For awhile, everywhere one went, one encountered the tell-tale signs of a trainee sangoma, most noticeable by the whitebeads, seen adorning various parts of the body. Equally common now, however is the growing trend of EX-mathwasa (or is it just me?). Everyone seems to have their story of how they were led to (or persuaded into) and then led (read fled) from some form of sangoma training. So why the rushing to, and why the rushing from the ancient African and indeed human tradition “ukuthwasa”, the process of training involved in becoming a traditional healer, shaman, witchdoctor or diviner of a community, in many ways, if not all, a discovery of Self?
Well, two words of that question provide us with some of the clues to uncovering the answers. They are “training” and “community”.
Let us start with “training”. To describe the process of “ukuthwasa” as a form of training is mildly misleading. For starters, although, the teaching or training sangoma will at some point impart esoteric or practical knowledge, involving local herbs or a method of divination, a good teacher will not impart such knowledge, until such time that he feels the trainee has reached a sufficient point of maturation. Maturation on physical, emotional and spiritual levels, until they have reached a point sufficient to accept such responsibility as caring for the wholistic health of individuals and a community.
This idea is illustrated by the old romantic notion of a dedicated young man sweeping an old Chinese barefoot doctor’s floor or following him for years through all conditions, before the old man will even speak to him, let alone consider training him. But in truth, the young man’s training had already begun. Training in the form of challenges, tests of commitment, strengthening of the will, clarification of intent. It may even be argued that his preparation had begun years before, by Spirit, preparing him for such time that he would meet and be inspired by a master.
When the old man eventually does speak to him, and perhaps even agree to “train” him, another couple of years of dishwashing and other random simple acts of practical, necessary and unglamorous tasks would ensue. The disgruntled student might quit or run away in disillusionment, believing that he is receiving insufficient training. But what he is really receiving, is the most crucial of all training opportunities. The acquisition of true dedication, patience, humility, focus and learning through observation of his master/trainer (known as modeling in western psychology), afforded to him by the proximity such tasks bring him to his “trainer”.
Of course, such a situation is considerably open to exploitation. For what is stopping someone from irresponsibly enjoying the services of a virtual slave, one who is even paying for the position in most current scenarios. Well, of course, the solution in our example of olden days is far simpler. In the first place, it was that the young lad, for whatever reason, loved or respected the old man so much that he chose to dedicate himself to service of the old man, regardless of consequences. This is similarily known as loving devotion, as found among the gurus of the east, to generalize simplisticly. The young man would not have been coerced or forced to stay, as it was of his own volition (or let us say the ancestors of which he is a part [1]) that he first dedicated himself, so too is it of his own volition that he will decide when his training is to end, or at
least whether he trusts his teacher enough to guide him and release him at such point.
If the teacher is truly a person of spirit, or you could say has a clear channel of communication to spirit, which is usually something far subtler and less egotistic then having some charater that speaks to them, there is no manipulation or fear tactic used by the old man to retain his willing servant/slave. It effects him no more and no less then a passing breath, for such would be his consciousness and level of momentary awareness (mindfulness) and presumely joyful kindness in the first place that inspired the young man’s devotion. Neither is the old man stupid enough to behave in so foolish a way as to abuse the youngsters trust, for I am assuming the old man (as a master) to be of a higher state of consciousness, in tune with the laws of spiritual nature. Afterall, karma, has been taught by such ancient teachings as the vedic scriptures, the dharma of Buddha, and the teachings of the Bible (reap what you sow), Bob Marley (what goes aound, comes around) and even Newtons Laws (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). It really isn’t that difficult to understand. However, being humans and living on our lovely earth plane, things are not always crystal clear or at least we look through muddied 3D spectacles. Throughout the ages, man has sought power and thus the intent of those who seek out spiritual masters may not always be as innocent as can be. Intent, also becomes muddied, and may lose original focus, when an immature soul aquires power.
The difference between the idealistic and romantic story of the young man and the old barefoot doctor and story of most modern amathwasa is of course that the latter are taking place in contemporary realism, not some mystical, misty ancient Chinese mountainscape. Through the very nature of our times, the cross-pollination of all global cultures, the searching of so many disillusioned souls, we have people being forced to seek out answers wherever they can, being driven out of sheer spiritual discomfort and the fear that so often accompanies such a state of spoul-searching.
Thus teachers are not chosen necessarily out of heart-felt admiration, but often rather from either delusions of grandeur (The “oh, wow, I want to be a powerful shaman/sangoma” trend) or from a place of acceptance and desperation that arises when finally one’s ageless seeking and unbearable longing, brings you to the home of a sangoma, or person of wisdom in an (other) cultural context, foreign from you own. This scenario carries with it the added challenges of language barriers and cultural confusion, which is experienced from both the trainer and the trainee’s points-of-view. Here we may have empathy for the trainers of modern times. How is one meant to train a person who comes from and wishes to continue their affiliation to another culture? This leads us to our second vital point.
