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South Africans are increasingly embracing the ancestral calling for the sacred and beautiful journey it is. Photographer Rosetta Msimango joined some on their path of ukuthwasa – the process of becoming a healer.
Many South Africans have experienced a shift related to African spirituality and religion. A while back, having an ancestral calling was something to be shunned – not any more.
These days, conversations on ubungoma (the calling or gift from the ancestors) are widely shared among African communities on social media and in person.
Even though most still cling to the Bible, these days having a spiritual gift is widely embraced.
READ: Actor Zinhle Ngwenya becomes a traditional healer
More and more, people are proudly wearing their beads, amahiya (traditional cloth) and other identifiers of an ancestral calling.
Mkhulu Khwezi, an isithunywa (messenger) from the Impande yakwaMsimanga (clan name), believes in the importance of connecting to your roots.
However, Khwezi, who is from a small village called Mhlanganisweni, near Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape, warns against fake sangomas who rip off people seeking to fulfil their calling. She believes that black people’s economic vulnerability and socioeconomic struggles have led to the proliferation of fake sangomas.
In a legitimate divination, water, herbs and prayers are used to connect with the ancestors and aid people.
“Ukuthwasa is a calling to restore, create and connect with ourselves and our ancestors in order to serve. You are called by your ancestors to train as a healer or to appease them,” says Mkhulu Khwezi.
“It is unfortunate that people want quick and easy solutions. When you are called, your ancestors are your guide; they direct you to those who need to help you,” she says.
Traditional healer Dr KharaKhara, from Hazyview in Mpumalanga, has been helping people for the past six years.
KharaKhara says that Africans have been lost since Christianity was “forced upon us by missionaries”.
“This led to the suffering of many of our people. Our forefathers died with their gifts, which were passed down to us to use.
“We are in the era of knowing who we are. Our ancestors have been fighting for this moment, that’s why you see so many of our people bethwasa [training to become healers]. It’s not by mistake. But we still have so much work to do.”
