Abstract:
This thesis examined the historical transformation of traditional medical practices
among the Konkomba people of Northern Ghana from the post-independence period to
the present. It employs a qualitative research approach, utilising descriptive and
narrative strategies to examine how Konkomba healing traditions have adapted to
shifting sociopolitical, environmental, and institutional contexts. The study draws on
oral testimonies, archival records, and relevant secondary literature, all of which were
analysed within a historical interpretive framework. The thesis argued that instead of
being displaced by Western biomedicine, Konkomba's traditional healing systems have
persisted and adapted through negotiation and selective incorporation. Central to these
practices is a holistic worldview that links physical illness to spiritual causality,
communal well-being, and cosmological balance. This worldview is expressed through
ritual sacrifices, herbal treatments, and the roles of Uwumbor (the Supreme Being),
ancestors (tiyajatiib), and local deities (nwa), all of whom remain essential to diagnosis
and healing. The savannah environment, rich in medicinal flora, has shaped local
pharmacological knowledge and informed therapeutic choices. This close relationship
between ecological understanding and spiritual belief underscored the complexity and
adaptability of Konkomba medicine. The study also examined state efforts to regulate
traditional healing through policies such as the formation of the Ghana Psychic and
Traditional Healers Association and the enactment of the Traditional Medicine Practice
Act. While these initiatives recognised Indigenous healing, they often introduced
institutional constraints. This thesis contributes to broader scholarly discussions on
African medical pluralism, indigenous knowledge systems, and the flexibility of
traditional practices in modern health contexts.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of History Education, Faculty of
Social Sciences Education, submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(History Education)
at the University of Education, Winneba
