Consultation continues remotely in South Africa
Corona forces traditional healers to work “online”
Healers are today known as "traditional health practitioners" in South Africa.
archival
Many South Africans regularly turn to people known as "gogo", a term that refers to a respected person, whatever their age, who consult with him on various matters from conflicts, decisions, illnesses and interpretation of dreams.
These herbal healers, called sangomas in the Zulu language, act as counselors and community mediators, and some have gone so far as to consider them clairvoyants.
The traditional healer Makhosi Mlatji, 37, has professional personal accounts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Despite the easing of restrictions related to the Corona virus, half of her consultations are continuing remotely, considering that this saves her time.
Thanks to the technology, it now has clients in Italy and Sri Lanka.
“Before (Covid), I never used the phone or computer for a consultation,” she said, even though she has been in the profession for more than 10 years.
Even before the pandemic, the younger generation of traditional healers started their first consultations via video calls.
Nomfondo Dlamini, 30, said she uses the internet and social media as a way to "defend African spirituality", especially among young people.
According to her, the closures have increased the demand for teleconsultations.
In the past, the only way to talk to a traditional healer was to go to his house.
Now there are new ways.
But there are tensions between the new generation and supporters of a traditional practice of this ancestral ritual.
Dlamini admitted that the generation gap complicates the dialogue: "It is not easy for a therapist of a certain age to ask for the help of a therapist younger than himself" through technology.
Last year, Shanti Madulu, 39, created the first online guide to sangomas in collaboration with a former classmate.
"A lot of people are moving from the countryside to the cities and they don't know where to get advice," said Madulu, who left the southeastern part of the country 20 years ago to settle in Johannesburg.
Since last November, more than 200 processors have registered on the Gogo Online platform.
Madulu noted that the closures contributed to "give a real boost".
These healers, known today as "traditional health practitioners" and included among the health workers who were the first to receive coronavirus vaccines in South Africa, were banned in 1957 under the Witchcraft Prohibition Act.
They were not legally recognized until half a century later.
Makhousi Mlatji:
• “Before (Covid), I never used the phone or computer for a consultation.”
sangoma practice
After months of phone consultations, traditional healer Mulaleji, 66, was relieved that last August authorities allowed sangoma to be practiced as before.
"At my age, I'd rather see someone here," the grandmother told AFP, as she took off her sandals before entering a small room in her backyard.
• Therapists have created professional accounts on social media and platforms.
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