Indigenous communication practices of traditional healers in Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana

Abstract

This study explores how traditional healers in Kabre and Bongo-Soe in the Upper East Region and Kaleo and Jirapa in the Upper West Region of Ghana use indigenous modes of communication and practices in the discharge of their duties. The study is theoretically grounded in embodied cognition and Indigenous epistemologies, using epistemic injustice as an analytical lens. The target population comprised practicing traditional healers, apprentices, and selected community elders within these communities. Anchored on embodied cognition, indigenous epistemologies, and epistemic injustice, the study employs a qualitative ethnographic design involving in-depth interviews, participant observation, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Using purposive and snowball sampling techniques, a total of 30 participants were selected, consisting of 17 traditional healers, 8 apprentices, and 5 community elders. Throughout the fieldwork, detailed field notes were kept to document reflections, emergent observations, and contextual insights. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis, involving systematic coding, familiarization with the data, pattern identification, and iterative development of themes to generate culturally grounded interpretations of communication and healing practices. Findings reveal that healing knowledge is communicated through multimodal practices including spiritual calling, silence, ritual performance, apprenticeship, symbolic action, and dialogic engagement with the natural environment. These indigenous modes of communication and practices not only facilitate knowledge transmission but also establish healer authority, legitimacy, and therapeutic efficacy within cosmological and ethical frameworks. However, findings further reveal that the continuity of these practices is challenged by selective spiritual transmission, secrecy, generational change, and the growing dominance of biomedical systems. The study argues that recognizing indigenous modes of communication as embodied, relational, and epistemically valid is crucial for the sustainability and equitable recognition of indigenous healing systems in Ghana. This study recommends that there is the need for state actors such as the Ministry of Health to ensure that indigenous healing communication is formally recognized within Ghana’s health and cultural policies. The study adds to the body of literature on indigenous communication-based healing practices in Ghana, particularly among the people of Kabre and Bongo-Soe in the Upper East Region and Jirapa and Kaleo in the Upper West Region.