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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Ghanaian Spiritual and Traditional Healers' Explanations of Illness: A Preliminary Survey
Author:Wyllie, Robert W.
Year:1983
Periodical:Journal of Religion in Africa
Volume:14
Issue:1
Pages:46-57
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:African religions
faith healing
diseases
Religion and Witchcraft
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1594933.pdf
Abstract:This paper reports some of the preliminary results of an investigation into the etiological explanations of illness (dobi) offered by spirit-guided healers in Winneba, a coastal town some forty miles west of Accra. Data were gathered in interviews with forty local healers. Twenty of the healers were pastors of local spiritual or 'prophet-healing' churches whose aim is to harness the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ in relieving the sufferings of members and unattached patients. The remaining twenty belonged to that broad class usually known in Ghana as 'traditional healers' and included representatives of the sub-classes: Akomfo, traditional priests who communicate with their respective gods while in a state of spirit-possession or by looking into an akor, an earthenware pot filled with water and other secret ingredients; Asombo or Abosomfo, traditional priests attached to the shrines of their respective gods; Nninsinyi, traditional healers specializing in herbal medicine under the direction of family or personal gods. Notes, tab.
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