Pretoria - Close to 150 sangomas on Thursday burnt impepho (traditional incense) in front of the Department of Health offices in Pretoria, where they demonstrated against draft proposals by Minister Aaron Motsoaledi to regulate their practice.
Dressed in their traditional regalia the traditional healers ululated, blew whistles and stomped on the ground in dance as onlookers used their cellphones to take pictures. Smoke from the burning incense billowed into the air as the sangomas clapped hands and spoke to their ancestors.
They shouted slogans denouncing the proposed regulations in a Government Gazette published on November 3, saying they were oppressive. The draft regulation prescribed the age for practising as a sangoma at 18 and above; and stated that anyone wishing to be a diviner, herbalist or traditional birth attendant must undergo training at an accredited institution with a traditional tutor.
Healers hoisted placards bearing messages that read: “I am a traditional healer, not by choice. Regulate what? Don’t talk to me, talk to my ancestors”. “I am 100 percent a traditional healer and proud of my heritage” and “A 12-year-old can abort but a trainee traditional healer must be 18”.
Their picketing was part of a campaign called #VukaMngomacampaign aimed at opposing the proposed regulations. Their spokeswoman, Nomsa Nkosi, read out a memorandum of grievances, which was handed over to advocate Maile Ngake, chief state negotiator.
Ngake told the sangomas that he would present the memo to the minister, who had been given 14 days to respond to their demands.
Nkosi said she hoped the department would let go of the proposed regulations after it had noted the healers’ concerns. “We want the department to embark on roadshows to meet the traditional healers all over the country,” she said. She said the plan was to roll out the campaign to other provinces to mobilise the support of other sangomas.
Lulama Mpahla said he had travelled from East London to take part in the demonstration.
“We will soon start a campaign in the Eastern Cape to demonstrate at the provincial department of health offices,” he said.
Nkosi said the healers demanded to have the draft regulations, published in English, to be available in the other indigenous languages. Healers accused Motsoaledi of having failed to consult with them before the publication of the gazette.
But, Motsoaledi’s spokesman, Joe Maila, said it was not true that sangomas were not consulted. He said the consultations with sangomas were done through the Interim Traditional Council, the body which represents their interests.
The 20-member council is made up of members from all nine provinces and also has representatives of stakeholder bodies, including the Health Professions Council and the SA Pharmaceutical Council. Maila said that the department had acknowledged the communication gap that existed between it and the aggrieved sangomas.
He downplayed the conflict between the minister and the sangomas, saying it was just a misunderstanding. In terms of the gazette, the department intended to prescribe the duration of sangoma training to at least a year. The applications must be forwarded to the Interim Traditional Healers’ Council and be accompanied by a certain fee.
“Traditional healing is not a career and thus cannot be governed by minimum qualifications that have nothing to do with our ancestral calling,” said Nkosi.
Pretoria News
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