Bongaka or Ukunyanga
Definition of terms
Bongaka or Ukunyanga is a practice of healing using herbs and medicines to make people better.
Isangoma is a person who is called to practice divination and foresee past and future events
Muthi, moriana is a traditional word for medicine
Rituals are customs or ways of doing things, for example, a wedding ceremony is a ritual
Traditional healers are practitioners of traditional African medicine in Southern Africa, they are called by the ancestors to take up their divine calling. They fulfil different social and political roles in the community: divination healing physical, emotional, and spiritual illnesses; directing birth or death rituals; finding lost cattle; protecting warriors; counteracting witchcraft; and narrating the history, cosmology, and concepts of their tradition. There are two main types of traditional healers within the societies of Southern Africa: the diviner (sangoma’s) and the herbalist (inyanga/ngaka). These healers are effectively South African shamans who are highly revered and respected in a society where illness is thought to be caused by witchcraft, pollution (contact with impure objects or occurrences) or through neglect of the ancestors. There are two main types of traditional healers within societies of Southern Africa: the diviner (isangoma) and the herbalist (inyanga/ngaka).
Sangoma’s generally rely on rituals and traditional practices to treat a patient’s ailments while an inyanga uses parts of plants (herbs) and animal parts for therapeutic purposes. Both types of traditional healers may employ some methods of divination to diagnose the patient and decide upon the most appropriate course of treatment. This divination may involve ‘throwing the bones’ where animal bones and trinkets are tossed and the orientation is then ‘read’ by the healer. Other practitioners may contact ancestor spirits to guide them accordingly. A herb known as imphepho (Helichrysum odoratissimum) may be burned to assist with communicating with the ancestor spirits. Based on the guidance from the ancestor spirits, the healer will prescribe the relevant rituals or herbal concoction which is known as ‘Muthi’. Most traditional African herbal medicines are infusions – a combination of herbs are boiled and the brew is taken as prescribed. Other medicines may be used as inhalants when combined with boiling water. Traditional African religion, therefore, involves a chain of communication between the worshipers and ancestors, at times, communication between the living, the living-dead and God is done through the ritual slaughtering of an animal.
Traditional healers serve many roles which include but not limited to custodians of the traditional African religion and customs, educators about culture, counsellors to the Kingship and community. Traditional African medicine involves the use of herbal concoctions and traditional rituals to treat a patient.
Definition of terms
Bongaka or Ukunyanga is a practice of healing using herbs and medicines to make people better.
Isangoma is a person who is called to practice divination and foresee past and future events
Muthi, moriana is a traditional word for medicine
Rituals are customs or ways of doing things, for example, a wedding ceremony is a ritual
Traditional healers are practitioners of traditional African medicine in Southern Africa, they are called by the ancestors to take up their divine calling. They fulfil different social and political roles in the community: divination healing physical, emotional, and spiritual illnesses; directing birth or death rituals; finding lost cattle; protecting warriors; counteracting witchcraft; and narrating the history, cosmology, and concepts of their tradition. There are two main types of traditional healers within the societies of Southern Africa: the diviner (sangoma’s) and the herbalist (inyanga/ngaka). These healers are effectively South African shamans who are highly revered and respected in a society where illness is thought to be caused by witchcraft, pollution (contact with impure objects or occurrences) or through neglect of the ancestors. There are two main types of traditional healers within societies of Southern Africa: the diviner (isangoma) and the herbalist (inyanga/ngaka).
Sangoma’s generally rely on rituals and traditional practices to treat a patient’s ailments while an inyanga uses parts of plants (herbs) and animal parts for therapeutic purposes. Both types of traditional healers may employ some methods of divination to diagnose the patient and decide upon the most appropriate course of treatment. This divination may involve ‘throwing the bones’ where animal bones and trinkets are tossed and the orientation is then ‘read’ by the healer. Other practitioners may contact ancestor spirits to guide them accordingly. A herb known as imphepho (Helichrysum odoratissimum) may be burned to assist with communicating with the ancestor spirits. Based on the guidance from the ancestor spirits, the healer will prescribe the relevant rituals or herbal concoction which is known as ‘Muthi’. Most traditional African herbal medicines are infusions – a combination of herbs are boiled and the brew is taken as prescribed. Other medicines may be used as inhalants when combined with boiling water. Traditional African religion, therefore, involves a chain of communication between the worshipers and ancestors, at times, communication between the living, the living-dead and God is done through the ritual slaughtering of an animal.
Traditional healers serve many roles which include but not limited to custodians of the traditional African religion and customs, educators about culture, counsellors to the Kingship and community. Traditional African medicine involves the use of herbal concoctions and traditional rituals to treat a patient.
