Blood ritual: An indigenous approach to peacemaking among the Bimoba people of northern Ghana

• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Author: Mathias Awonnatey Ateng,Abukari Nuhu,Agoswin A. Musah
• Date: 01 December 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21362

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Blood ritual: An indigenous approach to

peacemaking among the Bimoba people of

northern Ghana

Mathias Awonnatey Ateng

1

| Abukari Nuhu

2

|

Agoswin A. Musah

3

1

University for Development Studies,

Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana

2

Northern Regional Peace Council,

National Peace Council, Tamale,

Northern Region, Ghana

3

Department of Gur-Gonja Education,

College of Languages Education,

University of Education, Winneba,

Ghana

Correspondence

Mathias Awonnatey Ateng, University for

Development Studies, Tamale, Northern

Region, Ghana.

Email: awonnatey@gmail.com;mathias.

ateng@uds.edu.gh

Abstract

This study examined blood ritual as an indigenous

peacemaking strategy among the Bimoba people of

northern Ghana. Descriptive qualitative research

methods were used together with in-depth face-to-face

interviews with eight elders of the community. The

audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim

and thematically analyzed with NVivo 12 software. The

findings reveal that the blood ritual approach is partici-

patory, focuses on re-establishing relationships and

emanates from the culture of the Bimoba people. It also

involves the use of rituals and seeks the interest of the

entire Bimoba community. The study concludes that

the strategy shares commonalities with several indige-

nous peacemaking approaches in Africa and has the

potential of facilitating sustainable resolutions of com-

munal conflicts such as the Bimoba chieftaincy con-

flict. However, similar to other approaches, the blood

ritual does not ensure gender equality in peacebuilding

as the role of women is reduced to simply being

observers. A major limitation of this study is its reli-

ance on only the perspectives of the elders of the com-

munity without recourse to the voices of people who

appear before the ritual processes, to appreciate how

they feel about the blood ritual with respect to their

hope and expectation when they appear before the pro-

cess for solace and solution. Also, the voice of young

Received: 23 September 2021 Revised: 30 August 2022 Accepted: 30 September 2022

DOI: 10.1002/crq.21362

Conflict Resolution Quarterly. 2022;40:231–247. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/crq © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 231

people, women and other vulnerable groups are not

reflected in the blood ritual approach.

1|INTRODUCTION

The scarcity of resources and the drive for political power have made conflict inevitable in every

human society. For this discussion, conflict is defined as a “struggle over values and claims to

status, power, and resources in which the opponents aim to neutralise, injure or eliminate their

rivals”(Coser, 1998, p. 8). Since conflict is inevitable, diverse ethnic groups, societies, and com-

munities all over the world and especially in Africa, have developed unique cultural-sensitive

approaches to the resolution of conflicts (Brigg & Walker, 2016). Some of these approaches

include the Mato Oput of Uganda, Gacaca of Rwanda, Ubuntu among the indigenous communi-

ties of Southern Africa, Kanye ndu bowi among the Buem of Ghana and Togo among others

(Zartman, 2000). These mechanisms are based on the cultural values, customs and belief sys-

tems of such societies (Kemp & Fry, 2004; Walker, 2019) and are described as indigenous ways

of peacemaking (Benjamin & Lundy, 2014).

The concept of indigenous peacemaking is given different interpretations depending on the

context. For this discussion, indigenous peacemaking approaches are conflict resolution strate-

gies that emanate, are defined, guided and shaped by the cultural values and norms of society

(Benjamin & Lundy, 2014). In some of the literature, indigenous conflict resolution means

approaches to dealing with conflicts by non-western jurisdictions or societies (Olowu, 2018).

This definition thus suggests that any conflict resolution mechanism that is not from western

societies is indigenous. Such a view leads to the neglect of indigenous societies that are found

for instance in North America. It is in line with this view that the former definition is more apt

for this discussion as it limits indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms to the cultural values

and norms of society in general.

In the past few decades, there has been an increased interest in the discussion and applica-

tion of indigenous peacemaking approaches in the resolution of conflicts. The United Nations

for instance calls for the application of conflict resolution approaches that are culture sensitive

(United Nations, 2004) while the slogan of the African Union on homegrown solutions gives

credence to the high-level recognition of indigenous peacemaking approaches in peacebuilding.

In addition, enormous scholarly research has emerged on indigenous peacemaking approaches

with the objective of understanding their philosophies and applications (Tuso, 2016). A compar-

ison of the findings of some of these studies suggests that despite the non-monolithic nature of

these indigenous mechanisms, they do share some commonalities. For these societies,

peacebuilding is about restoring harmony and building relationships. Likewise, these

approaches are rooted in the cultural values and norms of society.

Notwithstanding the recognition of indigenous peacemaking approaches to peacebuilding,

there remains a huge deficit in the understanding and application of indigenous processes

within liberal democratic contexts. The lack of comprehensive research to profile the various

forms of indigenous peacemaking processes across the 5000 or so ethnic groups of the world is

partly to be blamed for this situation (Tuso, 2016). The desire then to project indigenous peace-

making approaches within modern spaces requires further research to unearth the philosophies

and application of these approaches to peacebuilding (Tuso & Flaherty, 2016).

232 ATENG ET AL.