The Changing Role of the Mallam Intelligentsia During the Colonial Era in Ghana

Abstract

The coveted position enjoyed by Mallams in colonial Ghana due to their pioneering acquisition of literacy and the mystical use to which they had put the Holy QurÕan was to witness a tremendous challenge with the increasing European presence and the introduction of secular education. They had served as advisers and administrators to Kings and chiefs in times of war and in peace, provided medicinal services, and even with
the increasing demand for literates in the immediate years following colonization they again proved useful. The paper concludes that effective colonization presented two basic challenges to the Mallam Intelligentsia which greatly altered their significance. First with the emergence of secular literacy they were replaced as advisers and, second, the appearance of
more powerful weapons put the Talismatic tradition into question.