African Traditional Religion or Shamanism
I would like to show that Shamanism was invariably
the universal religion of nearly all countries before these countries were
evangelized by the Holy Gospel including South Africa.
Definition:
The term Shaman “is
used by anthropologists for that class of male and female religious practitioners
who acquire or purchase supernatural powers to be used primarily in causing, diagnosing,
or curing disease, but also in divination, rain making, communication with the
dead, finding lost objects, and in hunting, war and fertility magic”...
“Shamans do not
follow prescribed rituals as priests do, but are free to develop individual ‘performances’
that may involve narcotically induced trances, singing, dancing, drumming, sleight
of hand and such theatrical effects as the ‘shaking lodge’ of Salteaux or the
private angakok language of the Eskimo shamans... shamans are often described
as ‘medicine men’... and its synonyms ‘conjurer’, ‘witch doctor’, ‘wizard’ and ‘magician’”.
“Shamanism in its
most developed form exists in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria... where the Shaman maintains
his position as spiritual leader by acting as intermediary between the ethnic
groups and the unseen world of gods, demons and ancestral spirits. Related
magical curing practices extend across northern Asia to... communities of Europe,
and have been incorporated into popular Buddhism in Ceylon, southeast East Asia, Tibet,
China, Korea and Japan”...
“...A manifestation
of epilepsy, transvestism, crippling disease, or other physical and mental
disorders is often interpreted as a call to become a shaman”. (1)
In Shamanism “where
communication with spirits is intended... such communications is attempted to
obtain oracles, magic knowledge, and power, or to pacify the dead and to
overcome harmful spirits or demons”. (2)
Ancestors in Asia:
D.J. Crowley above refers
to shamans as intermediaries between groups and the “unseen world of gods, demons,
and ancestral spirits.” P. Horrobin writes that “ancestral worship is a major feature
of Chinese funerals that leaves one open to receive familiar spirits” (3) A.
Closs writes that in “China the revered ancestors are considered to be spirit
souls.” (4)
In neighbouring
Vietnam “Ancestor worship is the old religion of Vietnam.” (5) “The Indians of
north and south America entertain religious practices similar to Ural – Altaic shamanism.”
(6) So shamanism is fairly global and similar in nature.
Druids:
In retrospect the
Celtic druids of Ireland also entertained religious practices similar to
shamans. They venerated nature, transmitted the teachings orally, they
practiced divination, prophecy, magic and healing made animal and human
sacrifices. This was the environment that St. Patrick and the early evangelists
of Ireland found when they brought the life-giving Gospel to Ireland. Once
pagan Ireland became a beacon for its role in helping to evangelize Europe.
Altered States of Consciousness:
Shamanism is noted
for altered states of consciousness (ASC), sometimes called trance state or
ecstasy. This is achieved by frenzied and noisy behaviour like thunderous shouting
(with bulging eyes!) or self-stimulation by means of intoxication or
hallucinogenic substances such as psychedelic drugs, sensory deprivation or
overstimulation, hypnosis, sleep deprivation, fasting and various techniques of
meditation, as well as sonic driving as in sects with their emphasis on
rhythmical clapping and singing for
drumming. (7)
OBE’s:
Pathological states can
also act as triggers on occasions e.g. severe emotional and physical stress, injuries
and accidents. In what appears to be a reference to out of the body experiences
(OBE) I.M. Lewis, the anthropologist sights soul lost trances sometimes occuring
spontaneously in Bushmen [San] in response to a sudden fright or terrifying
experience e.g. an encounter with a marauding lion. (8)
The contents of the
ASC’s seem very similar generally speaking but culturally determined in details.
A comparison of Eskimo (Inuit) and Shamanism experiences shows this even though
separated geographically by thousands of miles. For the San there is a
preoccupation with the eland animal in dreams, dancing, trance states, cave
painting and rock art. For the Eskimo (Inuit).There is a preoccupation with
bears (or walrus) - in dreams, dancing, trance states by song, dance and
drumming, painting of drums depicting animals and spirits etc.
Out of Africa:
This is hardly
surprising as all of mankind originated in Africa, the Cradle of Mankind. Anatomically
modern humans emerged in Africa around 130,000 years ago then some 60,000 years
later spread across the world.
The successive waves of
Africans in prehistory out of Africa due to the inhospitality of this arid
continent (still happening today) probably brought their Shamanism all over the
globe.
