What are the Ghanaian elements in The Healers?

The Healers by Ayi Kwei Armah tells the story of a certain region in Ghana, the author's homeland, when it was being colonized by Great Britain. The protagonist, Densu, is a 20-year-old who is popular among his community. Although he refuses the job of king, he supports the new king, Appia, wholeheartedly. Densu's real passion is for the magical arts of healing, however, so he feels unfit to make the challenging decisions required of a king. Instead he is accused of murdering Appia and retreats to the old healer, Damfo's, cabin to learn from him as an apprentice. After sometime he returns to the community to denounce the one who murdered Appia -- Ababio.

The primary conflict of this novel is man vs. man. Ababio represents the old ways of thinking. Raised by his racist mother, he has adopted her hatred for white people. Ababio is determined to stir up violence between the two races in order to ensure that a black man holds the power in the end. Unfortunately for his own cause, Ababio does not even extend loyalty to his fellow black man, Densu, because he accuses the young man of the murder of Abbia, the king, because Densu turned down the position when Ababio offered to make him king.

GradeSaver has all the information you need regarding characters and themes in its study guide for this unit.