Asase Ba Podcast - S5E1: Traditional Education & African Indigenous Knowledge in Ghana
Transcript
Content
- African Indigenous Knowledge Systems
- Differences between Western and African Indigenous Knowledge Systems
- Examples of African Indigenous Knowledge
- Benefits of Traditional Education Systems in Ghana
- Critical Analysis of Traditional Education Systems in Ghana
- Impact of Western Education on Ghanaians
- Privileges of Having a Western Education
- How to Incorporate African Indigenous Knowledge Today
Prefer to watch videos? Watch videos about African knowledge systems on Asase Ba’s Instagram or TikTok.
Hello and welcome to Asase Ba, a podcast that honours oral tradition and shines a light on Ghanaian stories that are often untold or silenced. My name is Michelle and my pronouns are she and her. Hi everyone, welcome back to season 5! I'm really happy to be back and I hope everyone is doing well. I know I've been gone for a while. I kind of left after season 4, episode 3. Life was just life-ing. But I'm back with a whole new season and brand new episodes and I feel genuinely excited to be back.
Sometimes you need that break to just revive yourself. I definitely needed that. So I'm very excited to be back and excited for this new season. I have a lot of cool things in store. Follow the podcast wherever you're listening to get a new episode as soon as they drop.
I've been in my research bag heavy and I'm excited to bring you everything that I've learned. Living and being present also helped me acquire more wisdom and accumulate more knowledge. And so I'm excited to bring those two together and drop this new season on y'all.
If you enjoy this podcast, you can also visit asaseba.com for curated resources on queer identities, spirituality and cultural work. You're also welcome to submit resources there as well and it may just appear on the website. Another way to support is through monetary donations. As the sole producer, editor, planner, and interviewer—you know how it is when you're an indie creator, you kind of wear multiple hats.
I love this podcast, it's a labour of love, but it still requires a lot of work and effort, so if you want to support me as an indie creator, you can do so via email transfer for those in Canada. If you're outside of Canada, you can donate via PayPal, and the email for that is asasebapod@gmail.com.Thank you so much for your support. I always appreciate it! Now on to the episode.
African Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Today I'm going to be talking about African indigenous knowledge systems, specifically traditional education in Ghana. I read Of Water and the Spirit by Malidoma Patrice Somé, which is a great book and I really enjoyed it—definitely recommend it. It's basically an autobiography, creative non-fiction.
Malidoma was a Dagara healer and diviner who was kidnapped from his home by Jesuit missionaries at the age of 4. He returned when he was 20 years old and underwent an initiation into the traditional teachings of the Dagara culture. In the book, Malidoma did such a great job breaking down the features of traditional education that he underwent as part of his initiation.
It was so interesting to me and it got me thinking more about our indigenous knowledge systems and what we did back in the day. Also, last year, I did a survey on Instagram on what y'all would like to learn from pre-colonial Ghana, and I know some of you were interested in education. I definitely am too. I love learning. So here we go.
Differences between Western and African Indigenous Knowledge Systems
First, I want to talk about the differences between African knowledge systems and Western knowledge systems. I know that there are multiple cultures within Africa and there will be variations in how people do things but there is a common thread in how we do things traditionally, that's why it's grouped.
Let's start with Western education. When I say that, I am personally referring to the formal institutions many of us grew up with. So this is the formal education system from elementary to post-secondary, and also the general knowledge that is prioritized in the West, and in many countries that were colonized, including Ghana.
In Western education, there's a focus on separating and putting things into categories and labels, written and recorded text is often seen as superior, and Western education is heavy on individualism. There's also an emphasis on a "seeing" worldview, which is based on the body and how one looks like and body parts. There's also a core focus on empirical evidence or "seeing is believing." It's also formal and involves formal institutions.
When I say African education, I am referring to our traditional knowledge systems, how we produce knowledge and the way we learn about ourselves and the world around us traditionally. African education is holistic—we tend to not divide or separate aspects of our cultures and traditions, everything is interconnected. I feel like when everything is connected and linked, it makes it easier to see the big picture and also determine the purpose of doing certain things.
Also, we're heavy on nature. We don't have that kind of mindset of having dominion over nature, we see ourselves as part of nature and the same. Also, we're very community-minded. Traditionally, everything is done in the community in the collective. And I can't mention African indigenous knowledge systems without talking about oral tradition. We're heavy on that. Also, spirituality is linked to everything, and learning from elders is also important. In our African indigenous knowledge systems, there are informal ways of learning that are very ingrained in our different cultures as well.
