Psychopathology and Healing in Ayi Kwei Armah's Two Thousand Seasons and The Healers

Abstract

This paper situates Ayi Kwei Armah's Two Thousand Seasons and The Healers within the scholarship of Akan belief systems. Argued in this essay is that these two novels present an alternative perspective on godhead, gods, ancestors and human person. Premised on the view that illnesses symbolize an imbalance among human beings, ancestors and gods, this paper holds that Armah's interpretation of these formative elements of being and becoming provides a different understanding of illness and healing.