Rosenkrantz Discovery Grants Summer 2019: Exploring Malaria in Ghana #2

On a different day, I visited the Centre for National Culture in Kumasi. I went to this one with my uncle as well as 3 of my cousins, since they had the chance to visit there before. We started off by going through the different shops that were offered. We stopped at a bookstore, since I thought I may find books on Asante culture. After looking through many of the books, I decided to buy two books. The first was a book on adinkra symbols, as they are symbols that capture traditional Asante proverbs and sayings. I thought this would be an interesting place to browse popular values. I also found a book on traditional children’s stories. One story featured in this book described how disease came to exist in the world. Besides their educational value, I found these books as pleasurable reads.

At another shop, I overheard two people having a conversation about a healing tree. I asked, and I learned about the eucalyptus tree that was surrounded by a fence. This tree was known by many as capable of curing many diseases, and so many people had come to touch the tree that they decided to protect it.

We then went to the Ashanti Library, which was still within the cultural center. There, I first went into the children’s library, to see if I could find more children’s fables. I didn’t find any more, but I did find a book on HIV/AIDS. The author wrote the book targeted at youth, and decided to write it in prose, rather than traditional health terms. This way, the message would be interesting, and he could still convey important information about the disease. I found this as an interesting way to disseminate public health information. While not related to malaria, it was in the general public health theme. At the adult library, I found that most of the books were donated from American and British libraries from as far back as the early 90s. The information was not very up to date as well. In the medical section, I found a western travelers guide on staying healthy abroad, that featured a section on malaria. Besides this, there was not much on the topic, which was very surprising.

We then went to the Prempeh II Jubilee Museum. At this palace, we recieved a tour of the artifacts. The tour discussed Ashanti rulers, the royal family, ceremonial clothing, jewellery, and protective amulets. At the end, I asked the guide for specific info relating to malaria and disease. He was able to tell me that for uncommon diseases, ancient Asante people would consult oracles or deities in the communities for help. For example, HIV was once considered a punishment for sins people had committed. Oracles were seen as people who were past the physical world. They were a connection to ancestors in the ancestral world, and these ancestors had lots of knowledge to impart on people. Malaria however, was a disease that the Asantes were very familiar with. For common diseases, chief herbalists would examine people and prescribe herbs. A common treatment for malarial fevers was to boil and drink the barks of the neem, mango, or avocado trees. From my visit here, I learned about the dual physical and spiritual understanding of disease. For example, Asante kings had swatters made of horses tails, and would use these to swat away at mosquitoes, and also other bad spirits. While people had physical solutions for common problems, they also believed that alone, they weren’t equipped to combat all illnesses. I felt a great sense of pride at my people’s culture, and really enjoyed this museum visit. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to photograph the beautiful artifacts.

On a different day, we went to the Manhyia Palace Museum. The museum was originally the residence of the Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh I, and now serves to commemorate Asante culture. This tour was similar to that of the one at the Jubilee Museum in content. The difference is that it houses more of the priceless artifacts from past leaders. There was also a building with archives, and while the content was unrelated, we looked through them briefly.