Examples of African Indigenous Knowledge
Now I'm going to talk about pre-colonial education in Ghana but before I dive into that, let's talk about African indigenous knowledge systems in general and the purpose and goals of those knowledge systems. One of the main goals was to facilitate intergenerational communication and have a smooth transition and preservation of values and traditions from one generation to the next. General knowledge was typically passed down orally, usually by parents and other community members.
In these knowledge systems, there was a moral aspect to it. It involved teaching us good character and providing young people with knowledge of their history, culture, and beliefs so that they can participate in society. One of the main goals of traditional education was to offer specialized training.
Our indigenous knowledge systems were heavily focused on the elders' relationship to youth. And as I mentioned before, there was no separation from other parts of our lives. We weren't just memorizing info and regurgitating things, it was about living this education. This was transmitted through folktales, proverbs, creation stories, and specialized education, which I will get into.
Folktales and Fables
In terms of the types of informal education, one of the main ones was telling folktales and fables. These folktales or fables were meant to impart the values of society. An example is the Ananse stories that are very popular in Akan culture in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and across the diaspora. Folktales were told to children without necessarily telling them direct lessons or values.
It was typically done in an informal setting and mixed with singing. It was also an exercise in imagination for children. Some of the values that were imparted through telling these stories were group solidarity and community over individualism, brilliance over steadiness, and advocating for justice while maintaining courtesy. So fables and folktales are huge. I even remember hearing some Ananse stories when I was a child. I love these types of folktales and there are many different types across different cultures as well.
Creation Stories
Another type of informal education was telling creation stories. These stories were meant to communicate the group's origin and offer explanations related to creation, divine or spiritual beings, family lineage and activities. It blended history and storytelling. An example is the Akan creation and origin story. I'll share a brief account which may vary across cultures:
Once upon a time, Odomankoma, The Creator, lived very close to us. There was an Abrewa or old lady who would routinely pound fufu and the pestle kept hitting Odomankoma. As a result, they moved farther away into the sky from us human beings.
This is the explanation for why Akan people don't directly communicate with Odomankoma and do it through ancestors or Abosom.
Proverbs
Another type of informal education in pre-colonial Ghana was telling proverbs. The purpose of proverbs was to communicate acceptable standards of social behaviour and to teach children about it indirectly. Here's an example of an Ewe proverb: "A crab never walks straight, but that does not mean they don't know where they're going." This is meant to highlight people who take unconventional paths in life. Some people do know what they're doing and where they're going so you don't need to be judging like that. And I got this proverb from @ewehistory on Instagram.
Secret Societies and Initiations
Other examples of informal education in pre-colonial Ghana were secret societies and initiations. I talked about Malidoma Patrice Some's initiation into the traditional teachings and learnings of the Dagara culture—that's what I mean when I talk about secret societies here as well. The purpose was to help young people deal with their transition into different stages of life and secret societies were created to oversee the initiation of young people.
They learned rituals, dances, languages, magic, and creation stories and they also had endurance tests. This training and education was meant to introduce them to adulthood and give them the ability to engage in certain activities that were previously not available to them pre-initiation.
Specialized and Professional Training
Now that I've talked about the informal types of education in pre-colonial Ghana—the fables and folktales, creation stories, and secret societies—let's talk about professional training.
Drumming
An example of a skill that required specialized training in pre-colonial Ghana is drumming. The purpose of the state drum, for example, was to gather people, praise chiefs, give the command for war and state battles and perform musical feats. For example, in Dagbon kingdom, the chief of the village had a teacher visit an apprentice to teach them drumming skills. Their services were paid for. After this lesson, the new drummer visited different villages to perfect their craft and train with other drummers who were connected to the royals. Following that, the drummer returned to serve a particular chief or a patron.
Goldsmithing
Another example of specialized training in pre-colonial Ghana was goldsmith training. Students typically worked with an important chief and began training around age 8-9. They learned the names of various tools and how to use them. Training also involved shadowing a teacher for several years. Within this training, they learned how to illustrate important events in history or everyday life. People who trained to become goldsmiths had to have historical and cultural knowledge. At the end of the course, the new goldsmith typically worked with their father or had a "passing out" ceremony which involved pouring libations and asking for blessings from the deities for a successful career. See how things are linked—you're studying to become a goldsmith, but you don't forget that spiritual component of asking for the blessings and the help of the deities.
