My visit to a traditional healer in Africa: "Call on your female ancestors"

All text and photos by Sally Kneidel, PhD, of sallykneidel.com

Caiphus - a medicine man I consulted with in the African village of Welverdiend. This photo is with his little daughter, Queen, in front of his home in June 2009.

The village of Welverdiend, South Africa, is one of my favorite places in the world. I've never met a more positive, forward-thinking group of people, determined to bring about progressive change. In the two and a half years since I've known them, they've faced some daunting challenges, such as unemployment and vanishing natural resources, but have come up with solutions I would never have dreamed of. Ken and I were stunned when we learned what they've accomplished.

Ken and I first visited Welverdiend in 2007, at the advice of Dr. Laurence Kruger who directs an ecology program in Kruger National Park, and Dr. Wayne Twine who studies resource use by villages just outside of Kruger Park. Welverdiend is one of the villages Twine studies. During our first visit, I was enthralled by the conversations we had in Welverdiend - how willing the villagers were to talk frankly about their difficulties with diminishing fuel wood, diminishing river sand for bricks (due to drought), damage to crops and livestock by elephants and lions, etc. For people like myself who are curious about lives that are different from our own, Welverdiend is a hot spot of interest. If you visit, you'll come away inspired and enlightened. Or at least I did. Click here and here to see my stories and pictures from our first visit in 2007. Click here for the pics and story of our June 2009 visit. What a wonderful group of people!

But what I really wanted to write about today was one of the most interesting parts of the visit, both years. That was visiting the sangoma, or medicine man. I know that consumer demand for traditional Chinese and Asian medicines is a major threat to the survival of tigers, bears, rhinos and dozens or probably hundreds of other species. Traditional African and Latin American medicine also involve the use of animal parts, to some degree. I don't know whether the use of animal parts by sangomas in Africa is contributing to the demise of threatened species, but it can't be helping. For that reason, I didn't accept any medicines on my first visit, and during my second visit I accepted only a couple of plant-based powders.

Welverdiend has more than one sangoma; I think two of them are women. I had no preference, and my friend Clifford made an appt for me to see the sangoma Caiphus. In 2007 Clifford and friend Robert went with me to translate, and Ken my husband went too.

Ken, Clifford, and Robert (l to r) with me in Caiphus' consulting room, 2007

The 2007 visit was really more of an interview than a doctor's appointment, but Caiphus did "throw the bones for me," a diagnostic practice. He told me that there was nothing wrong with me, but he offered me a drink from a jar of fluid with some unidentified stuff floating in it, just in case. I declined politely and we all laughed. Then Caiphus said Ken was sick. (He was.) He recommended that Ken keep taking the medicine he'd brought with him from the States.

Caiphus in his "office" as a medicine man, with some of his tools in 2007

On my second visit, in 2009, I went to see Caiphus as a patient or client. I took only my friend from Welverdiend, Clifford, to act as translator. Caiphus greeted us in front of his house with little Queen. We chatted a while then I told Caiphus that there was a situation in my life that was causing me distress, and I wanted his diagnosis and advice, although I didn't want to be prescribed any medicines made of animal products. (Sangomas treat non-medical problems too, such as mine.)

So we went into his front room, where he keeps his diagnostic tools and his remedies.

My friend Clifford and Caiphus, 2009

The walls in Caiphus' room are lined with his collection of medicines (2 pics below)

Most of his medicines looked like teas, or powders, or crumbled dried plants. We sat down on animal skins he had on the floor, Queen at her daddy's knee. I asked what kind of skins they were; Caiphus said duiker and impala (local species of antelope) and jackal. Impala are abundant in the park, duiker are common. I know jackals are heavily persecuted by farmers who complain about jackals killing poultry, etc. I didn't ask him where he got the skins (below).

He had a dried elephant foot that he said is used for people who come to him with foot ailments (visible as the gray blob on the white plate in the second picture of his bottles and jars). I know that Kruger Park staff at times shoot elephants who are destroying crop fields or causing persistent problems and give the meat to villagers. This is probably how he got the foot. Caiphus also had a wildebeest tail that he said is used to cleanse patients who have been "bewitched by evil spirits." He said a lot of the "medicine" that works with the wildebeest tail is actually stuffed into the handle affixed to the tail.