In his
fascinating books on Zululand A.T. Bryant shows the remarkable similarities between
African and European mythology and cultures. For example the Zulu Sky Princess or
Nomkubulwana has echoes in European Nations under the title of Eastre. Bryant asks:
“But how came it about that ‘Eastre’ should find her way to Zululand? Surely
there was never any point of contact between Germany and Greece and Bantuland? Or
were by any chance Eastre and Persephone both Africans?” (9) He also asks: “Was then Herodotus the
earliest historian perchance correct when he ‘ascribed the Eleusinian Mysteries
to Egyptian influences’? - that is African influences. Bryant points out many
similarities including body whitening in initiation rites that werel present
also in ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries. (10)
Roman Religion:
Aideen Gonlag writes "that there are many parallels between
the cult of ancestors amongst the Romans and in the Roman religion and that of
African traditional religion ". She is referring to the ancient pagan
Roman religion before Christianity.
She quotes Geoffrey Parrinder, an expert on world religions:
"The ancestors were as important to the traditional Romans as to the
traditional Africans. The aristocrats kept the ancestral busts or masks to be
produced on appropriate occasions; the LARES were the general
ancestral spirits; the moral norm of Rome was the Mos Maiorum, The way
of the ancestors; the Di Manes were the spirits of the dead and were
feared and honoured".
In page after page Gonlag shows the parallels between the pagan Roman
religion and the pagan African religions. The Romans even seem to have an ukubuyisa
rite: "The elaborate funerary rights began with ‘the conclamatio…
an attempt to call back the spirit’. (11)
The early Roman Christians regarded all this
ancestor worship not as veneration but as idolatry - idolatry in the sense
Saint Paul uses it when he says ‘ their God is the belly’ (Philippians 3:19).
Infatuation with anything not God is regarded as idolatry. (cf
Colossians 3:5). "You can be quite certain that nobody who
actually indulges in fornication which is worshipping a false god can inherit
the Kingdom of God". (Ephesians 5:5)
Shamanism: South Africa:
"Sangomas or inyangas are shamans, healers,
priests and prophets that have been the backbone of Bantu communities,
especially in the rural areas of South Africa for eons". (12) The best
known shaman In South Africa was undoubtedly Credo Vusamazulu Mutwa author of Song
of the Stars: the Lore of a Zulu Shaman. Shamans in South Africa like
their counterparts among the Eskimo shamans also have their own secret language
- shamantaal! But Jesus the Light of the world, the founder of Christianity had
no secrets. He said: “I have spoken openly to the world” (Jn. 18:20). Ubungoma
is knowledge that is secret, hidden, dark, esoteric and OCCULT! Ubungoma also
believes in Reincarnation as family ancestors can reappear after death as
snakes. (Bryant p. 35) Reincarnation has
never been accepted in Christianity.
As stated above a manifestation of "crippling, or other physical
and mental disorders is often interpreted as a call to become a
shaman”. This worldwide phenomena is also present in South Africa in the
call to twasa. People get very sick, which doctors can't seem to explain. They
are given food to eat in dreams and if accepted this is regarded as tacit
consent to the call. One young Zulu Christian man told me he was warned
by his parents never to accept food in dreams. People are asked to pass on
messages received in dreams and if they do not they are punished.
Called to Twasa:
One young University graduate wrote to me: "I would hear
a voice telling me to go tell a certain person something and if I refused
I would be in pain, a pain that felt as though something were hitting me with a
whip. I would burn all over until I told that person what it is I was sent to
tell them. So feeling at the mercy of these unknown forces, I continued to say
whatever it is the voice told me to say, and to whomever it sent me to inform.
Sometimes I would be visited by the spirits of those who have died and they
would tell me to deliver certain messages to their loved ones. It got to a
point where I was ready to go and become a traditional healer as I was too
afraid to refuse the calling and was convinced that I had no choice but to
accept it. I asked my parents if I could go and they refused. They sent me to
my parish priest. I told him everything that was happening to me, and he gave me
a small card with a cross on it and the words: "Behold the Cross of the Lord!
Flee you hostile powers! The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has
conquered alleluia! (cf. Apocalypse 5:5)
I took that card with me everywhere: I slept with it under my pillow, I
always went with it to school, and the spirits stopped coming! "
Another Zulu married lady with a family was called to twasa at an
outstation where she lived. Her husband, a church leader, her mother and
father-in-law all pressed her to obey the call but she, as a staunch Catholic,
refused. It became impossible for her to stay in her home with all the pressure
and she moved to the main mission station at Saint Joseph's Besters where mass
and confessions were available every day, not available at the out station.
