Get SOUTH AFRICAN HEALERS ASSOCIATION

"We were told to abstain from sex for seven days, not to go where there is water, not to eat pork, sheep, and fish. We were also told not to have golden teeth, necklaces, watches, and coins."

A sangoma's goal in healing is to establish a balanced and harmless relationship between the afflicted patient and the spirits that are causing their illness or problem. The healer intercedes between the patient and the world of the dead in order to make restitution.

Highly skilled sangomas are said to be able to make herbal medicines, interpret dreams, incorporate spirits, control weather, and predict the future.

This means all traditional healers will have to apply to the council to be registered....These include: being a South African citizen; providing character references from people unrelated to the applicant; and. proof of qualifications.

They are involved in divination, healing, directing rituals, finding lost cattle, protecting “warriors” (Sangomas offered protective medicine [muti] to freedom fighters during South Africa's political struggles), and “smelling out” witches, as well as narrating the history, cosmology, and myths of his/her tradition.

Sangomas or inyangas are shamans, healers, priests, and prophets that have been the backbone of Bantu communities, especially in the rural areas of Southern Africa for eons.

The source of their power is called umbilini, which they learn to summon at will through the beating of a drum or through deep meditation. They also learn how to access the knowledge of the universe—past, present, and future—said to be contained in a hidden lake in the spirit world.

Sangomas or inyangas are shamans, healers, priests, and prophets that have been the backbone of Bantu communities, especially in the rural areas of Southern Africa for eons.