BEYOND THE HERBS: THE ROLE OF ARTS AND CULTURE IN TRADITIONAL HEALING PRACTICES AMONG THE SISSALA PEOPLE IN THE UPPER WEST REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

African traditional medicine is a heritage that goes beyond healing and well-being to serve as a cultural lens into the historical, sociocultural identities and ancestral links to the African people. While a plethora of traditional medical literature exist in Ghana among different ethnic groups, not same can be said about the Sissala traditional healing practice. This article explores the artistic and cultural dimensions within traditional healing practices among the Sissala people of the Upper West region of Ghana through the Symbolic Interactionism and Structural Functionalism theoretical lenses. Utilizing qualitative ethnographic and phenomenological research methods, data were collected though in-depth interviews and Observation, from traditional healers, patients, elderly residents and indigenous visual artists. A total of twenty-five (25) participants were sampled through purposive sampling and snowballing. Thematic content analysis was used in analyzing the data. Findings revealed that the artistic elements are not merely decorative but deeply therapeutic, facilitating communication with the spiritual realm and restoration of balance. The cultural beliefs are embedded in the Sissala cosmology, ancestry and communal identity providing the framework through which illness is understood and treated. The arts function as both a medium and a method of healing, whereas the cultural beliefs legitimize and sustain the practices across generations. The study therefore recommends a systematic documentation of traditional healing practices by the government through the Ghana Museum and Monuments Board focusing on their artistic components and underlying beliefs systems to help safeguard indigenous knowledge that is at the risk of being eroded by globalization and generational shifts.