The wildebeest tail with handle

He demonstrated how it works by holding the handle and sweeping Clifford with the wildebeest tail. We all laughed. We spent a lot of time laughing. Caiphus is friendly and funny, and he put me quite at ease.

Anyway, I described my problem to Caiphus, a problem which involved a situation with another person that was causing me some angst. To come up with the treatment for my distress, Caiphus collected his small bones, shook them vigorously, spoke to the bones in Shangaan, and then threw them down on one of the animal skins. He spent some time studying them and pointing out their meaning to us with his stick, as Queen began to nod off.

Below, a closer view of his bones (which include a domino, a few coins, a sea shell)

I asked Caiphus what the bones were, and he said they were the knees of sheep, goat, impala, duiker, warthog, lion, leopard, tortoise, and marula. Marula is a plant, so I don't know what that meant. Queen at this point put her head on her dad's knee, asleep (below).

I wish I'd asked him how he acquired the knees of these animals, but I didn't. Why didn't I? I was dismayed to hear lion and leopard in the list, though. I can only hope that the animals weren't killed for the sake of procuring their knee bones for the sangoma. I know that villages living around the park sometimes kill predators who are killing their livestock. I'm guessing this is how he got the leopard and lion knees, or maybe he bought them. As I was ruminating over this, Caiphus reached behind himself, pulled out a cloth, folded it carefully, and tenderly placed it under Queen's head.

Queen snoozes on the little pillow her dad made

Anyway, here's what he said the bones told him about me: I need to appeal to my female ancestors to intercede in my behalf. He also said something of value is coming my way. In order to properly ask my female ancestors to influence my affairs, I need to get a white cloth and a checked cloth, put a 100-rand bill (South African money) between the two cloths and sprinkle some brown powder over the cloths. Then I need to ask my female ancestors to clear the way for this thing of value to come to me, whatever it is. The brown powder was a ground-up tree root, he said.

Secondly, I needed to put brown powder #2 (a different kind of tree root) into a bath tub of water. Then I needed to speak outloud to my female ancestors about the solution I would like to happen regarding the situation at home that's bothering me. Next, I should put some of the yellow powder in a glass of water, sit down in the bath water, and drink the glass with the yellow powder in it.

He put the brown powder for the cloths in a used snuff can and gave it to me. He deftly wrapped the two powders for the bath procedure into separate packets make entirely of newspaper.

The packets of ground tree roots, and the brown tree root in the snuff can

We talked for a couple more minutes, then Clifford and I jumped up. We were going to take a ride through the Mozambique neighborhood of Welverdiend. The Mozambique population moved into the area as refugees from political turmoil in Mozambique, and they are not as far along the road to Westernization as the Shangaan Welverdiend residents. For example, I believe he said they have no running water, and their schools have fewer supplies, etc.

On our way out, Caiphus showed us some medicinal herbs he was drying in the sun

Then Clifford and I were off for our visit to the Mozambique area.

Children on the Mozambique side of town, walking home from school.

Would I recommend to anyone else to consult with a sangoma about a problem? If you have a latent anthropologist in yourself, like I do, then by all means Yes! Other ways of life fascinate me. About the matter of their using animal skins and animal bones (the wildebeest tail and elephant foot) - tell them that American tourists (or whatever nationality you are) don't like the idea of using animal parts from animals that might be declining in number. I should have encouraged Caiphus to use only the bones of domestic animals or truly abundant animals, like scrub hares or impala.

I like Caiphus a lot; it's impossible not to like him. I like him for being such a kind father to his little girl, for laughing so readily, for providing a good home for his family in a lovely town like Welverdiend, for suggesting that I call on my female ancestors who have power. I like that last idea. I like it a lot. Even though most of the people of Welverdiend will tell you that they are Christian, they blend the old with the new. I understand that their church services are quite an experience. I could hear them from a distance when I was there on a Sunday, but didn't get a chance to attend. Next time I'm there, I will.

