Preservation of traditional culinary art and culture of the people of Asante Mampong, Ghana

Jemima Tuaah BoafoORCID iD, Dickson AdomORCID iD & Prosper Setsoafia ORCID iD

Issue: Vol. 7 No.9 2026 Article 9 pp.2601 – 2617
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026799Published online 28th October 2026

© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Views: 5
1 Download

DOWNLOAD PDF

Indigenous culinary practices are repositories of cultural knowledge, social memory and communal identity, yet many are declining under the pressures of urbanisation, changing food preferences and weakened intergenerational transmission. This study documented the indigenous culinary practices associated with major foods in Asante Mampong, Ghana. A qualitative participatory ethnographic design was used. Twenty-three participants, comprising queen mothers, community elders, food producers, women’s group leaders and farmers, were purposively selected and interviewed using a validated semi-structured interview guide. Participatory observations on food preparation and consumption were also made. Interview transcripts, field notes and observational data were thematically analysed with the support of NVivo 15. The findings identified diverse full-course and stand-alone meals, authentic preparation techniques, traditional culinary artefacts, seasonal and ritual consumption patterns, gendered dining arrangements and food-related taboos. Participants attributed the decline of these practices to limited awareness of their perceived health benefits, reduced availability of indigenous crops, modern food preferences and weakened youth participation in culinary learning. The study contributes to scholarship by providing a micro-cultural ethnographic record of indigenous culinary practices in Asante Mampong and by demonstrating how material culture, ecological seasonality, ritual life and intergenerational knowledge transmission jointly shape culinary continuity. It provides an evidence base for community-led documentation, education and heritage preservation initiatives that can accommodate modern preferences without eroding cultural authenticity.

Keywords: Asante Mampong, Indigenous Culinary Practices, Cultural Heritage, Indigenous Knowledge, Culinary Heritage Preservation.

Adesina, Olubukola S. “Projecting Nigeria’s Soft Power Through Culinary Diplomacy.” African Journal for the Psychological Studies of Social Issues 20, no. 1 (2017): 140–49.

Adzakor, Wisdom Kofi. “Globalization of Africa: A Review of Culinary Development and Its Economic Trends in Ghana.” Research Review, July 30, 2024. https://doi.org/10.52845/currentopinion.v4i2.256.

Afrane, George, and Augustine Ntiamoah. “Use of Pesticides in the Cocoa Industry and Their Impact on the Environment and the Food Chain.” Pesticides in the Modern World-Risks and Benefits. InTech, 2011, 51–68.

Anquandah, James. “The People of Ghana: Their Origins and Cultures.” Transactions of the Historical Society of Ghana, no. 15 (2013): 1–25.

Atuna, Richard A., Jemima Djah, Matthew A. Achaglinkame, Sanne Bakker, Linda Dari, Mildred Osei-Kwarteng, Gustav K. Mahunu, Irene Koomen, and Francis K. Amagloh. “Types of Indigenous Vegetables Consumed, Preparation, Preferences and Perceived Benefits in Ghana.” Journal of Ethnic Foods 9, no. 1 (September 8, 2022): 38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42779-022-00154-3.

Avieli, Nir. Food and Power: A Culinary Ethnography of Israel. Vol. 67. Univ. of California Press, 2017.

Bawayelaazaa Nyuor, Anslem, Emmanuel Donkor, Robert Aidoo, Samuel Saaka Buah, Jesse B Naab, Stephen K Nutsugah, Jules Bayala, and Robert Zougmoré. “Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Cereal Production: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture in Northern Ghana.” Sustainability 8, no. 8 (2016): 724.

Boakye, P. A. “ Dipo: A Rite of Passage among the Krobos of the Eastern Region, Ghana .”  University of Tromsø, 2010.

Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. “Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology.”  Qualitative Research in Psychology  3, no. 2 (2006): 7-101.

Bulut, Samuray Hakan, and Ebru Zencir Ciftci. “International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science,” n.d.

Chukwurah, Gladys Ogochukwu, Francis Ogochukwu Okeke, Matthew Ogorchukwu Isimah, Evidence Chinedu Enoguanbhor, Foluso Charles Awe, Rosemary Chidimma Nnaemeka-Okeke, Shuang Guo, Ifeanyichukwu Valentine Nwafor, and Chioma Angela Okeke. “Cultural Influence of Local Food Heritage on Sustainable Development.” World 6, no. 1 (January 7, 2025): 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/world6010010.

Cobbah, Linda, Michael Erasmus Edumadzie, and Jacqueline Ogoe. “Endangered Indigenous Ghanaian Dishes: Home Economics Students of University of Education, Winneba, Ghana’s Perspective.” Kwame Nkrumah University Multi-Disciplinary Journal-Zambia  1, no. 1 (2023): 5–16.

Demi, Suleyman Mohammed. Assessing Indigenous Food Systems and Cultural Knowledges among Smallholder Farmers in Ghana: Towards Environmental Sustainability Education and Development. University of Toronto (Canada), 2019.

Dietler, Michael. “11. Culinary Encounters: Food, Identity, and Colonialism.” The Archaeology of Food and Identity (Occasional Paper No. 34), 2007.

Hinrichs, C Clare. “The Practice and Politics of Food System Localization.” Journal of Rural Studies 19, no. 1 (2003): 33–45.

