Table Of ContentAFRICAN STUDIES
HISTORY, POLITICS, ECONOMICS, AND CULTURE
Edited by
Moleif kete Asante
A ROUTLEDGE SERIES
AFRICAN STUDIES: HISTORY, POLITICS,
ECONOMICS AND CULTURE
MOLEFI KETE ASANTE, General Editor
KWAME NKRUMAH’S CONTRIBUTION TO
PAN–AFRICANISM
An Afrocentric Analysis
D.Zizwe Poe
NYANSAPO (THE WISDOM
KNOT)
Toward an African Philosophy of
Education
Kwadwo A.Okrah
ROUTLEDGE
NEW YORK & LONDON
Published in 2003 by
Routledge
29 West 35th Street
NewYork, NY 10001
www.routledge-ny.com
Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane
London, EC4P 4EE
www.routledge.co.uk
Copyright © 2003 by Kwadwo A.Okrah
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor &: Francis Group.
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of
thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without written permission from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Okrah, K.Asafo-Agyei.
Nyansapo (the wisdom knot) : toward an African philosophy of education/
by Kwadwo A.Okrah.
p. cm. — (African studies)
ISBN 0-415-94733-2 (alk. paper)
1. Akan (African people)—Education. 2. Akan philosophy. 3. Education—African—
Philosophy. I. Title. II. Title. Series: African studies (Routledge (Firm))
DT510.43.A53055 2003
199′667–dc21
2003007257
ISBN 0-203-46389-7 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-47184-9 (Adobe eReaderFormat)
This book is dedicated to
My mother, Adwoa Amanfo (a.k.a.Adelaide Adwoa Konadu),
My late senior brother, Kwaku Appau-Okrah
And my lovely daughters Maame Konadu and Akua Asafo-
Agyei
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgements x
Chapter One. Introduction 1
Overview 1
Why Akan for the Case Study? 3
Theoretical and Methodological Framework 3
Background of the Study 4
Metaphor of nyansapo (the wisdom knot) 6
Significance of the Study 6
Background of the Study 7
Purpose of the Study 9
Limitations of the Study 9
Organization of the book 10
Summary 11
Chapter Two. African Philosophy of Education 12
Introduction 12
Defining African Philosophy 12
African Education 16
Philosophy of Education 22
History of Education in Ghana 27
African Socialization Process 32
Child Rearing and Socialization in Akan 34
Indigenous Akan Education 35
vii
African Religion 40
Folktales (Akan “Spider Stories”) 43
Proverbs 45
Akan Art and Symbols 47
Summary 51
Chapter Three. Research Methodology 52
Introduction 52
Population 53
Sample Selection 53
Data Collection Procedures 55
Pilot Study 55
The Akan Researcher and Gaining Access 56
Use of the Akan Language 56
Data Analysis and Interpretation 56
Research Scenarios 58
At the Palace 58
Summary 59
Chapter Four. Data Presentation 60
Introduction 60
Themes and Categories 60
The Vehicles of Akan Indigenous Philosophies 61
Akan Music: Highlife and Traditional Folk Music 63
Proverbs and Symbols 67
Riddles 68
Traditional System of Arbitration 69
Preparedness to Revive Akan Indigenous Philosophies 71
Factors Militating Against the Revival of Akan Indigenous 75
Philosophies
Suggested Programs to Restore Akan Indigenous 78
Philosophies
viii
Summary 79
Chapter Five. Discussion and Interpretation of Findings 80
Introduction 80
Discussion of the Findings 81
Chapter Six. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations 88
Summary of the Study 88
Conclusions 92
Recommendations for Practice 92
For Further Research 94
Concluding Remarks 94
Bibliography 96
Appendices 101
A. Definition of Terms 101
B. Description of Participants 105
Index 107
Preface
The study of traditional, indigenous educational practices such as rites of passage,
folktales, land use, etc. has fallen mainly within the interest of anthropologists.
Because scholars have tended to equate education with the formal school building
and have consistently focused on the role of literacy and literary tradition, many
important and interesting traditions (especially African traditions) have been seen as
falling outside the parameters of “legitimate” study in the history and philosophy of
education (Reagan, 1996). This is unfortunate, for schools have overlooked the
inherent value of informal traditional education (Fafunwa, 1982).
This study examines the issues of indigenous philosophies, which are embedded
in different aspects of socialization process among the Akan of Ghana, a major
African ethnic group located in the heart of West Africa, described by observers as
the “cultural center of Africa.” The research therefore examined the possibility of
forging a new future that builds on the positive aspects of their past and present and
on carefully chosen ideas, methods and technology from abroad.
To explore the problem, I traveled to Ghana to collect data from June to
September 1998. The data collection was done through “participant observation,”
face-to-face interviewing and audio taping participants’ responses. I selected the
participants through purposeful sampling.
I participated and observed funeral rites, traditional court proceedings and other
social and religious activities. I also observed modern classroom teaching and
learning, the school atmosphere and everyday activities.
To analyze the data, I applied the domain and thematic analysis (Spradley,
1979). Four main themes that emerged were the vehicles of Akan philosophies, the
preparedness of the modern Akan to maintain the indigenous philosophies, factors
militating against the maintenance of Akan indigenous philosophies and suggested
programs to forge a new curriculum that combines Akan indigenous philosophies
with modern education. It was found that the philosophical import of Akan
indigenous culture is clear to the modern Akan. The western educated Akan have
realized the need to appreciate and understand the traditional education of the
African child both in terms of goals and means. This will help make use of local
resources in the education of the African child so that he or she would be prepared
to function in his or her own world.
