Sangomas are traditional healers in the Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa and Ndebele traditions in South Africa. Sijo Makeng, 59, underwent the first in a three-stage initiation process to become a sangoma. For this first stage Sijo had to purchase three chickens, a goat and a sheep. The initiation took place at her mother’s house in the township of Gugulethu. Skhulu, Sijo's teacher, a powerful and respected sangoma from the area, led the initiation. Impepho (local wild sage) is burned throughout the house to bring the ancestors closer, and ward off evil spirits. The animals are forced to inhale the smoke and the chickens were the first to be sacrificed. The blood is collected and would later be used in a mixture with traditional herbs and ingested by Sijo, along with the heart of one of the chickens. Feathers plucked from the chickens are used as a decorative headdress. The sheep and goat are then sacrificed by cutting the throat of the animal and allowing the blood to empty onto her, while she faces down on all fours. During this process the guests drum, sing and dance, inviting the ancestors to be present. The binnegoed (internal organs) are then removed from the animals, and cooked in large pots to be eaten by the guests. Next, Sijo is washed and returned indoors, where the ceremony continues for almost another 24 hours of chanting, singing and dancing. This prolonged ceremony induces a trance-like state among the participants, allowing the ancestors to take possession. In the closing stages, Sijo is cloaked in the fresh hide of the goat and her wrists decorated in beads, confirming her sangoma status. She is currently saving money to purchase a cow for the completion of the second stage of her initiation processes.
Practising traditional healers and herbalists from other parts of southern and east Africa come to set up businesses in the lucrative cities of South Africa. Assistants hand out flyers on busy high streets, enticing potential clients by offering solutions to a range of problems, including erectile disfunction, unwanted pregnancies, bad luck, financial problems, finding lost lovers and removing evil from a business or home. Although they may use different muthi (traditional herbal medicine) from their own countries, these healers consult their ancestors for guidance much in the same way the local sangoma do. While for many they provide the healing they need, controversy sometimes surrounds their status, with some believing them to be charlatans, preying on the misfortune of others and offering fraudulent service. Dr Ariphat, 43, a herbalist and spiritual healer from Zanzibar, has been practising in Cape Town for the past six years. Like most herbalists operating in the city centre, his practice room is a 2mx2m, partitioned, candle-lit space adjoining a small waiting room. The partition is self-constructed with material draping the walls. 'My abilities or power are based on the fact that I am directly connected, or an incarnation of, an ancestral spirit or guide. Being a manifestation of an inherited spirit allows me to have a direct line to the universe and open up to all channels of communication.’ Choosing to not show his face to the camera, Dr Ariphat prepares his practice for his first patients. In the rural areas, regular animal sacrifices are carried out to please the spirits of the ancestors. In the city practice, a bottle of animal blood is kept close by as a symbol of these sacrifices. 'Each of us has spiritual abilities to one degree or another, but I am able to summon these powers at will.' A coal tab let is ignited at the start of each session. The smoke from the tablet creates a medium for summoning the spirits, the source of his healing power. A calabash containing personal artifacts of the doctor is used as a shaker to get the attention of the spirits, particularly when a question is asked by the patient. Dr Ariphat returns to Zanzibar annually to collect his traditional medicine, and reconnect with the spirits of his homeland.
Sheik Sulman, 33, is from Kenya. 'I'm a spiritual healer, I get my powers from my ancestors. I throw my stones and shells to access the advice of my ancestors. I have had my stones and shells since my initiation ceremony in 1997. At the start of a consultation, I will let the client hold them and pray. The stones are then thrown and I read the problems and solutions facing the patient.' Sheik explains how he came to be a spiritual healer: 'In 1992, when I was 12 years, we had a spiritual ceremony in our village. I went to play drums and join the ceremony. Soon afterwards, I was very sick. I got sores all over my body and I began to speak in a strange language. After the conventional doctors found no reason for my sickness, my father took me to a traditional healer. The healer told us I was possessed by spirits, ancestors of my family. The healer tried to remove the possession. The ceremony lasted three days. I didn’t sleep. During this time the spirits caused my body to jump up and down and be thrown about. On the third day, the spirits finally spoke through me. In the 1980s, there was traditional healer using these spirits for guidance, but she had recently died and so now they were looking for a place to settle. They had chosen me as their settling place. Herbalists and spiritual leaders from all over the country joined in a sacrificial ceremony to excise the spirits. During the ceremony the spirits finally left my body to settle in a small hut, which we had built for them. Since then these spirits speak to me, and have instructed me to do this work for them. If I stray off this path, I will be punished. I will retire when I'm 45, and the ancestors will go to someone else in the family. I will go back to being a barber.'
King Kim, 38, is originally from Uganda. His knowledge of herbs and traditional medicines were passed down from his elders, both living and in spirit. His ancestors visit him in dreams, instructing and guiding him in his practice. A leopard skin from his final initiation ceremony is kept close by. It is a symbol of his power and helps the ancestors locate him during his travels. Other artifacts from his initiation ceremony are kept in a shrine for the ancestors to feel at home, and have a place to speak through. The majority of King Kim's male clients visit him due to weak erections and loss in man power. 'When you are a baby, your parents can sometimes keep you in your nappy for too long, and the penis doesn’t have time to develop properly, like a prisoner in a cage. When you are older you have problems. Mulondo is a powerful herb that directs the flow of blood to the penis, making it big and hard.' The majority of his female clients are more interested in bringing back lost lovers. 'I use a mixture of herbs and honey, and a sample of either the woman's hair or nail. The mixture is ground together into a paste and must be fed to the man. I council my patients before taking this route. It is very powerful – he won't be able to get you out of his mind for the rest of his life.'
