Depression is more common than the flu, and its effects ripple into every sphere of life. But in South Africa, it often goes undiagnosed, according to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag).
This is why 58 traditional healers gathered under the scorching Limpopo sun in Polokwane on Monday to receive a “speaking book” that is meant to encourage them to combine traditional methods of healing with Western ways of dealing with depression and suicidal patients — especially those living with HIV/Aids.
The speaking book, titled Living with HIV/Aids Doesn’t Mean Living with Depression, is illustrated and has a yellow panel of buttons attached along its side. The plastic buttons are illustrated with symbols that match those on relevant pages.
Once a button is pushed, the voice of Rosie Motene — from the soap opera Generations — sounds through a tiny speaker and advises the reader on signs of depression and dealing with the illness.
Because many traditional healers don’t speak English, the book has been translated into Pedi, isiZulu and English. The traditional healers in Polokwane spoke Pedi, so the book they received was narrated by Aaron Moloisi from Take 5.
The book is meant to “enlighten” traditional healers and make them aware of depression among their patients, especially those living with HIV/Aids who may feel the most disheartened and depressed.
Effective
Sadag founder Zane Wilson is behind the speaking-book idea and says it’s more effective than written books. Sadag found that most traditional healers are illiterate and that very few actually went to or finished school.
She also said one book is “read” by up to 28 people and therefore has more reach in communities that need it.
A drawing of three people playing soccer is accompanied by the recorded speaker saying: “If for more than three weeks you have feelings of sadness, are crying, not sleeping well, losing weight, feeling isolated or rejected, worthless and have no interest in the things you used to do, then you may have depression.”
Sangomas (isiZulu for traditional healers) play a vital role in South African communities, acting as herbalists, prophets and psychologists. They are usually the first to diagnose a physical ailment (such as HIV/Aids) or a mental illness (such as depression).
It is therefore important that traditional healers know how to spot depression in its early stages and send their patient to a clinic, thereby avoiding possible suicide, says Katherine Sorsdahl, a researcher doing a report on how traditional healers view depression.
“A lot of patients trust their traditional healers and they’re very respected in their communities. So, if a traditional healer tells a patient that they need to see a Western doctor, they’ll listen to them,” she says.
Depression
Sprawled under the shade of a few scattered trees, traditional healers wearing bright-coloured robes and beaded jewellery discussed depression — how they notice it and how they treat it.
Causes of depression that sangomas said they had encountered included fights between husbands and wives, rebellious children leaving home to become street kids, and infidelity and divorce. But unlike Western beliefs that depression is a result of a chemical imbalance, most traditional healers believe it is simply brought on by stress or “thinking too much”.
Steven Makwena Senabuyo (50) is both a self-proclaimed “prophet” and herbalist. He says there are many things that cause depression. “For instance, when you discover that your wife is having an affair, it affects your way of thinking. You don’t believe what you are seeing or hearing about this person. This will actually go to your heart and develop into depression.”
If the bones thrown by a healer to diagnose a patient say a person is “sad in the heart”, the healer will prescribe the patient medicine (muti, or imbiza) called pelotheri (medicine of the heart), a root found in the surrounding mountains that is then brewed.
An imbiza and an appointment with a healer can cost anywhere between R150 and R650.
Ephraim Lesetja Dikgale (34) has been a traditional healer for 11 years and says when he sees a patient is not getting better, he will send them to a clinic or medical doctor.
Dikgale says he is not opposed to combining Western and traditional medical practices. “By using and combining the two to me is an ideal suggestion. I hope the book will work to do this,” he says.
Senabuyo agrees, saying: “I’m not opposed to Western medicine. It does work and sometimes more. There are some things we cannot see and do that western medicine can do … the way in which we work is different but if we come together, we’re in the position to teach each other. Then we can progress and help the sick if we work as a team.”
The reporter was a guest of Sadag on the trip to Polokwane