Lee, Kai-Sean. “Cooking up Food Memories: A Taste of Intangible Cultural Heritage.” Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management 54 (March 2023): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2022.11.005.

Malterud, Kirsti, Volkert Dirk Siersma, and Ann Dorrit Guassora. “Sample Size in Qualitative Interview Studies.” Qualitative Health Research 26, no. 13 (November 10, 2016): 1753–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617444.

McCann, James C. Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine. Ohio University Press, 2009.

Miller, Brandi Simpson. “Foodways and Empire in 19th Century Asante Diplomatic Relations.” THE SOAS JOURNAL OF POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH, 2016, 33.

Morris Brako. “Preserving Culinary Heritage: Challenges Faced by Takoradi Technical University Food Service Lab Students.” World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews 21, no. 3 (March 30, 2024): 1536–45. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.21.3.0882.

Naab, Francis Z., Romanus D. Dinye, and R. Kasim Kasanga. “Urbanisation and Its Impact on Agricultural Lands in Growing Cities in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Tamale in Ghana.”  Modern Social Science Journal  2, no. 2 (2013): 256–87.

Nani, Samuel. “Projecting Ghana’s Soft Power Through Gastrodiplomacy.” PhD diss., 2019.

Neill, Alex, and Aaron Ridley. Arguing about Art: Contemporary Philosophical Debates. Routledge, 2013.

Owusu-Darko, Patricia G., Moses Kwaku Golly, and Eric Owusu-Mensah. “History of Eating Customs, Food Traditions, and Dietary Taboos across Western Africa: An Overview on Health Implications, Safety Measures, and Regulatory Frameworks.” Nutritional and Health Aspects of Food in Western Africa, 2024, 9–30.

Sanz-Cañada, J., and J. Muchnik. “ Geographies of Origin and Proximity: Approaches to Local Agro-Food Systems.” Culture and History Digital Journal 5, no. 1 (2016): 1–19.

Stano, Simona. “Semiotics of Food.” In International Handbook of Semiotics, 647–71. Springer, 2015.

Tetteh, Bright, Samuel Tawiah Baidoo, and Paul Owusu Takyi. “The Effects of Climate Change on Food Production in Ghana: Evidence from Maki (2012) Cointegration and Frequency Domain Causality Models.” Cogent Food & Agriculture 8, no. 1 (2022): 2111061.

Tonui, Kenneth Kipngeno, Agatha Christine Onyango, and Collins Ouma. “Seasonality of Associations between Production of Indigenous Foods and Food Security Status of Mother-Child Dyads in Kisumu County, Kenya.” BMC Nutrition 10, no. 1 (2024): 8.

Trihartono, A, Purwowibowo, B, Santoso, FZ Pamungkas, and C Nisya. “The Early Stage of Indonesia’s Gastrodiplomacy: In the Middle of Nowhere?” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 485, no. 1 (May 1, 2020): 012008. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/485/1/012008.

Yeboah, Richmond, and Diana Ashie. “Promotion of Local Food as Tourism Product in the Cape Coast Metropolis: An Explorative Research.” Heliyon 10, no. 24 (December 2024): e40950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40950.

Jemima Tuaah Boafo is the District Director of the Centre for National Culture at Asante Mampong in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. She is a PhD candidate in African Art and Culture researching culinary practices in Ghana in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. She is an expert in food culture, art and science.

Dickson Adom (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer and a multidisciplinary Researcher in the Department of Educational Innovations in Science and Technology, Faculty of Educational Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. His research is a nexus between indigenous knowledge, Art, nature conservation,  digital solutions, and education. He is a visiting scholar at the Pangasinan State University, Philippines, and a Research Fellow at the INTI International University, Malaysia. He serves as a research consultant to the National Research Foundation in South Africa and an Advisor on research grant applications to the Gower Street, U.K. Dickson is an Editor for Elsevier’s Scientific African Journal, Springer Nature’s Discover Education Journal, Springer Nature’s Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Journal, Frontiers in Human Dynamics journal and many others. He serves as a Guest Editor and reviewer for several journals, including PLoS ONE,  African Identities, Oxford Intersections and many others. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Research Journal in Advanced Humanities, helping the journal to be indexed in the Scopus database after one year of establishment. He was awarded Top Reviewer in the Cross-Disciplinary field by Publons in 2018. He has reviewed and edited over 600 journal articles to date. He has wide experience in editorial workflows 3 and 4 for journal publishing, with certifications from Simon Fraser University, Canada. Dickson has over 100 publications, including books, book chapters, peer-reviewed journal articles, and conference papers, with over 5,600 citations on Google Scholar, an h-index of 27 and an i10-index of 61. Dickson sits on several editorial boards and serves in various capacities for national and international conferences.

Prosper Setsoafia is an enthusiastic PhD student in art education, passionate about inspiring students’ creativity and teaching. His academic training has given him strong skills in student engagement, educational research, and curriculum development. He has a reputation for having outstanding interpersonal, communication, and teaching skills. He also knows how to design inclusive, motivating learning environments. He thrives in dynamic, student-centred environments and is excited to use his training and experience to promote innovation and deliver outstanding art education.

Boafo, Jemima Tuaah, Dickson Adom, and Prosper Setsoafia. “Preservation of traditional culinary art and culture of the people of Asante Mampong, Ghana.” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.9 (2026): 2601 – 2617. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.2026799

© 2026 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Articles in this Issue

About Journal