Shrines and Healing in The Kete-Krachi Area: The Case of Dente

Abstract

Healthcare systems in Ghana, including the public, private, and the informal healthcare sectors are convoluted. The informal healthcare sector is the subject of attention in this thesis. The study interrogated shrines and healing in the Kete-Krachi area using Dente as a case. Situated within the tradition of social determinants of health, the thesis argued that in the Kete-Krachi area health is socially constructed, requiring the use of various approaches to mitigate an anomaly. It argued further that the diverse health approaches in the Kete Krachi area is a result of the varied conceptualisations about health. Besides, it argued that the social and religious interpretations pertaining to health are connected with worldview, which mirrors on and shapes the understanding of the Krachi people and their response to healthcare. It called for the need to interrogate shrines in the discourse of healthcare. Premised on the interpretations pertaining to health and ill-health, the study leaned on the constructivist model that argues that people construct their world of realities. The study therefore engaged the qualitative approach, and the non-probability sampling technique was used in this study, as the researcher hails from one of the study areas. The purposive sampling technique was employed in this study; those who had in-depth knowledge about the subject under interrogation, were identified and included in the sample. Following the spread of the Dente shrine in the Oti and Northern Regions of Ghana, interviews were conducted in the Krachi West Municipality, and Krachi East and Kpandai Districts. The phenomenological approach adopted in this study ensured that the research was portrayed from the perspective of the research participants. Extensive interviews were conducted with eighty (80) participants from different social backgrounds. Out of this figure, fifty (50) of the respondents were males while thirty (30) were females. Research was conducted in the Public Records and Archive Administration Department at the national and regional levels. Such archives encompassed the National, Volta Regional, and Northern Regional Archives. The study discovered diverse explanations for which deities are consulted for healing. Economic constraints, social and religious interpretations to health, and long distances to healthcare facilities, among others, account for the reasons why Krachi shrines, particularly Obourfa-Dadiefa and Kikpare, have transformed into traditional health centres. The study further found extensive use of herbal medicines to heal illnesses in the affiliate shrines of Dente. The thesis concluded that the discourse of health has to take cognisance of health as a concept that is multicultural and complex, rather than universal. The complex view about health is, therefore, in tandem with the Krachi concept of health. The study underscored the need for collaboration between traditional and orthodox healthcare practitioners to deal with critical health challenges and improve the quality of healthcare in Ghana.