The Healers

by Ayi Kwei Armah

Fiction. African Studies. THE HEALERS tells a story of the conflict and regeneration focused on replacing toxic ignorance with the healing knowledge of African unity.

Genres: Fiction, Africa, Ghana, African Literature, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Western Africa

317 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Born to Fante-speaking parents, with his father's side Armah descending from a royal family in the Ga tribe in the port city of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, [1] Armah, having attended the renowned Achimota School, left Ghana in 1959 to attend Groton School in Groton, MA. After graduating, he entered Harvard University, receiving a degree in sociology. Armah then moved to Algeria and worked as a translator for the magazine Révolution Africaine. In 1964, Armah returned to Ghana, where he was a scriptwriter for Ghana Television and later taught English at the Navrongo School.

Between 1967 and 1968, he was editor of Jeune Afrique magazine in Paris. From 1968-1970, Armah studied at Columbia University, obtaining his MFA in creative writing. In the 1970s, he worked as a teacher in East Africa, at the College of National Education, Chang'ombe, Tanzania, and at the National University of Lesotho. He lived in Dakar, Senegal, in the 1980s and taught at Amherst and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review here: https://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/201...

Certainly a book with a message, with a purpose, and one that should be listened to carefully.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in pre-colonial Africa, this story raises the spectre of conflict within society which has all too often preceded and aided foreign invasions.

I read this book some years ago and it has remained my favourite novel by Ayi Kwei Armah. This is an excellent tale full of lessons which are just as relevant in the 21st Century.

[Shila Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am speechless. This author is amazing. He’s still alive (he’s been writing since the 60s), out there somewhere, waiting to have a cup of ginger tea with me and talk about real things that healers such as he and I speak about. I continue to be absolutely stunned by how powerful his words are. I just sit in silence after finishing his novels and think. How wonderful is this man who has uncovered a part of our history that many just don’t see. I see Ayi. I see.

[africawrites - The RAS' annual festival of African Literature · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apart from Things Fall Apart - The Healers - is probably one of the boldest attempts in African Literature to re-imagine the African past with a vividness and directness that speaks to contemporary African lives. A book of impressive depth and characterisation, it depicts Ghanaian/Ashanti civilization at a moment of confrontation with Europeans encroaching on their independence, and its exploration of
slavery within African society, and as practiced by Europeans is one of the most vivid, relevant and effective in literature. The book has been critiqued for portraying women as mere dependents and 'helpmeets' of men, nevertheless, it remains one of the most powerful pieces of post-independence African literature.

If you like this book or others like it, you may want to join us for Africa Writes. It takes place this year at the British Library from 5-7 July 2013.

For more info on the festival, visit our website: www.royalafricansociety.org/event/afr...

You may also like our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AfricaWrites

Follow us on twitter - www.twitter.com/royafrisoc

Dele Meiji Fatunla
Website Editor
Royal African Society

[Zavion Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shed great light on how the world is being ran. The theory that "the white man" is on a mission to take to over the world is in my opinion a fact. This book shows how the division of black people makes us inferior to the unity of white people. In order for us to make a difference and change, we have to learn to love each other and stick together.

[Shuaibu Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most inspiring and hopeful African fiction I have ever had the good fortune of reading. For on a personal level, I have gained much clarity with regards to my purpose as an African. Thank you Ayi Kwei Armah

[Henry Ozogula · Rating 5 out of 5]

a magnificent work of history, sociology, and fiction

[Tyrone Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.9/10

This is a tricky book to review. On the one hand, there's a lot to be loved here. It has some great themes, philosophies, messages and character work. On the other, it was strangely told, and the method of storytelling was uniquely African but something I am unused to.

The central theme of the book is of unity vs disunity - or healing vs disease. Ayi Kwei Armah makes it very clear that the African way is an African whole, and that fiction or otherwise (this is based heavily on real history) we must be united in order to heal as a people. However, there will always be those of us who are manipulators - or manipulated - and wreak havoc for the whole. The anti-monarchy, anti-colonial, and anti-tribal themes are heavily present, all of which I found myself nodding to.

The story, put simply, is mostly based around a young man named Densu. Set against the backdrop of 19th century Asante and surrounding kingdoms, we follow a period of his life where he is coming into true manhood and is questioning the world around him. He sees things can be better, and we follow his journey as he joins the healers, who are a group separated from the wider society yet are always ready to interact. There are twists and turns as he is framed for murder, escapes with his life, and ends up becoming an undercover spy on the approaching army of the British. Oh, and there is a love story underpinning the plot.

