Akom healing and spirit possession in Ghana

Record summary

Akom refers to Akan religious institutions involving shrines, priests or priestesses, spirit possession, diagnosis, drumming, sacrifice, and healing. Mid-century Ghanaian ethnography and religious studies documented these operations during a period of rapid Christianization and political change. The lead matters for comparing possession as a ritual language of illness, authority, and communal affiliation. Accounts differ by Akan society and shrine, and terms such as “fetish” or “witch doctor” in older sources are often misleading. Researchers should locate the specific community and practitioner tradition.