After a few months of fervent prayer, the spirits departed and left her in
peace and she was returned to her normal, smiling disposition!
Psychic Powers:
I have discovered that people with psychic powers like
premonition etc. are pursued relentlessly to work for menacing spiritual
forces - people of all races. A survey of Latin American
psychologists and psychiatrists into the wisdom of developing mediumistic
powers concluded in “virtual unanimity in seeing these practices as contributing
to madness ". (13) In my experience I have met a few of these unfortunates
who were quite insane.
Adam Blai, an expert on exorcism wrote:
"... a demon may torture a person so severely that they agreed to
give over use of the body in exchange for the torture to stop". (14)
Man-Made Religion:
Shamanism is a man-made religion designed as a means of social control
to uphold the status quo and traditional values like patriarchy and preserve
cultural values and ancestral taboos. If taboos are broken,
"ancestors" will punish. As can be seen above shamanism puts a big
emphasis on the altered states of consciousness which are harmless enough per
se, but can be dangerous in shutting down the mind or vacating the mind then
providing an opening for hostile spirits. Once the door is opened to the occult
things can get out of hand with demonization and even full possession.
Sangoma Priest:
This seems to have happened to a sangoma in the Free State whose
daughter I know well. She was a nice enough person but as the years progressed
she got more heavily into the occult and became mean and vicious and a
powerful sangoma who terrified people. Adam Blai writes of people getting
possessed "explicitly inviting possession, usually in exchange for
some favour from the demons, such as power. The possessed person will often
come to the Church for help later in life when the demons turn on them because
the victim is no longer of use ". (15)
This seems to have happened with this sangoma
and she cried out for help demanding a Catholic priest, even though her family
background was Protestant. The priest who came was a sangoma priest; she
twigged onto this Immediately and chased the "priest
"out of the house. She was seemingly crying out for Church help but the
person who could have helped her convert would not do that but only affirm her
in her sangoma status. No wonder Archbishop Buti Tlhagale omi of the
archdiocese of Johannesburg wrote that people "are thoroughly confused by
the eclectic approach of the diviner priests who confuses inculturation
with syncretism”. (16)
The Archbishop continues "the sangoma priests manifest a divided
loyalty that is schizophrenia. He lives in two different worlds"...
(17)
"The diviner priest is double faced because he is rooted
in two different belief systems and cultures” (18). The source of a priests
power should be grace. “The source of a sangoma’s power is called umbilini,
said to feel like a hot coiled snake ascending the spine. Sangomas learn to
summon this power at will through the beating of a drum or through deep
meditation”. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Sangoma, by Denise Martin). This is
similar to Hinduism re. serpent power or kundalini – a snake coiled at the base
of the spine. This is a very weird occult realm fraught with danger. Gopi
Krishna when he had awakened the kundalini said it came close to killing him.
Elijah on Carmel:
One is reminded of Elijah on Mount Carmel addressing false
prophets: "how long will you go on limping with two different opinions: If
the Lord is God follow him but if Baal then follow him!"
(1 Kings 18;20f)
We read in Matthew’s gospel Jesus saying: "no one can
serve Two Masters for either he will hate the one and love the other...
“(Matthew 6:24f)
And in the last book of the Bible Revelation, Jesus again: "I know
all about you: how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the
other, but since you are neither, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my
mouth”. (Revelation 3: 15-16)
The God of the Bible is a Jealous God (Exodus
34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24) because He wants to protect something he loves - us.
He expects undivided loyalty otherwise we can end up like the sangoma
priest above: double-faced and schizophrenic! The Bible makes it plain that the
practices of sangomas/shamans are against God's will and sinful e.g. divination
(seeking knowledge by supernatural means); soothsaying (foretelling the
future); sorcery (using magic powers); using charms, consulting ghosts or
calling up the dead. In Deuteronomy Chapter 18 these practices are called
"detestable” to God. The person who has one foot with God and the
other with the occult ‘must not expect that the Lord will give him
anything’. (James 1:18)
‘Powerful’ Sangomas:
But what about the incredible power some sangomas seem to have?