Check out on their website what Welverdiend is doing to prepare for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The village's new resort will be ready to house and feed dozens of athletes from all over the world, with an Olympic-sized pool for exercising. By June of 2010, Welverdiend will also have a wildlife preserve with safari vehicles. It makes me want to cry. If you could see how much they've changed since 2007... These are people who have amazing drive and spirit. I just want to be around them. I want to be there...now.

Key words:: sangoma Africa traditional healer medicine man traditional medicine declining resources natural resources South Africa Welverdiend Caiphus throwing the bones throw the bones Kruger National Park Kruger Park Laurence Kruger

All text and photos by Sally Kneidel, PhD, of sallykneidel.com

African village of Welverdiend believes in the power of good

Children of Welverdiend at play, in high spirits
(all photos and text in this post by Sally Kneidel)

Ken and I just got back from a second visit to Africa that shook, rattled, and rolled us in the best of ways. While in Africa, we visited Welverdiend again, the South African village that had such a huge impact on us in 2007. I wrote several blog posts about the first visit in 2007:

Plan to spend a day in the African village of Welverdiend

An African village seeking solutions

Ecotourism can buffer the effects of poverty

We've been to a number of villages in struggling countries, but Welverdiend is special. It's the people of Welverdiend who make it so. I see that even more clearly now, after our second visit.

We went to Welverdiend initially on the recommendation of Dr. Wayne Twine, a scientist with the University of the Witwatersrand who studies the use of dwindling natural resources by rural villages near Kruger National Park. Many of the villagers have very low incomes, many are single moms, and they depend heavily on local resources that they gather themselves - branches for fuel and fencing, wild greens and fruits for food, river sand for home construction. Many of these resources are diminishing due to population growth, overharvesting by outsiders, and altered rain patterns due to climate change....brought on by industrialized nations like the U.S.

We've been to other kinds of village tours elsewhere, that turn out to be Disney-like historical skits. Fun and interesting, yes. But Ken and I are both biologists - he's a teacher and I'm a writer. When we went to Welverdiend, we wanted to know the ecological and sociological reality. How are the people of South Africa coping with diminishing resources? How are they making a living? What are their options? What are the solutions? We didn't want entertainment or historical education. I wanted the nitty gritty: what is life like here, right now? What are your current challenges and frustrations? What do you see for the future? Will you tell us honestly?

At Welverdiend, they did tell us, during both visits. Wildlife from nearby Kruger National Park and other private game reserves trample their corn, eat their crops, kill their livestock. (Many families keep chickens and a few pigs.) Gardens must be heavily fenced to keep out baboons. As passionately as I love and worry about wildlife on our planet, I learned in Welverdiend that elephants and lions and primates cause trouble for those who live with them intimately.

In addition to hearing the details about frustrations that we wanted so badly to know about, we were also warmly welcomed into the village and learned a lot about the ordinary basics of daily life. For example, we were shown how they prepare pap (the corn-based staple of their diet).

A young woman named Celebrate (above) and her friend Virginia (below) demonstrated how the women of the village grind corn with a traditional mortar and two ironwood pestles to make mealie-meal, which when cooked yields the "pap" they eat at every meal.

Virginia (above) sifted the ground corn into different weights, some for mealie-meal and pap, some for livestock. (More about pap preparation and diet in a later post.)

A Welverdiend weaver (below) showed us how she makes sleeping mats, using stones as weights on a homemade loom.


We learned how the citizens of Welverdiend build their homes and store their grains.
The granary above, of locally gathered wood, keeps corn and other crops out of the reach of wild animals.

We learned to speak a little Shangaan, the first language of Welverdiend. Xinyanyana xile nsinyeni. (Translation: The bird is in the tree.)

And we loved the traditional dances performed by the women of the village - with machetes! Their colorful clothes were fantastic.

Masevasi led the women in traditional dances that looked like a lot of fun.

Masevasi, the leader of the dancers

We had kept in touch with Welverdiend during our two-year absence, and we knew that the 17-member "co-operative" in the village was trying to increase tourism. The co-op is a core group of young adults who are energetic about seeking different options to bring much needed revenue to the village. We knew that the number of village tours had increased since our last visit, bringing in money through tour fees and giving the village women an opportunity to sell their art and crafts (below).