Hunting
Another example of professional training in pre-colonial Ghana is hunting. This involved special training lasting several years. A hunter was usually a leader of a new settlement or town and as a hunter, you learned how to use different tools and weapons. As time went on and people began trading with Europeans, one of the weapons that hunters learned to use was a gun. For example, in Eweland or modern-day Volta region, the new hunter learned how to smelt iron and prepare their cartridges and cutlasses.
Hunting also involved learning about edible fruits and plants. A good hunter was also essentially a good herbalist. Again, the holistic-ness, the interconnectedness, the linkage—so you're not just a hunter, you're not just using weapons or learning about weapons. You're also an herbalist. This knowledge of herbal medicine was particularly important because it was believed that every animal has a soul so you needed to learn the right herbal medicines to cleanse yourself after hunting an animal.
Pottery
Another example of specialized training in pre-colonial Ghana was learning pottery and this was typically exclusively done by women. It was very common amongst the Shai people of South Eastern Ghana. Pottery was used for cooking, holding water, carrying palm oil and trading purposes. Folks learned pottery through observation and learning directly from a teacher. They learned how to turn clay into balls, how to grind kloyo or hard, black gneiss, a type of rock. They learned how to use tools to shape and smooth out the clay and search for good clay pits. Pottery was a lifelong skill that involved continuous learning. Usually, older women added proverbs to their clay designs. As you grew older, you accumulated more wisdom and learned more proverbs so that would reflect in your design.
Traditional Diviner
Lastly, an example of specialized training in pre-colonial Ghana was learning to become a priest, priestess, or diviner. I will use the example of becoming an Akan Okomfo or traditional priest, priestess or diviner. You were called to become an Okomfo through illness or seeing things typically. Once you were diagnosed, the illness or visions stopped. This call came from an Obosom (deity). There were special cases where you could refuse a call but it was usually up to the Obosom to decide whether to accept that. Training typically lasted three years and during that period, you learned from an Okomfo Panyin which is an elder amongst the priests/priestesses.
During training, you learned divination, which involved rubbing special medicine in your eyes and ears so that you could see your Obosom. You learned songs, dances and taboos of the Obosom you served. At the end, there was a formal ceremony where you were introduced to the community as an Okomfo.
Benefits of Traditional Education Systems in Ghana
Now let's talk about the benefits of our traditional educational systems. First, they were communal, so whether formal or informal, they were very community-oriented. Even the development of specialized skills was often used to serve the community, which also meant that the community was just as invested in your education as you were. Another benefit is it encouraged mentorship and learning from our elders so that we didn’t feel lost or confused during our transition from youth to adulthood.
Another benefit is it emphasized holistic, practical learning that impacted our daily lives. Our education wasn't divorced from our lived experiences, it was connected. You're not thinking, "Why am I learning this? What's the point? When am I actually going to use this?" Also, it was mostly oral education, which made it easy to remember and recall things. I will get back to oral education very soon.
Critical Analysis of Traditional Education Systems in Ghana
Just as there were benefits and advantages of our traditional indigenous knowledge systems and the systems we used in pre-colonial times, there were also things that could be improved upon. I am someone that does not romanticize anything so I'm going to bring you the nuance and layers.
So I don't know if this is just the sources or the research that I used but when I was reading about the specialized training and professional training—becoming a hunter, goldsmith, drummer, potter—I found that the professions were very gendered. In the research for the hunter, drummer, and goldsmith professions, the author focused on men in the article. Sometimes, I wonder if that's how it was or if this analysis is based on the interpretation of Western-educated folks. In our modern life, we deal with racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and it's exhausting. For some folks, we try to reach back, look at our ancestral practices and look at alternatives, hoping things were different before colonialism. But honestly, what I'm learning from doing research and reading more about history is that there were unique sets of problems back then and we shouldn't romanticize things. There's a way that we can learn from our ancestors and learn from pre-colonial times without glossing over potential issues back then.
