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ABSTRACT
The rate of depletion of plants and animal species in Ghana has assumed an alarming dimension, and the government is finding it difficult to control the process. Several factors account for this. A major one is the neglect of the traditional ecological knowledge prevalent in the culture of Ghana. Sasa is the Akan word for the spirit believed to be found in some plants and animals. This paper examines the role of sasa in flora and fauna conservation in Ghana. Traditional Ghanaians have a strong belief that some plants and animals have special spirits, which when cut (as in the case with plants) or killed (animals) can bring serious harm to the person. Thus, such plants and animals are not eliminated. This paper argues that sasa as an Akan indigenous conservation tool can complement the modern means of nature conservation in Ghana.
KEYWORDS
Akan, sasa, flora, fauna, nature conservation, traditional ecological knowledge
Introduction
Many scholarly publications on traditional Ghanaian ecological knowledge exist (Ntiamoa-Baidu 1995, Abayie Boaten 1998, Appiah-Opoku and Hyma 1999, Nsiah 2009). But the link of indigenous religions (African Traditional Religion) to this traditional ecological knowledge is usually not referred to or only touched on tangentially.1 This paper, therefore, seeks to examine the link between indigenous religions and indigenous ecological knowledge with particular reference to sasa (the special spirit that the Akans believe certain plants and animals possess). The emphasis is on sasa because it is one of the types of traditional ecological knowledge that seem to be not as well known in Ghana due to infrequent references to it in ecological academic discourse. Although the study is about Ghana, the traditional Akan society is used as a case study, informed by the fact that the Akan is by far the largest ethnic group in Ghana. They mainly occupy the middle and the southern part of Ghana and are found in six out of the ten administrative regions in Ghana (see fig. 1).
Traditional Akans, like other Africans, are very religious (Parrinder 1974, McLeod 1981, Mbiti 1969, McCaskie 1995). The indigenous religion of the Akans is what is collectively known as the African Traditional Religion. I am, however, aware of the agelong debate over whether African spirituality should be known in the...