Sangomas
latest news & developmentsBy 2025, sangomas will have to be registered to practise
The health department says new regulations likely to come into force early next year are a step towards getting Western and traditional medicine to work together
Social media sullies sacred values in the chase for clicks and views
Traditional African cultural practices that were once private are being milked by content creators and twisted into mass entertainment
Four years on, Lily Mine families want recovery of the bodies of three missing workers to restart
The ground swallowed 90 people, but three died in the tragedy and their bodies were not found
Legacy of a lesbian sangoma
A tribute to Zean ‘Nkunzi’ Nkabinde, an activist who made a rich contribution to the Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action’s work
A sangoma connects the art of performance and of healing with a search for identity
Traditional healing and drama art may not typically intersect, but they do have a connection.
@Noksangoma explains the five types of spirits you may not have known about
Sangoma Nokulinda Mkhize analyses the ancestors found in Southern African bloodlines.
Beware the charlatan sangomas
Ugandan entrepreneurs are taking advantage of your problems to increase their own fortunes while telling yours.
The fashion designer who felt the call of the ancestors
Karabo Finger was called to be a traditional healer when her mother, the family elder and a spiritual medium, died and connected her to her ancestors.
Sangomas’ power challenges state
An anthropologist schooled in traditional healing, Professor Robert Thornton, says it is deeply rooted in ideas and not science.
Sexual healing: An African sex safari
The African Sexual Healing Tour is empowering, but bruised by its bland approach to heterosexual cliché.
I’m rattled by the convulsions of a sangoma
A sangoma’s unsolicited advice comes across as perhaps a little desperate.
Prudence Mabele: “I have seen ARVs save lives”
Mabele helped lead the fight for antiretrovirals in SA. A memorial service will be held for her today. This was her last interview with Bhekisisa.
Use of traditional healers vastly exaggerated
Claims that 80% of South Africans prefer traditional healers over public healthcare are false; in reality less than 2% go to a sangoma first.
The new generation of sangomas
You have no alternative but to obey your calling, says a young healer, but it is a spiritual blessing. She spoke to Aneesa Fazel.
Labour Appeal Court rules sangoma’s sick note valid
A court has ruled a woman who was "badly tormented by her ancestors" must be reinstated in her post, even though she leave without permission.