The jewelry, bowls, spoons, handbags, etc., in the pictures above were made by the Women's Empowerment group in the village. More about their crafts in a later post.

But in addition to more tours and more craft sales, the village had accomplished something else that was huge. Ken and I were stunned on our return to Welverdiend to learn that the village co-operative had applied for and received a grant from the South African government to help them get started building tourist facilities and an Olympic-sized pool!

We were flabbergasted!

Construction was well underway in June, with the pool already finished. All of Phase 1 will be completed in July of 2009.

Welverdiend's just-completed pool for athletes training for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (pictured above are Clifford, Ken, Robert, and Justice, l to r)

Ken looks at the engineer's blueprints for Phase 1 with Andres and Justice (l to r)

One of Welverdiend's new tourist buildings under construction

This development is a huge leap toward solvency and sustainability for the village. Phase 1 of the project includes the pool, a kiosk or snack shop, an amphitheater, a curio or gift shop, a reception area and office, a restaurant, and a building for "ablutions." It also includes 50 braai stands (barbecue stands) and an area for camping and picnics. Because the village is just a few meters outside the Orpen Gate into Kruger National Park, it will be easily accessible to the volume of tourists who visit South Africa's biggest park each year. The villagers also hope that the pool will be used by South Africans and by international athletes coming to train for the World Cup, to be held in South Africa in 2010. By that time, the villagers will have completed the construction of lodging for athletes on site. The grant will provide safari vehicles too, to take visitors on wildlife drives - giving the villagers added incentive to protect nearby wildlife.

One of the most exciting aspects of the new grant and construction project is that it's providing jobs for many of the villagers. In fact, most of the construction workers are single moms, for whom the income will be a tremendous boost. Added income will allow them to perhaps buy some of their fuel for cooking, reducing the pressure on overharvested village trees, a chronic and difficult problem for the villagers. I can imagine the excitement the villagers must have felt when they learned they'd been awarded this grant. I wish I could have been there.

But here's what I love most about Welverdiend. The villagers decided to hand out the highly-coveted jobs by drawing names from a basket. And it just happened that no one family got more than one job, and that most jobs went to those who would benefit most, such as single moms.

A Welverdiend mom who got one of the construction jobs, developing the new resort.

I don't see the people in Welverdiend patting themselves on the back, or bragging about their accomplishments. When things go their way, they're more likely to say, "God was with us that day." Such as the day the jobs were allotted randomly and blindly, but justly. They believe in the power of good. They believe in the capacity for change. They believe in a sustainable future.

I love them for that. I appreciate them for that, because just watching them helps me believe it too.

I'll be writing more about the people of Welverdiend in future posts, people such as Andres, a powerful and passionate spokesman for the village, and Clifford, an articulate writer who's kept in touch with friendly e-mails all these many months, and Robert, another of the co-op leaders who explains things so we can understand. I want to know Saltah better - a kind and gentle female leader in the co-op, and Nomsa, a member of the Women's Empowerment group, as well as Masevasi, the woman who leads the traditional dancing. I want to know all the people of Welverdiend better.

Our dear friends: Robert, Clifford, Justice, Saltah, and Andres

I'll be writing more posts about the inspiring variety of folks in this special village I've come to love, as well as our other adventures in Africa. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you want to tour Welverdiend and be inspired like we were, contact Dr. Wayne Twine at rcrd@global.co.za or Clifford Mathebula at blackmc@webmail.co.za. If you want help planning a trip to South Africa that includes Welverdiend, contact me at sally.kneidel@gmail.com. The villagers welcome families, school groups, and tourist organizations such as Elderhostel and Honeyguide. They are happy to adjust the tour to address the particular interests of each tour group. The villagers who lead the tours speak excellent English; no interpreters are needed.

For me, there's no place I'd rather be than this positive, energetic and forward-moving village.

All photos and text above by Sally Kneidel, PhD

Key words:: 2010 World Cup training pool in South Africa Welverdiend South Africa Kruger Park Kruger National Park village tour wildlife fuel wood sustainable natural resources resort at Kruger Park