Does that not indicate the work of God? The Jewish encyclopaedia refers to the
incident of Moses and the Egyptian magicians who replicate the extraordinary
power of Moses. The encyclopaedia states that the Bible accepts miracles but
not "such as are performed with the aid of occult science". (19) And
sangomas are using dangerous "occult science".
In the Old Testament all forms of magic and witchcraft are prohibited
(Lev. 19:31; Deut 18:9-14), with punishments including the death penalty. The
fundamental understanding of the Israelites was that God was indisputably
superior to any kind of magic, as demonstrated by the superior abilities of
Moses and Aeron over the Egyptian magicians (Ex. 7:10-23; 8:1-7; 9:8-12) and
the inability of Balaam to place curses upon the Israelites (Num. 22-24). The
magic of foreign nations was viewed derisively (Nah 3:4; Isa. 47:12), and
Israelites eradicating magic and superstition in much the same way that they
sought to suppress idolatry (1 Sam. 28; 2 Kgs. 9:22,17;17, 21:6; 2 Chr. 33;6;
Isa. 3:3, 57:3; Jer. 27:9; Ezek. 13:18; Mic. 5:12; Mal. 3:5) Scott Hahn,
Catholic Bible Dictionary p. 566. These fundamental understandings of the
Israelites re. magic and curses should also be the fundamental understanding of
Christians when they are in a state of grace.
“Saul died because he had shown himself unfaithful to God: he had not
kept the Word of God; he had even questioned and consulted a necromancer. He
had not consulted God, who therefore put him to death and transferred the
monarchy to David son of Jesse.” (1 Chr. 10:13-14)
Another dangerous practice of sangoma/shamans is cursing. Sangomas
are experts at this if all the handbills posted all over South Africa
are anything to go by: e.g. "Lost lover: same-day results by powerful
sangoma”.
If people are not in a state of grace, curses can seriously hurt or kill
people especially "Return to Sender "curses with the danger it is
sent to the wrong person who is innocent. That’s why Jesus said "a man
cannot serve two masters "for the Christian response is of a totally
different kind: "love your enemies and pray for those who treat you badly."
(Matthew 5:44 ) and "repay back curse with a blessing”. (Luke
6:28)
No Animal Sacrifice Ever Again:
Sangomas also do blood sacrifices. Since the sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross all blood sacrifices have ended perpetually. In the 2000 years of
Christianity there have been no animal sacrifices. This should be sufficient
reason to end blood sacrifices and save money! (See Hebrews 9:
11-14)
"In a letter to the emperor Trajan, the younger Phiny [writing c.
112 A.D.] complained that there was a slump in the agricultural markets because
people were no longer buying beasts for sacrifice. This was the fault of the
people called Christians who formed a secret society and refused to offer
sacrifice to the god emperor”. (Youth Faith, CSSR publications 1975, p.3)
As we have seen, shamanism in various forms seems to have been the
pre Biblical religion of the whole world that encompassed all sorts of ignorant,sinful
and superstitious practices before God's revelation but not anymore.
"In the past God overlooked such ignorance but now He
commands all people everywhere to repent. For He has set a day when He will
judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed - Jesus. He has given
proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:30). Reference
to God does not appear at all in the rituals performed by shamans. God is just ignored.
Jesus said: "All power in heaven and earth is given to me".
(Matthew 28:18) To ignore this is to endanger one’s eternal salvation.
Holy Martyrs:
Ignorance of God's Word is no longer excusable… The axe has been put to
the tree. The great martyrs of South Africa will rise up and condemn us if we
ignore such great a salvation e.g. Maqhamusela Khanyile, a Zulu
catechumen of the Lutheran Church, South Africa's first Christian martyr who
was martyred in 1877, jovial to the end! The precious child of God Mance
Masemola (Anglican) of Polokwane was martyred in 1928 at the age of 15 for her
faith in Jesus. Her nobel face and compassionate eyes gaze out from a statue on
the facade of Westminster Abbey in London calling faint hearted Christians to
courage.
