There has been a huge increase in the amount of traditional healers in South Africa. (James Oatway)
“Why are there so many traditional healers? It seems to be fashionable,” many people are asking on social media platforms.
On the face of it this appears to be a plausible concern. I contend it brings to light the extent to which colonial beliefs are still deeply entrenched in our social structures.
The consequences of imperialism and colonialism in modern-day South Africa have led numerous people to view African spirituality as a secondary belief system and, at times, taboo, rather than it forming an integral part of our belief system and way of life.
Scholars and commentators on African spirituality have argued that colonialism and imperialism alienated African people from their belief systems. Africans continue to feel compelled to demonstrate that their core beliefs remain Christian even though they believe in the importance of African spirituality. This presupposes the superiority of whiteness.
As with all social structures, questions must be raised regarding the increase in the number of traditional healers, even though I contend this question must be dismissed.
One cannot deny that the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality have led people to such high levels of desperation that they search for the meanings of their vulnerability.
But this has given rise to scammers posing as traditional healers. These are individuals that have identified the crisis of vulnerability and created a money-making scheme.
These scammers tell vulnerable people exactly what they want to hear; that their poverty is caused by their ancestors turning their backs on them and that rituals must be performed to appease the ancestors. These rituals cost huge amounts of money. At times these scammers convince people that the solution to these problems is in ukuthwasa — the process of becoming isangoma or igqirha.
Furthermore, the consumerist and materialist culture perpetuated by neoliberalism has led legitimate traditional healers to take advantage of desperate people by falsely diagnosing them.
Karl Marx argues that religion is the opium of the masses. That when people want to make sense of their alienation from the means of production, they turn to religion for refuge and to make sense of their world. The same applies to African spirituality. For instance, no one ever questions the ridiculous number of churches in our townships.
But some fly-by-night churches use Doom and other harmful chemicals to “rescue” the needy. The enemy is neoliberalism, unemployment, poverty, and inequality.
There is also a tendency of limiting African spirituality to witchcraft or some hocus pocus arrangement. But African spirituality at its core is rooted in the African health system, notwithstanding maintaining or attaining social cohesion and conservation of the family unit.
Considering that the agenda of imperialism and colonialism was rooted in the entrenchment of capitalism and land dispossession, I believe not only were Africans alienated from their beliefs, but the colonial project led to the disdain for African medicine and health systems because they were demonised. The imperialist was aware that a contest with Western medicine would collapse his capitalist agenda.
For traditional healers and those that have embraced African spirituality, the emergence of a growing number of traditional healers comes as no surprise after centuries of imperialism and colonial domination where Africans were demonised for their beliefs.
It is conceivable that our guides are aggressively using their identified subjects to communicate to their families that it is time to realign spiritually with who they are and connect with them so that their families can regain their dignity and vibrate at higher levels.
But society must be cautioned to ensure they are also responsible and do their due diligence when their loved ones are diagnosed with intwaso, a sacred spiritual journey that must be given the respect it deserves and not a once-off ritual.
We must acknowledge how our history has affected us, and recognise that numerous families and individuals are in search of who they are and are embracing their African beliefs.
Feziwe Ndwayana, a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand, became a traditional healer 12 years ago, working as Gogo Sigolwane, and is based in Gauteng.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Mail & Guardian.