There were lots of characters that are representations of real life - as historical figures, representatives of ideologies, and even people you'll meet day to day. Some of them are nasty, some are quite tragic. This was all good stuff. The philosophical thoughts and conversations involving the healers were all brilliant, 10/10 writing that had me wishing the whole book was just this. The method of storytelling - which sometimes broke the fourth wall, often bounced around to other places and perspectives, and sometimes even told a story within a story within a story, was just very different from other novels I've read. It felt so authentically African but occasionally I lost connection due to how different it was. It does make a change from the usual Western way of plotting.

I would say every African person should read this book for the messages of unity alone. The philosophical/thematic core of the book is beautiful.

[Kojo Baffoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

At times, this book was hard to read because, although fictional, it touches the colonisation of Ghana, my father’s homeland and we all know how that ended. Beautifully written, insightful and truly Pan African in its spirit.

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far I like Densu and I am keen to know who killed Appia (the Prince and heir to the throne). All evidence leads to Abbabio and before I judge him, I'd want to know why Densu, though a prince, does not want royalty but only seeks to be a healer and how Damfo would help him.
My fears turned out to be true and that Abbabio in his quest for power and control actually made sure that the people turned against Densu, but he did have people who helped him-and here the writer employs the Hero archetype who is on a quest and how those people who have a feeling he's kind, just chip in to help him gladly.
In the end it is a woman Araba Jesiwa, who is Appia's mother, who confesses that Abbabio was the one who sent a warrior Buntui to kill his son, and how unsuccessfully tried to kill him too.
It is slow, and full of moral ideals, but a good book nonetheless.

[Johnbedward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armah is one of those rare literary writers who combines the historical with African characters who are trying to redeem the continent from its historical and current problems. I consider this text part of a trilogy ("KMT: in the house of life" and "Two Thousand Seasons") and if I may add "The beautiful ones are not yet born". All these books cover the impact of internal irresponsibility (i.e., African caste system, social slavery and tribal violence) and external forces (i.e., slave trade, colonization and neocolonization) at different time periods.

[Shinuna Said · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its is a great insight into african way of life where traditional livelihood living in unity is harshly fragmented. This is portrayed by the injustice where the lead character, Densu, wants to leave the world of manipulation and deception. He finds refuge in a healer, who is his mentor in many ways.

Good versus evil, manipulation versus inspiration, creativity versus destruction and unity versus dis-unity is the main theme in the Healers. It was a school literature book but reread it many times!

[Jami · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is very good, the detail and imagery are amazing. although it takes place in pre/colonialized (yet after white men have arrived) africa, the lessons and parables still ring very true to us today. i can't put it down... better review once i have completed the book in entirety.

[Tswarelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The True history of our land. our people. part of it perhaps. the existance of the healers and the art of healing. it brought me closer to who i truly am. what it is i would love to make my vocation as a being and that is being a healer. and a scribe. the healing scribe.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my video book review in The Collagist: http://www.dzancbooks.org/the-collagi... It is the third part in my series on African literature.

In short: Ayi Kwei Armah is a most fantastically underrated author. This is a novel told by a true storyteller.

[Nana Fredua-Agyeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel follows the footsteps of The Healers. It shows the path that will lead to Africa's redemption.

Click on the link below to read my review on my blog.

http://freduagyeman.blogspot.com/2010...

thanks

[Ifasola Oguntunde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an allegorical manual of the role of the traditional indigenous priest in West African society. The bonus is the setting: Nana Armah shows us how slavery and colonialism cracked the infrastructure of our traditional culture as well. A primer for any Afrocentricist.

[Chakera Mcintosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites, a poignant book that deserves to be read again and again because it shows in a subtle way the complexities of leadership. Vision isn't enough, outside circumstances often have more impact than we imagine and organisation is the key in the face of division.

[Dom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it.

[Aryam Tewolde]

he is a good story teller.

[Sofia Lipponen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest books I have ever read. Ayi Kwei Armah subtly combines a profound coming of age story with an aching description of the onset of the Anglo-Ashanti wars - not to forget the brutal murder “mystery” that gives the story its structure.

This, however, does not fully capture what the book is: it is the story of a spiritual awakening, the story of a continent and a people being torn apart, how the unnatural and inhumane white man seeps into the cracks of a fragmented people in order to completely dismember it, how class divisions and pure self-centeredness block the healing wisdom of the African people.

Throughout the book, we follow the protagonist Densu, who seeks a deep connection with his surroundings, with nature, with humans, with his authentic self. Yet, paradoxically, this yearning for oneness distances him from his home, where the pursuit of power and profit are the driving force in most hearts. Luckily, a few kindred spirits lead him to his calling... I think Armah paints Densu’s soul and its turmoils with such sober clarity that it probably was the number one reason I was mesmerized by this book.

Many individuals in “the Healers” carry tremendous pain. And some (crystallized in the tribe of Healers) hold ageless wisdom on how to heal broken souls among broken bones, not to mention broken nations. They beautifully reflect the spiritual depth and sensitivity that are also needed in order to resist colonial powers and class division.