Then there is the wonderful Benedict Daswa (1946-1990) where witchcraft
was the direct cause of this Catholic Martyr's death. Witchcraft
(boloi,brujena,ukulhakalho) is so prevalent in South Africa, that it is
estimated that 8 out of 10 South Africans of all races resort to it:
visiting mediums, using umuthi, korobela (charms and spells), to help
them to find work, solve marriage problems, get back their lost lover and help
him ‘extend manhood’, drive off evil, find out the cause of mysterious
sickness, protect from illness, the evil eye and even the tokoloshe, win
court cases, and get a raise in salary, overlook mistakes and take revenge on
those whom we believe bewitched us. We even use it to try winning
soccer matches. It seems that we can hardly live without it. Archbishop Buti
Tlhagale of Johannesburg has noted that mediums are on the increase and they
are getting younger. That is because we are using their services. ‘The land is
full of mediums’. (Isaiah 2:6) (20) No wonder Archbishop Buti Tlhagale
omi says the ancestral cult was “the major obstacle to total conversion.”
(Speech at Missionary Conference, Lumko, 16/9/21).
Conclusion:
Finally, I would like to conclude with a quotation by Jack Grossert on
Mariannhill. The story of Mariannhiill Missionaries is one of the greatest and
most moving stories in the annals of missionary endeavour in the whole of
Christian history. Great parts of Southern Africa were evangelised by an
uncompromising band of Trappist monks in the 19th century led by the
extraordinary Abbott Franz Pfanner. Many of the monks were learned and educated
professional men who gave up all at the cost of discipleship in bringing the
Gospel to the Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho peoples. Grossert writes:
"Religion is the expression of man's belief in God. Organised
religion is a ritual which embraces prayers, hymns, testimonies of individuals
and groups of people, as well as respectful actions and gestures and these are
among the greatest art of the world. When the heart of man overflows with a
desire to express his wonder in God and joy in all that God has done for him in
opening his eyes to God's Glory, in allowing him to see God's salvation, in
helping him to walk in the path of righteousness and in feeding him on the
Bread of Life, it is only natural that man should express his feelings in what
we call works of art-painted pictures, sculptured figures, beautiful buildings
with fine decoration, as well as in music, poetry, hymns and acts of worship.
The work of the missionary is not complete until those who have accepted
Christianity expressed through their works of art the joy which this has
brought them. When this happens one can be sure that the teachings of Christ
have taken root. In the grafting process a change is made to the character of
the fruit and it is a wise and understanding missionary who can accept this
change and rejoice in seeing the freshness of a new vision of the world which
God has created. "
Footnotes
1.
D. J. Crowley Shaman and Medicine Man, New Catholic
Encyclopaedia v. 13 , p.163
2.
A. Closs, Ecstasy and Shamanism, NCE, v.5,
p.87
3.
Peter Horrobin, Healing Through Deliverance,
Sovereign World, p.529
4.
A. Closs, Animism, NCE v.1, p.548
5.
BBC World Service, 20.8.1998
6.
MeSh,Shamanism (www)
7.
F. G. Flanagan, Moody's Life After Life, Clergy
Review, Nov. 1981
8.
I.M. Lewis, Ecstatic Religion, p.48
9.
A.T. Bryant CMM, The Zulu People, Shuter, 1949,
p.673
10.
Bryant loc. cit . p.491
11.
Aideen Gonlag, The Cult of Ancestors &
Christian Antiquity, Unpublished ms
12.
David Cumes, South African Indigenous Healing
(www)
13.
F.G. Flanagan, Bede Griffiths - Quo
Vadis, Dya media, p.16
14.
Adam Blai, Hauntings, Possessions &
Exorcisms, Emmaus, 2017, p.16
15.
Adam Blai, op.cit. P.63
16.
Buti Tlhagale omi, Pastoral letters on Mary
& Halter Ancestral, p.155
17.
Tlhagale, op.cit p.147
18.
Tlhagale, op.cit p.149
19.
Encyclopaedia Judaica, v.II, p.204
20.
MSC tract, p.105
Further Readings:
www. Agnieszka Podolecka, Sangomas, Shamans and New Age: The Hybridity
of Some Modern Healing and Esoteric Practices and Beliefs in South Africa.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church written by
Catholic Bishops Worldwide
The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2116
“All
forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring
up of the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future.
Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and
lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a
desire of power over time, history, and in the last analysis, other human
beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the
honour, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2117
“All
practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so
as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others –
even if these were for the sake of restoring their health – are gravely
contrary to the virtue of religion.”
“These
practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of
harming someone or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons.”
“Wearing
charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical
practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to
so-called traditional cures does not justify either invocation of evil powers
or the exploitation of another’s credulity.” (End of CCC article)
