Mphutungwane Traditional Healing & Consultation

Today I wish I had the ability to draw.  I would put on canvas the vision I had last night which for me is a true representation of the way life both seen and unseen is structured.  The actual scene in my dream played out based on the troubles I have in my life right now, but the outlines where really a representation of the way things are.

My Dream Briefly

In my dream, my husband and I were on a journey to meet the person who was meant to assist us with one of the challenges we are facing at the moment.  We traveled through this place which was absolutely breathtaking in its beauty with trees that were as tall as one could see.  The trees had different coloured barks and texturesand there was lots of beautiful fresh looking water.  The "sky" was pitch black and studded with stars.  It was so close that it felt like we could touch the heavens.  (We weren't the only people on this journey.) As we got closer we had to cross the rivers which we had been walking alongside.  We crossed and then came to this building which was just stunning in its design as well as its fittings inside.  We entered the lift which had sweet treats inside which we could have.  Eventually we got to the top of the building where we were to meet this person who would help.  Needless to say he wasn't there and there were others in front of us to see him.  While my husband was getting his number for the queue, I went to look outside.  We were very high up, but even higher on 2 levels were these TALL buildings one reaching into the "sky".  I could not see inside because it was far away even in its height, but I could also see below us to normal buildings.

There is a song by Letta Mbulu which is titled and says "Not yet Uhuru".  I believe "Uhuru" is the Swahili language word for "Free".  In so many ways she is right.  I've been struggling to put into perspective my impressions of the conference I attended recently, not because of the quality or anything like that, but because it has brought home to me that truly we are not yet free.  (In the Healers Portal, you will find an article attached from The Sunday Times of 9Aug which speaks to the contents of this article).

Background on the Conference
The conference was about Indiginous Plant Use and it is basically where all universities and other researchers in the country present papers on the research that they are carrying out on Indigenous Plants and their reported uses.  Reported uses by Traditional Healers I may add. The papers are good, also the amount of research which is happening is amazing. (Google "Research Traditional African Medicines" and you will see for yourself what I am talking about.)

The media is flooded at the moment with stories of a "Ponzi" scheme where the well off individuals lost their money in what we all know as a Pyramid Scheme (funny how when its rich people it gets a fancy name when all it is is a Pyramid Scheme!).  When I was growing up they used to call it Ibanoyi (an Aeroplane) and when it fell as people knew it would, they used to say "liphahlazekile ibhanoyi!!", the aeroplane has crashed.

You may wonder why I bring this up.  Basically all the people who have come forward about their investment in the scheme have all said it seemed above board, they knew the person etc, etc.  For me though there are 2 issues I want to highlight or comment on.

Firstly, that old saying that if its too good to be true, it is too good to be true is true! Especially when it comes to money. Get rich quick schemes are exactly that and the further down the line you are in the scheme, the more likely you are to lose your money.  The lucky ones are the one's who get in quickly and get out quickly as well. Look at property. People who are smiling are those who bought properties at the beginning of the cycle when they were relatively cheap and interest rates were low and then sold soon after prices started that crazy run rising by percentages not seen in years.  The late comers are now stuck with high repayments, falling prices and no-one willing to buy.

Happy Africa Day everyone. I'm not quite sure just how this is meant to be commemorated or what it is supposed to mean.  What I've heard is that South Africa is the only country on the continent which does not have this as a public holiday. 

Today I was in one of my favourite places, a bookshop, and there were two things that caught my eye.  One was a book on South African cultures and the other was a postcard of South African cultures. They were the same in the sense that the culture they talk about/photograph is the cultural costumes that are worn and similar themes around the discussion of African culture.  This got me thinking. 

What exactly is African culture?  Is the way we used to dress when we were still in animal skins the truest representation of Afican culture? What precisely is it?  We need to start discussing and addressing the image of African culture that is projected out there in the world.  Is it not about time that we evolved in our definition of ourselves and what we do to show that Africa is about a lot more than just costumes.  I'm not minimising the dress code/beads etc, but for me magnifying this above everything else would be the same as saying that my being a Sangoma is based a lot on what I wear as a Sangoma (amabhayi etc) than on what I actually do.