Catholic Bishops in Southern Africa Mulling Over Embracing “Sangoma” as More Youths, Whites Become Traditional Healers

Explaining the inspiration behind the research into the lives of the Sangoma, the Catholic Priest said, “The Bishops wanted to find a way to deal with the surge of Ubungoma.”

South Africa reportedly has about 69,000 registered Sangomas who are said to occupy a respected position in the country.

Fr. Thulani described Ubungoma as a system that has been existing in Southern Africa even before the arrival of westerners. 

“Ubungoma is the system through which our people were healed, and received several other ways of assistance,” he said, and described a Sangoma as “an intermediary between the visible and invisible world.”

A Sangoma, the member of the Theological Advisory Committee of the SACBC said, is involved with counselling people, helping in the resolution of family disputes, and providing consultation on bigger problems such as when people want rain. 

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The Catholic Priest said that the Church in Southern Africa has never, in the past, given any direction as to what can be done regarding the lay people who are Sangomas. 

The only answer that is clear, he said, is that Priests and women and men Religious cannot be Sangomas.

Fr. Thulani said that he and his other team of researchers on Ubungoma have made significant progress in the research started in 2019.

“We have submitted the first report of our research which was more of data collection,” he said, and added, “We went to different Sangomas for interviews and also observed the rituals they engage in… We are moving to the second cycle of the exercise in which Bishops will debate the report to see what position the Church in Southern Africa will be taking with respect to Ubungoma.”

Asked what the Church in Southern Africa says about the Sangomas, the Catholic Priest said that until the Catholic Bishops have made their decision on Ubungoma, the Sangoma should be treated just as any other member of the Church.

“Because the Church has not taken a decision yet, I don’t think it would be wise to exclude anyone yet, including Holy Communion,” he said, and added, “But a Priest can sometimes act because certain people are scandalized. I myself have had some people complaining that known Sangomas are allowed to receive Holy Communion.”

According to Fr. Thulani, the Church not taking a decision on Obungoma has led to a number of Priests judging the situation according to what they think and coming to their own conclusions. 

In some places in the country, he said, Priests accept all the Sangomas, allow them in Church and even bless the tools of work. 

“Others may be against it. But we can’t blame either of the groups because the Church in Southern Africa has not had a common position on the matter,” the Catholic Priest said.

He added, “My advice would then be that we maintain the situation as it is until the Bishops decide. Let us not send anyone away from Church unless they have done something that is wrong.”

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Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.