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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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The traditional art of spiritual healing and healership in Tanzania
| Panel |
66. Traditional religion and healing in Africa and the role of the inner senses
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| Paper ID | 158 |
| Author(s) |
Erdtsieck, Jessica
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | In East Africa, where the national language is Kiswahili, traditional healers are called waganga (singular mganga) from the verb kuganga which means to heal, to cure. Healers inspired by spiritual or unseen forces are called waganga wa pepo. The word pepo stems from the verb kupepea meaning “to wave about in the air”, whereas upepo means “wind” or “unseen force”. The waganga wa pepo gain general knowledge on healing, rituals and plants by training. Special skills and a good reputation only develop through spiritual guidance primarily in dreams and divinations.
As specialists of unseen forces these healers deal with complex symptoms of spiritual, emotional and physical nature, referred to as ugonjwa wa pepo or spirit illness. The term denotes a broad range of psychosomatic and mental complaints that may become chronic without proper treatment. Denial to accept spiritual forces or refraining from certain rituals to appease spirits can result in the intergenerational transmission of psychosomatic disorders and incidents in families. This is also know as family-coldness.
Based on anthropological field research that took place between 1990 and 1998, I discuss some of the major findings based on the practice of two specialist female healers who run a healing compound in Southwestern Tanzania. One is a prophet- or faith healer, the other an ancestral or lineage healer. Some audiovisual recordings will accompany the presentation and a number of suggestions are given for follow-up research. |
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