So back to the specialized training: it seemed very gendered, and even pottery was said to be within the domain of women. I tried to find research on non-binary genders within specialized training. I talked about non-binary concepts in our traditional religions and spirituality in season 3 and referenced Dagara gatekeepers who often had their initiations. Gatekeepers in Dagara culture are often associated with people that are queer or LGBTQ+. Besides that, I didn't come across any specific research on non-binary genders within specialized training. I would love to learn about specialized training or secret societies that were not so binary-gendered. Sometimes gender is heavily conflated with sexuality in terms of modern-day interpretation of gatekeepers, but that's another story. Go and listen to season 3 episode 3 of Asase Ba podcast for more context.
Another potential concern related to our indigenous knowledge systems back then and today, is uncritically following elders. In many Ghanaian cultures and the Black diaspora in general, there's a huge emphasis placed on listening to and respecting elders. I wonder if sometimes it encourages some of us to not challenge injustices, especially if the elder is not deserving of respect or doesn’t have the best interests of the youth in mind. In general, I advocate for learning from our elders, but we have to think about that in a nuanced way as well.
Oral tradition is also a core feature of our traditional education. In this modern world where everything is recorded and documented, I feel like there's a little bit of erasure that happens when our traditions aren't documented or when they're not documented by us. I love oral tradition, it's a tagline for this podcast. Much information, especially in the early days, about our pre-colonial cultures or indigenous cultures, was often documented by missionaries, colonialists, traders, European anthropologists, etc.
They recorded things that they didn't have the cultural context for because they were not part of the culture. Many of them observed us from a colonial, ethnocentric point of view and lens so their observations may be full of racist ideologies and projections. Since a lot of stuff is oral—and was oral—I feel like some people may erase aspects of our cultures to serve their own agenda because it wasn't recorded or written down. For example, I think of people saying things like, "Being gay is a Western import, it's not part of our culture and didn't exist." This is amongst our people. I feel like people who have nefarious agendas or are really trying to push hate exploit the fact that some of our traditional teachings and learnings were not written down.
In this day and age, it's especially important to document our traditions and cultures to avoid erasure and to avoid other people who are not part of these cultures doing it for us or doing it from an ethnocentric place. Or even people within our cultures deliberately writing false narratives. So that's something to think about as well.
Some things are sacred—I think of certain sacred spiritual practices. These things are not recorded on purpose and that's understandable. I'm just talking generally about our cultures and history.
Impact of Western Education on Ghanaians
Now let's talk about how the West or the world in general, privileges Western education over African knowledge systems. In the context of Ghana, we've been indoctrinated with the belief that Western education is superior.
Western education is typically associated with enlightenment and refinement, and people that are associated with African knowledge systems, people that live in rural towns or villages are often called "kuroasenee" (Twi word for villager). It's often used as an insult and there's this association between being less than, uneducated or less progressive with living in a village or rural town.
Being educated in the Ghanaian context is often associated with being able to speak English or express yourself in English. I know in certain schools, you were punished for speaking your language instead of English. I experienced that as a child when I went to school in Ghana. Teachers punished children for speaking their language and that is so messed up. What does it do to our psyches to be punished for speaking our own language and being told that no, you need to speak English?
Based on the research I did on the effects of Western education on Ghanaians and talking to relatives, kids were required to adopt a "Christian" or European name before enrolling in mission and public schools. Our indigenous celebrations and religions were considered pagan by the missionaries. Back then, a lot of folks adopted these European norms and ways of being and I just wonder what it does to your mind and your psyche, and how you see yourself and your culture. The European curriculum was taught in schools and being educated meant being well-versed in European norms and values, and that is what was being passed down.
This often created intelligentsia (and people who thought they were superior) and alienated people that were not Western-educated. An elder spoke about this on season 3 of the podcast, so you can check that out.
In general, all of this contributes to us seeing our cultures, our knowledge systems, our traditional education as inferior and looking at those who train within those traditional education systems as backward or primitive, which is terrible. People often think those who live in rural towns or villages are inherently less progressive, and that is untrue. It's just this superiority complex manifesting itself and we need to decolonize our minds.
