spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

a network of vessels through which life power flows. Just as important as the bonding of realms
and relationships by crossing borders, is the affirmation of the existence of borders. There needs
to be a difference between the known and the unknown, between the old and new life, between
affliction and transformation. Healing processes are determined by (chronological) borders, and
in these processes it is crucial to acknowledge these borders and, subsequently, to be able to
move beyond them.
The literal and figurative borders, which the healer and the healing community encounter, shape
and affirm the profile of the relational network that is involved in the healing processes. During
therapy borders are explored, identified, crossed and exploited in order to bring the healing
process to a satisfactory end. Some division lines may disappear, others can change in due course
and new ones will emerge, but their distinctive feature is that they contribute to the contours of a
healing community. The identity of a healing community is formed by the existence of borders:
the act of crossing borders (in order to access new knowledge, power, medicine, attributes) and
of guarding the most valuable ones, turns a community into a healing community. Thus, borders
are such important elements of the framework of African traditional healing that they can be
regarded as constituents of the healing community. The healing community, then, rests on
relationality and on the borders included by relationality.
2.6 CONCLUSIONS
The discourse on African traditional healing is a field that can and should be studied on its own,
instead of being approached as an aberrant form of healing. In cultural and medical
anthropological jargon, one can speak of African traditional healing as a folk category that is as
relevant as, for example, the professional category (with which Western biomedicine is often
associated). The category of African traditional healing reveals an intimate connection between
religion and healing.
The intertwining of religious beliefs and health ideas is the basis of the holistic nature of health
and well-being. It means that the involvement of ancestors and other spirits in the healing
processes is presupposed, that suffering has meaning since the human condition is tied up in the
dynamics of relationships, and that the cause of suffering also needs to be sought within this
network of relationships. Aspects like the basic need for protection of one’s vital force and the
functioning of medicine as containers of spiritual power, underline that in essence African
traditional healing is the search for, as well as the affirmation of, life power which is then the key
component of health, well-being and prosperity.
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