Sangoma – African healers


1. History of the Sangoma and their role in a community


Metaphysical healing, psychic skills, divining and foretelling through ancestors have always played an important part of South African history and many of the cultural roots are intricately intertwined with spirituality and tradition. Within the native communities the term Sangoma is used to describe a holy man or woman, a skilled diviner and healer within the tradition of the Zulu and Ndebele native people. The Sangoma themselves have always been a crucial part of tribal life and customs and many of their traditions have been recorded throughout history by writers like: Haar, Gerrie, Hammond – Took, David and Fortes, Meyer.
In their books they describe these African spiritual beings as healers/diviners and as respected wise men/women who are held in high esteem and highly valued for their attained knowledge and metaphysical skills.

It is recorded by, Heidi Holland, African Magic, (Viking/Penguin books, Johannesburg: 2001) that the Sangoma have played an important role in everyday affairs, they are described as mediators, often preventing internal arguments, healing the wounded souls, motivating recovery throughout the community. Sangoma’s spend a large amount of time soothing their clients while sorting through the layers of suspicions and doubts that are linked to jealousy, rage and accusations. She says that the Sangoma’s function is vital to maintaining order and fluidity amongst members of the society.

The Sangoma's abilities or power have always been based on the fact that he/she is directly connected or an incarnation of an ancestral spirit or guide and being a manifestation of an inherited spirit allows the Sangoma to thus have a direct line with the universe and open to all channels of communication.
As a human or earthly being this fragile connection to the spiritual world offers the Sangoma a limitless stream of information and the ability to tap into the ethereal source. Once the Sangoma has linked with their particular ancestor they are then able to communicate with the deceased, angels, guides and spirits, receiving messages from the ancestors and universe directly. The spiritual exchange is often directly related to past life experiences, soul connected incidences and psychic phenomenon.

As healers the Sangoma are known to use a variety of roots, bark, herbs, flowers, and a wide range of land and animal products when making medicine or muti as it is called in Zulu. Most of the treatments are focused on the balance of the ethereal, energies and human body. It is the source of the ailment is the primary concern, therefore before centering on the physical effects of the ailment the Sangoma will investigate if indeed there is a spiritual/metaphysical reasons behind the symptoms. Author Milingo, E, The world in between, believes that it is because these divine beings possess the ancestral keys, that they are able to unlock the universal information and share it those that seek answers or require help and assistance.

Training to become a respected Sangoma was once so intense that the education process spanned over a period of ten to twenty-five years. Author, Philip M. Peek describes the initiation process of the Sangoma in his book called African Divination Systems, It is a riveting account that is taken from The Religious System of the Amazulu (Cape Town: C. Struik, 1970). The process of change and development of the young Sangoma is documented clearly. Education included community interaction, natural therapy, herbal healing, divining procedures, channeling, spiritual expansion, psychiatry and a variety of independent courses.

2.The link between Africa and the rest of the world within the realm of spirituality and divinity.

Good Vs Evil?

2.1. The similarities between spiritual healers around the world are vast, techniques might differ, but the substance or root remains the same. Good and bad, right and wrong are two extremes that are often referred to when describing human nature. There is a specific distinction of the two polarities. Yin and Yang are an excellent Eastern example of polarity, male and female are said to be balancing halves of a whole. Within the realm of African spirituality the Sangoma often refer to a good/positive and evil/negative result. Witchcraft meddling (human) is considered to a negative while the natural ancestral (spiritual) influences are considered as good. Both of these examples are mentioned in almost all books related to African spirituality.

Rituals and their roots

2.2 Praying, dancing, meditating, kneeling, sitting and hand positions, all these are ceremonial based techniques and variations can be found in almost every spiritual gathering, religion and cult. The Christian faith demonstrates many of these rituals in their ceremonies or masses, as do the Hindu, Moslem and Buddhists, just to mention a few others.
African spirituality also incorporates a variety of customs that are an intricate part of tradition and cultural principles. Author, Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa (Blue Crane Books, South Africa: 1964) captures cultural rituals in a collection of folk tales entitled, Indaba, My Children. Within the book there are countless references to the importance and substance of rituals and ceremonial procedures within the Zulu tradition.

Elemental Influences

2.3 Elements are another strong rudiment principle within the Western, European and the Middle Eastern spiritual societies. The most common elements are as follows; Earth, Water, Fire and Air, these are the four basic fundamentals and they are more than often used versus the Asian five element influence of – Wood, Metal, Fire, Water and Earth. African spirituality however also utilizes the number five when describing elements and the similarities are quite strong; Water, Fire, Earth, Mineral and Nature.
The relationship between the described elements and human beings are quite strong, as the elements often symbolize the person’s natural qualities, their character and disposition, all elements are both good and bad. Malidoma Patrice Some’ describes this unique elemental/human relationship, he adds real meaning to the subject of elements in his book entitled, 'The Healing Wisdom of Africa'.

Communication with the ancestors
2.4 Channeling is another bridge that links many cultures spiritually, the ability to access information or act as a conduit to the universe has been described in many cultures. Author John Kilmo, received much acclaim with his book entitled, Channeling, investigations on receiving information from paranormal sources. In this book he explains how the spirit can be channeled and how accurate the information is. Within the boundaries of Africa the Sangoma also use this method to channel their ancestors, questions are asked to aid and guide the seeker, leading them on the path of spirituality.

