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Best Inyanga in Gauteng , Inyangas are healers that make medicines from herbs, roots and bark. Ground up rocks, animal horns and bones can also be used in the making of their medicine. A medicine person that mostly heals physical ailments, but also mental or spiritual illness, with plant medicines (Muthi). A moon person. They learn many rituals around harvesting and preparing muthi or medicines. The rituals are connected to nature cycles and energies such as the full moon cycles and seasons and when is the right time to collect and prepare certain medicines. They also learn about the power places in and on the earth and where certain medicines can be found and will be protectors of these secrets. Sometimes known as a witch doctor if they work dark or harmful magic.
What is the difference between sangoma and Inyanga?
Although sangoma is a Zulu term that is colloquially used to commonly describe all types of Southern African traditional healers, there are differences between practices: an inyanga is concerned mainly with medicines made from plants and animals, while a sangoma relies primarily on divination for healing purposes and might also be considered a type of fortune-teller.
What does Inyanga mean?
How people are trained to become a sangoma or an inyanga
Not everyone can become a sangoma or inyanga. Healers believe that they are called by the ancestors to take on this important and respected position in society. Traditional healers speak of a sudden unexplained illness they had or they heard voices and saw visions. Many also talk about very bad headaches that would not go away.
Traditional African Medicine in South Africa
Traditional African medicine is not as yet considered part of mainstream medicine in South Africa. Unlike some countries where complementary systems of medicine like homeopathy and acupuncture are now accessible in clinics and hospitals, South Africa has been slow to follow suit. Complementary medicine in South Africa is still considered as alternative therapies to conventional medicine. While the consultation and treatment for some complementary therapies like homeopathy, phytotherapy (herbal medicine) and traditional Chinese medicine are now covered by medical aids, traditional African medicine has not as yet enjoyed this level of acceptance.
Traditional African medicine is undoubtedly here to stay and with time, the training and regulation of traditional healers may follow the path of other complementary systems of medicine available in South Africa. Until then traditional African medicine will remain a part of African culture that is often frowned upon by the medical fraternity and other cultures who are ignorant about its uses.
Traditional African Medicine – ‘Muti’, Sangoma, Inyanga |Best Inyanga in Gauteng
Traditional African medicine in South Africa has made great strides in the past few years. Now that traditional African healers are accepted as informal health care workers, there is talk of consultations and medicines being paid for by medical aids in South Africa sometime in the future. With some 80% of South Africans utilising the services of traditional healers, traditional African medicine cannot be left out in the cold for much longer.
What is traditional African medicine?
Traditional African medicine involves the use of herbal concoctions and traditional rituals to treat a patient. There are two main types of traditional healers in South Africa – the sangoma and the inyanga. Sangomas 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. Best Inyanga in Gauteng
Modern Traditional African Medicine
The availability of traditional African medicines has increased significantly over recent years with herbal brews now available in many pharmacies and retail stores. Most are available as infusions.
- Isangomas are spiritual healers and are often women. They are people who diagnose illness.
- People often visit the sangoma in family groups but sometimes they go alone. The reason for this is that the sangoma does not see people as inpiduals but rather sees them as part of a community.
- People’s sickness is often related to their relationship with other people. People can also become sick because they are having problems at home or work. This is the reason why sangomas look at the environment that people live and work in to find reasons for their illness.
- Sangomas also look at social factors that could make someone ill, as well as the physical symptoms. This way of looking at illness referred is called holistic. When sangomas diagnose illness, they listen to their ancestors. When sangomas are listening to their ancestors, they may put on special clothes and beads.
- They may use dancing, singing and drumming during a healing ritual. The ancestors speak through them.
A sangoma asks the inpidual and family many questions. The sangoma may also throw the bones. The ‘bones’ are often real bones of sacrificed animals. They can also be stones, shells or other objects.
6 Best Inyanga in Gauteng
