Journal of Culture, Society and Development www.iiste.org ISSN 2422-8400 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.39, 2018 1 Utility of Skins and Leather in Selected Chiefs’ Palaces in the Ahanta Traditional Area Albert Kwame Arthur (Corresponding author) Visual Arts Department, Academy of Christ the King School P. O. Box 772, Cape Coast, Ghana Tel: +233 (0) 246915121 Email: arthura971@yahoo.com Kwame Kyere Diabour (PhD) Department of Art Education, School of Creative Arts, University of Education P. O. Box 25, Winneba, Ghana Tel: +233 (0) 2433551222 Email: kkdee2000@yahoo.co.uk Agbeyewornu Kofi Kemevor (PhD) Department of Art Education, School of Creative Arts, University of Education P. O. Box 25, Winneba, Ghana Tel: +233 (0) 244580440 Email: kawavor@yahoo.com Abstract The Ghanaian chieftaincy system is embedded with rich cultural heritage that is sometimes expressed through art. Only few documentation have been focused on skin and leather related articles in chieftaincy; with notions of whether skins and leather feature in chieftaincy practices in the South of Ghana oblivious to many as these have not been voiced out. This paper presents and discusses findings with regard to the utility of skins and leather in selected chiefs’ palaces in the Ahanta Traditional Area. A purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample population of 16 respondents from whom data was collected using observation and interviews as tools. Findings from the study showed that skins and leather featured prominently in chieftaincy practices in the study zone as ceremonial, body and household items; but documentation of this information was limited. It is recommended that findings from this study be placed at the library of institutions such as the Ahanta Traditional Council, Ghana Tourist Authority and Ministry of Tourism and Creative Arts as reference material for academics and students of Visual Arts, African Studies, Tourism and Arts and Culture to access. Keywords: Skins, Leather, Ghanaian Chieftaincy, Art Forms. 1. Introduction Documentation of traditional symbols, totems and icons among others are very important to the preservation, protection and promotion of cultural heritage of a people. It is generally argued that African works of art are functional; their meaning and uses largely documented by oral tradition and practical hand over from one generation to the other. With time, the historic, philosophical and other connotation of these artefacts are lost or distorted. This has lead to so many art forms losing their meaning and utility in the socio-cultural life the people. As stated above, it was long suggested by Blocker (1988) and Ayiku (1997) that, the documentation of our CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals