transfer the pregnant woman to a larger hospital, and they have no vehicle available.
“We have no doctor, few drugs, and limited equipment. If there’s a referral, there’s no vehicle to take the patient. The road is bad, and using motorbikes for pregnant women is risky.
While most residents accept the taboo as part of their identity, younger women are starting to question it. Still, elders like Mr. Osa insist that the rules are divine, not man-made.
This is not something a person created… Even the courts have ruled in our favour. No chief or modern government can change what the gods established.
And so, in Mafi Dove, babies are still born on the outskirts of town, mothers still make the painful journey to the labour room, and the village remains a sacred land untouched by birth or burial.
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