I like how the article goes through the trouble of explaining that hunger was probably not the reason (in his case cause he has money)

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/nige ... -in-ghana/

A Nigerian student enrolled in one of the numerous tertiary institutions in Ghana has cut and swallowed his penis. The incident occurred last Friday. Although no one is sure what prompted the 25-year-old student (name withheld) to chop-off and practically ingest his manhood, Daily Sun gathered that he is currently on admission at one of Ghana’s teaching hospitals.

In Ghana, the average tuition fee per academic session for a non-Ghanaian student hovers around $6,000 (over N900,000). If his parents could pay his fees for studying in Ghana, it was doubtful hunger was not the boy’s reason.

So, was he jilted by a lover? Was it some senseless act of bravado or as a result of failure or poor grades? The student, who hails from Zaria, Kaduna State told Mr. Andrew Idi and other officials of the Nigerian High Commission Accra who visited him in hospital that he believed he was under a spell, when he carried out the bizarre act. Mr. Idi is Consular Officer at Nigeria’s mission in the Ghanaian capital. Reliable sources indicated more than 20,000 Nigerians are students in various tertiary institutions across the former Gold Coast.

And, the number is rising by the semester, as countless Nigerian parents are confident a child studying in a Ghanaian university is sure to complete her/his programme on schedule, whereas, back home some students had spent seven years on a four-year programme, without graduating because of suspension of academic activities, consequent upon incidences of labour strikes, closure of schools over terrorists’ attacks and other incidents.

You know... I'm gradually starting to wonder if there's something to the idea of demonic possession.

Interesting that Nigeria was just considering chopping off willies as a judicial measure (but they were just kidding of course!). Not saying it's related, just that it's interesting.

Sounds as though he was having a mental problem. Perhaps he was delusional, thinking that his penis was some sort of snake that needed to be killed and eaten. Some people who are psychotic lose contact with reality. Imagine doing this, then coming out of your psychotic episode and realize that your penis is missing. When you ask what happened? You're told you cut it off and ate it.

i think theres deffinately something in telling people theyre posessed, then standing back and watching them do weird shit..... if its a place where the masses genuinley belive in it as much as they seem to in Africa, you could do any old bullshit and say anything to them ending with "ive just put a spell on you" and theyl use that as an excuse for any weirdness that they do afterwards

People commit suicide, but no one gets to ask them why, unless they leave a note. Self destruction and self mutilation of all sorts has been with us always. Some cultures make it respectable and suggest reasons of honor or faith, others like ours do not.

Freud wrote that when people experienced anger their primary target was themselves, not others. I've never understood this, but in light of our topic there may be something to it.

interesting