Spirit beings
2.5 The verification of spirit beings and their effect on world religions, principles, beliefs and mysticism has been recorded throughout history, words such as holy, force, divine, energy, soul and essence are often found within the descriptions of various holy books. Within the African culture however, spirit has a strong impacting influence and it can be established in everything, from mountains, animals, water and fire to air. The spirit is often described as being an unseen’ or ‘invisible’ force that offers universal information. The influence of ancestral spirits within the African culture has always been high; they serve as guides and universal spirit links. Sangoma/African healers are able to connect to the ancestral spirit and as a means psychotherapy communication they are able to support moral ethics and structure.

Divining methods.
2.6 Various divining methods, including games and projects are found throughout the world and we can find evidence of the selection in most bookstores. Take the word Sortilege for example, this is a collective term that includes any forms of divining that employs the use of objects with sides that are cast or drawn. Sortilege systems originated more that 5,000 years ago according to author, Eva Shaw who wrote and compiled a book entitled Book of Divining the Future. She states that sortilege can be traced back over 3,500 years ago to ancient Egypt and later on in Greece. She also discusses the Zulu tribe of Southern Africa under this heading and ties in their link to this ancient form of divination. She adds that bones, stones, pebbles, dice, are just a few of the tools that can be employed within this heading.

3.Is there acceptance of the oldest cultural healers and diviners, are they a part of the spiritual movement?

One would therefore presume that with all the spiritual similarities that the Sangoma healers would be valued assets in the Western world. Yet slowly but surely, this natural earth based religion has lost its integrated root system that once held it firm within the African society.
Ancient customs, traditions and ethnic associations have faded from everyday life and integrated into various sub-Christian, Moslem, divisions. These religion/segregation-based dissections have transformed the once ethnic native faith into a myriad of sections and as a result the Sangomas that were once revered as spiritual healers; psychic diviners and councilors are becoming less and less useful in the modern day world. Just as the North Americans have let go of their native roots, South African people are drifting away in the flow of modernization.

Education is just one of the keys to enlightenment and sadly, the media in the passed has not helped protect the natural earth based religions; instead they have fueled the public’s uneducated stereotypical perspectives with depictions of half naked natives running about with shrunken heads. Movies, books, games, comics and art have all permeated this negative image on African spirituality and incorrectly defined one of the world’s oldest spiritual forms as being barbaric and without substance.

The Sangoma’s spiritual journey has been one of trial and conflict as many have been accused of witchcraft crimes while others are standing trial for accusations of mutilations and murders.

Perhaps it is best to define the meaning of the word witchcraft within the African culture, it pertains to the core of black magic and evil psychic powers. This control is linked to all levels of negativity and pessimism for example emotions such as, hatred, jealousy, suspicion, resentment and greed.
Unfortunately, this interpretation is shrouded in layers of miscommunication and spiritual confusion and even now in this century there is evidence of chaos and unrest.
"Witchcraft Show Reduces Attacks," is an example of negative association. The article that was written for the ‘African Eye News Service’ (South Africa), JUL-19, 2000 and can be found at: http://www.africanews.org.

The article is dated for September 7th, 1998 and it describes a conference that involved 200 policemen and government representatives who met in the city of Thohoyandou, South Africa. The purpose of the meeting was to control the rise of Witchcraft-related deaths. Between 1994-APR and 1995-FEB, 97 women and 46 men in South Africa had been accused of being either, being an evil Sangoma or an evil Witch. These victims were then brutally murdered by townspeople or rural individuals without trial or true reason.
In the first 6 months of 1998, in the Northern Province alone, 386 crimes had been perpetrated against suspected witches; these included murder, damage to property and assault.

4.The power of words

We can all agree that the awakening of the spiritual movement is reflected throughout the world, from the East to the West, associations, clubs, books, movies, products and television have exhibited countless styles of divination, including religions, belief systems, spiritual perspectives and ideals. And we are not expected to apply every conviction, principle or value to our lives, just listen, learn and gain knowledge right? Yet, there seems to be an adverse reaction to the African healers/diviners and their faith system. I believe this reaction stems from a root power word - black.
The connotation of the word black has always been drenched in darkness. Black mood, black hole, black magic, black describes not only a color but also seems to be integrated with emotions and feelings, producing instant negative responses.
I have also thus realized that there is a direct association between the words African and black and many of the interviewed subjects were unable to define the differences.

Example– Linking colors with words. The association between the words black & African, the results were ninety-five out of one hundred people linked the two.
You have to ask yourself? When did the word African become a color?

To test this personal theory, I have spent the past three years using this word association method, linking black & African with topics such as education, religion, theories, divination, theology, mysticism and making a note of the reactions, expressions and responses. Caution, concern, wariness, trepidation and unease are just a few of the immediate reactions that I noted. The interesting observation is that after the initial reaction of alarm, the person assumed an indifferent pose and they immediately disassociated themselves from the given information, pretending instead that it was a natural mistake or glitch on their part.

Conclusion

I personally believe that negative word association is but a single key to understanding why there is such a lack of knowledge, confusion and fear associated with the African healers. The truth is that there are probably many more reasons and layers of concealed secrets and hidden agendas that might explain how one of the oldest races got lost in the boom of spiritual growth.
However, it is time to activate change, encourage acceptance and embrace the Sangoma /healers as essential to the flow of universal spirituality. Overcoming the boundaries, learning ancient healing methods, divining crafts and counseling process will allow us to advance one step further in self-awareness and spiritual growth.

Fear limits growth and spiritual evolvement



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