Privileges of Having a Western Education
We can't deny the benefits we receive from Western education, especially in this day and age. We see that in general, the more Western education you have, the more money you make, the more likely you are to be employed. And this is around the world. For example, a 2021 American survey found that Black women with less than a high school diploma make $557 per week, high school graduates make $697 per week, and Black women with a Bachelor's degree make $767 per week. So we see that the more formal education you have, the more money you make. I'm not trying to say don't get a Western education—it has tangible material benefits in this capitalist society and it's just pretty much ingrained within the fabric of our society. People are working to decolonize Western education systems and incorporate traditional indigenous knowledge systems into the curriculum so I'm not going to deny that.
How to Incorporate African Indigenous Knowledge Today
Now, let's talk about what traditional African education looks like today. Within informal education and specialized training, we see that there's a huge emphasis on community, mentorship, learning from elders, oral tradition, and learning by doing. I want to stress that these informal education systems—folktales, creation stories, specialized training, becoming a potter, initiating or learning the traditional spiritual systems—didn't go away after colonialism, they still exist today. There's just more emphasis and value placed on a Western education.
So what can incorporating traditional education look like today? I came up with these examples based on my observations, what I do, and general stuff. Do what resonates with you and what comes naturally to you. Examples of incorporating traditional education today are:
Recording and documenting your family's history
Using your skills or talents in collaboration with your community members
Talking to elders about your customs and traditions
Learning about special initiations or celebratory rights in your culture, and seeing if it's the right path for you
Other examples are visiting your ancestral home or village or town, being actively involved in the community if you have access to that. You can also shadow someone you know who's a drummer, a potter, etc. Just keep in mind the features of our traditional education that I mentioned.
On a personal note, this is also something I've been yearning for—that kind of hands-on learning and experiential learning, everyday learning. I know I have the podcast and there are a lot of things that I do that are very well-versed in my culture, and traditional knowledge of that. I guess I just crave immersion and holistic learning and not feeling like I have to separate or divide certain things. I know that's coming soon and I just gotta figure out what that means to me. But I know that when the time is right, it's gonna happen in the ways that make the most sense to me and help me to fulfill my purpose.
I hope you learned something from this and thank you so much for listening to this episode. All the sources and references I used are in the Episode Notes, so check them out and keep the conversation going. What does incorporating our traditional education look like to you? #AsaseBaPod Don't forget to visit the website at asaseba.com for curated resources on queer identities, spirituality and cultural work. You can follow @AsaseBaPod on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, and new episodes drop every two weeks so I will see you then. Bye bye!
Want to learn more about traditional African knowledge and how to apply it to your daily life? Contact us for educational workshops for your community organization, library or university/college.
Episode Notes
In the season 5 premiere of Asase Ba, I talk about indigenous knowledge and traditional education in Ghana. I discuss the differences between Western education and African indigenous knowledge systems, pre-colonial education in Ghana, benefits of traditional education, what it looks like today and more!
Join in on the conversation! Use the hashtag #AsaseBaPod.
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Check out our official website for podcast transcripts and resources by and for Ghanaians at https://www.asaseba.com/
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HOST
This podcast is produced, edited and hosted by Ghanaian Canadian Michelle (pronouns: she/her). She is also the creator of the theme music.
REFERENCES
Boateng, F. (1983). African Traditional Education: A Method of Disseminating Cultural Values. Journal of Black Studies, 13(3), 321–336. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2784292
@ewehistory. (2020, December 4). A crab never walks straight but that does not mean he doesn’t know where he is going. 🦀 [Photograph]. Instagram. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/CIXk3ZYpTrZ/
Kwamena-Poh, M. A. (1975). The Traditional Informal System of Education In Pre-colonial Ghana. Présence Africaine, 95, 269–283. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24349566
Oyewum, O. (2016). Visualizing the Body: Western Theories and African Subjects. In The invention of women: Making an African sense of western gender discourses (pp. 1–30). University of Minnesota Press.
Pinto, R. (2019). The Effect of Western Formal Education on the Ghanaian Educational System and Cultural Identity. The Journal of Negro Education, 88(1), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.88.1.0005
Somé, M. P. (1994). Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the Life of an African Shaman (pp. 226). Penguin Compass.
Somé, S. (2002). Homosexuality: The Gatekeepers. In The spirit of intimacy: Ancient African teachings in the ways of relationships (pp. 132–138). Quill.
U.S. Department of Labor. (2021). Women's Median Weekly Earnings by Educational Attainment, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data/earnings/Women-median-weekly-earnings-educational-attainment-race-Hispanic-ethnicity
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