TRADITIONAL HEALING NARRATIVES FROM A COMMUNITY IN GHANA: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
SAMUEL ADU-GYAMFI *
Department of History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
JOSEPHINE BING
Department of History and Political Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This work addresses the significance of traditional healing in general focusing on the people of Obuasi in Ghana. It is an attempt to fill some blanks in the literature concerning traditional healing in Obuasi. It pays attention to how traditional medicine exists side by side with the conventional system. Traditional healing is an integral part of the health system in Ghana. Despite its important role in the modern society, traditional healing in Ghana has not received the fullest support; especially as a result of the rousing animosity that exists between them and the conventional system. This empirical study highlights the perception of users of traditional medicine concerning the efficacy of the medicines and practices of traditional healers in twenty-first century Obuasi in the presence of conventional medicine.
Keywords: Traditional medicine, herbalist, conventional medicine