The Healers is a painful read, indeed there is no other way to describe the history. Yet hope lingers on these pages. A hope that I have to admit tastes bitter because it’s not a hope that will manifest in that or this lifetime. It’s simply a hope that comes from the realization that all “the beautiful ones are not born yet”... Because of its foresight, this book is ever so current. Please read it and support Per Ankh publishing house on their home page if you can!

PS. here are a few random citations from the Healers for a better idea… I also have to add how the storytelling was sometimes almost playful and how enjoyable it was to read when it comes to language, descriptions etc..:

“… The others available were many, of course. The impression they gave of something stable, undisturbed, came from their accepting the existing world as satisfactory. But what deep-eating blindness could make any soul see its satisfaction in such warped realities? The only problems the others saw were two: to find a personal place in the given world; and, having found that space, to keep it.

But his need was for relationships with people for whom the existing world was not perfect, not even reasonably satisfactory. These would be people whose place in the world was something yet to be created, because their real world was not yet entirely present. People to work with.

A hurtful thought arose: Suppose the need for completion was merely a disease? A second thought took the hurt away: The search would not be any the less natural for that. In the water the gazer saw a world in which some, a large number, had a prevalent disease. The disease was an urge to fragment everything. And the disease gave infinite satisfaction to the diseased, because it gave them control. Then there were those with a contrary disease, an urge to unite everything. If that was a disease, the gazer thought, so let it be. But there would be nothing to keep him from choosing it for his own disease, and following its natural course, reaching for its natural aim.”

&

“On his body the flesh was wasted. The skin hung loose on his limbs. His face looked as if he had inherited the skin covering it from one several times bigger, and the difference showed in long, deep lines. It was plain the man had suffered - the kind of suffering that comes from within. Strong men may resist pain inflicted from outside themselves. But against the pain that has its source inward, they are more helpless than the weak. Because the pain borrows their own tremendous strength and pits it against them. Asamoa Nkwanta's body showed the results of a terrifying struggle. His eyes showed worse - that the struggle was far from over.”

[Marilyn Saul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written book, with well-developed main characters and a long history to absorb. There were many times I wish the author had included a map, even if the villages were fictitious - it would have been easier to follow. There are a few slow spots, most notable the explanation of the philosophy of the healers, but it picks up after that, so don't give up. The incursion by Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley was heartbreaking. Many new native names were introduced (without being mentioned again, I think), people who attended the meetings with the whites, which may be historical or fictional - I have no way of knowing - but it became somewhat confusing so I just quit trying to remember them all. The premise that Africans were once united but evolved into little kingdoms ruled by despotic, powerful, undeserving, and ruthless leaders, and the quest of the healers to unify the Africans by returning the governance of the people who would work for the benefit of the people was intriguing. There were many passages that could be applied to our situation today, though unintentional and rather a projection of how governance evolves when the powerful and wealthy gain control. I really liked this book, but I know I won't re-read it, so I'm passing it along to our Friends of Library book sale in hopes that others will pick it up and get introduced to a brief history of Africa.

[Artyom Yakovlev · Rating 3 out of 5]

In his first foray into historical fiction, the Ghanaian writer combines fact and fiction to show the pre-colonial struggle of the Gold Coast peoples against the white intruders. While giving a lot of insightful information about the nature of this confrontation, he also describes the treatment of the aboriginal population by the whites, which is almost unbelievable and unimaginable by a person from the 21st century. However, Ayi Kwei Armah also talks at length about the ills inherent in the colonised nations — those of treachery, moral and financial corruption, and other similar problems that made colonisation possible.
That said, this is definitely not Ayi Kwei Armah’s best. Where it seems to be lacking is the delineation of characters. They are all rather simple and bland, with no real depth to them, either historical or psychological. Thus, the book reminds of adventure novels by Alexandre Dumas, which are not bad per se, but might seem rather outdated today.
Ayi Kwei Armah is capable of so much more, and those unfamiliar with his oeuvre should start with his bold social commentary on post-independence Ghana in “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born.”

[candjcane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Befitting of its theme, I’m left feeling conflicted over this book. Opening with a compelling story and unique narrative voice, I was hooked early on. Armah’s great sense of atmosphere and intriguing plot carried me about halfway through before inconsistencies started to show. As the story progresses, it feels like a division is made between the desire to write a good story or a good essay, and characters and their goals begin to dissolve.

There is so much good intention in this book, and despite my feelings towards the narrative, Armah delivers his message well and clearly. It is still worth the read for those willing to hear it.

[Tyler Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more of a 3.5 than a 4 for me. Most of the novel is quite strong but I think it stutters a bit at the end and the tone struck me as odd sometimes.