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Ancestral Healing

In South Africa, where over 80% of the population regularly consults a traditional practitioner, sangomas ( izangomas : traditional healers /pharmacists) and nyangas ( izinyangas: traditional diviners) are considered to be gifted, indispensable members of society.

Path to Healing

In traditional African medicine sangomas and nyangas are ‘called’ to become healers. This means that their ancestors have singled them out to take up the traditional healing path, and there is a firm belief that if a call to heal is not answered, there is an impact on the person and their family. Failure to do so generally leads to illness, instability or even insanity, so there isn’t much choice.

The ancestral calling knows no colour: it can happen to a white person in the same way as a black person because we all have ancestors; some of us are just more aware of them than others.

The Call to Heal

Johannesburg-based sangoma Marilyn McDowell was a practising transpersonal psychologist when she got the calling several years ago. This ‘intwasa’ (answering the call to heal) led to her apprenticeship to become a sangoma. The ‘twasa’ is a rigorous journey full of hardships, personal confrontations and overpowering visions, aimed at psychically preparing the person for his or her vocation as a sangoma.

Connected Worlds

It is the traditional healers work to act as a medium between the spirit and physical worlds to discover the hidden causes behind misfortune or illness and prescribe appropriate action. “In African healing, the physical, psychological, spiritual and ancestral worlds are inherently connected”. “So when you are sick, we look at all these worlds to restore your health,” explains McDowell.

Traditional healers also assess their patient’s condition according to a ‘chaos-order’ continuum. Sometimes we have too much chaos in our lives, which can lead to illness; sometimes we have too much order in our lives, which can also lead to illness. “To keep healthy, we constantly need balance the chaos and order in our lives,” continues McDowell.

Healing Ceremonies

T raditional healing is not a religion, but rather a cosmology, and healers experience direct contact with their ancestors after ‘throwing the bones’ – the traditional African diagnostic method. Visitors are welcome to attend these and other traditional healing ceremonies, which take place throughout the year in the cities and rural areas of South Africa.

During these ceremonies the sangomas and nyangas enter a trance state in which they commune with the spirit world and their ancestors (who appear to them as voices, smells, feelings or visions).

Dreaming is Seeing

McDowell sees and hears her ancestors by dreaming them. “For me it’s been a process of developing a deep contact with my spiritual knowledge – which comes from my ancestors – and then learning to trust that knowledge. The more I trust the knowledge, the more knowledge comes to me, including seeing the plants required to treat my patients in my dreams.” Clearly there are no ‘after hours’ for sangomas; they are always working, even in their sleep.

Consulting a Healer

If you are a visitor to this country, it is best to secure the help of a trustworthy local guide before consulting a traditional healer. Sangoma’s and nyanga’s practise countrywide. As with all professions, be aware that not all healers are ethical or suitably skilled. Healers communicate with their ancestors to do ‘Gods’ work, as opposed to witches and sorcerers who are believed to have the ability to harm others and can change shape, use medicines to harm and send agents/animals to do evil deeds.

Tours are also available to traditional medicine or ‘muthi’ markets throughout the country. One such market is the Mai Mai market in the inner city of Johannesburg. Another is the Faraday muthi market in downtown Johannesburg .

Natures Pharmacy

Prescribing cures for every physical and psychological ill, the traditional healers and traders at the market have mobile medicine stalls stocked with roots, bulbs, barks and animal parts. Here you will find a cure for everything from bronchitis to a broken heart.

The harvesting of medicinal plants is of vital importance. Their power is in the harvesting rituals and the healers call on the nature spirits for permission to harvest. Some plants may only be picked at a certain time of the day and harvested from certain directions only, as the directions have different results.

Sexy Trees

Sexual prowess and love play a big part in muthi, for these are the seeds of life. Muthi is sought by those hoping to attract love, make themselves desirable to the one they love, stop their loved one from straying or enhance their sexual prowess.

The sausage tree is one of several very sexy African trees used by healers to help young men enhance their manhood, to help women grow bigger breasts and to treat both sexes for syphilis.

Nothing has been scientifically proven, but remarkable properties have been ascribed to the sausage tree, including strong antimicrobial (anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral) effects.

Supernatural Solutions

In the name of love we will readily place our trust in love dolls, charms and potions, even plants.

“Beware the leopard orchid. It is a great African love charm and people are very foolish when it comes to love,” warns nyanga Protas Cele, who practises in Umlazi township on the outskirts of Durban. “In love I advise you to think about the person's character before taking this plant.” Sage words whether you take the plant or not.

Then again, whenever have human beings sought scientific proof in the name of love?

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