Akan Belief System and Their Influence on the Diagnosis, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Indigenous Orthopaedic Therapy

Abstract

The Akan are historically an important ethnic group in Ghana who have beliefs on wide range of practices including orthopaedic therapy. The treatment is referred to in indigenous circles as ‘bone setting’. It is a specialised branch of traditional medicine which is quite popular among the Akan in Ghana. Unfortunately, most studies on the subject have focused on benefits of the treatment without placing premium on the philosophy that produced those results. The study seeks to examine the belief systems associated with indigenous orthopaedic therapy among the Akan of Ghana and also investigate the extent to which the belief systems have influenced the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of indigenous orthopaedic therapy. The study is qualitative and the Case study approach was adopted. The population for the study comprises the orthopaedic centres in the Akan Regions of Ghana, patients and cured patients from the selected indigenous orthopaedic centres, Western Medical Practitioners associated with the centres and knowledgeable people on the subject in the communities visited. Purposive sampling procedure was adopted for this study. Observation, and interview were used to collect data from the centres visited. The study revealed that the Akan belief informs the therapists’ choices of tools and materials for their therapeutic processes. Their mode of diagnosis and treatment are also influenced largely by this belief. These processes are approached from two levels; the spiritual and the physical. Spiritually, they deal with the spirit that caused the bone injury and physically use various substances to treat the injury. The indigenous practice therefore makes room for rehabilitation of cured patients in order to address all social and psychological imbalances the injury brings to the cured patients.