Mending Bone Fractures using Indigenous Medical Epistemology: An Ethno-History of Bone Setting among the Ewe of Ghana

Abstract

Bone Setting is an indigenous medical epistemology found in many societies across Sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, ethnic groups such as the Akan, Ewe, Dagomba, Gonja, Nawuri, and Konkomba among others mend broken bones using indigenous knowledge systems. Among the Ewe of Ghana, there are community-based healers who have deep knowledge in the management and treatment of bone fractures using local epistemology. Bone setting is therefore a cultural practice and heritage handed down from generation to generation. This study chronicles the ethno-medical history of bone setting among the Ewe people of Ghana. The study discusses the origins of the practice of traditional bone setting, the institutionalization of the practice, and the geographical and spatial distribution of bone setters in Eweland. In addition, the study elucidates the nature of the practice of bone setting, the significance of bone setters, and the influence of social change on the practice in contemporary times. The study contends that traditional bone setting is a cultural heritage and an important medical practice of the Ewe people which responds to the primary healthcare needs of the local communities regarding fracture management and treatment. The study concludes that traditional bone setters provide complementary healthcare services to fracture patients who are not economically endowed to access the services of orthopedists at the hospital. Traditional bone setting is therefore a panacea for fracture treatment in Eweland.