Boporofeta ba Afrika Borwa

Baporofeta ba Afrika Borwa a Lekgalong la Mantsopa, Mooderport, FS.

Being gifted with boporofeta/ubuthandazi/ubuthandazeli (literally translates to the gift of prophesying) can be a bit confusing, particularly to those who are raised in the orthodox religions or those who have denounced religion in its entirety. By the end of this post, you should have a firm grasp on what boporofeta is; how this gift manifests itself and the numerous ways in which the gift can be honed.

When I first started dreaming of this aspect of my gift, there was a lot of Catholic symbolism. There were those typical pictures of Jesus’ blushing face, with a background of the sun. There was that pink book titled Jeso Ngwana Wa Prague. I also dreamt of a pink rosary and a pink net cloth, laying on a table for me to pick up and use. I would see the face of Maria Morivigo whenever I doubted that this was really my path. What solidified this for me, was when I dreamt I was walking in a courtyard and ahead of me was an Arab man, with a muscular physique, shooting arrows into the sky. When I asked who he was, he responded “I am the son of man.” At the time of dreaming of all these symbols, I had denounced religion in its entirety. I had issues with the Bible because I could never figure out what message was being conveyed and that bigots often cited the bible to fuel their hate. I’ve never been good at reading between the lines, to be frank.

A little history…

Through research and communing with badimo, I have come to learn that what we know as boporofeta/ubuthandazi today, was a way of our predecessors coping with the imposition of Christianity and its symbols by their oppressors. They could not freely and openly practice bothuela/ubungoma/ubugqirha and mediumship because it was demonized, vilified and criminalised at some point in history. In order for our elders to continue practicing, they had to mask symbols of traditional African spirituality and healing, in the dominant discourse. If you look at the practices of Ifa and Candomble, you will find similar expressions and symbols of African spirituality and healing.

Boporofeta ke…

Faith healing is a term anthropology employs to describe boporofeta/ubuthandazeli. The term faith healing doesn’t capture the full complexity of what ubuthandazeli is. In fact, it barely scratches the surface. In boporofeta, water is the basis of most cures as it contains the spirit of healing, egadungiwe. Water has the power to transmute energy and carry our deepest prayers/wishes to The Spirit That Is. There is also what is known as diwasho/iziwasho and they’re typically dug up in nature, near caves or bodies of water. Add water to sewasho and you have yourself pheko e matla. Along with water le diwasho, we use candles to invoke The Spirit That Is. If you remember those ‘summoning circle’ tweets, it will give you a rough idea of what dibate/amabhavu entail. In boporofeta, we invoke the elements of fire (candles), water, earth (diwasho), air and umoya/moya, that is, the universal healing spirit, to bring about healing to those that require it.When divining ka tsela ya boporofeta, ho sebediswa bebele (bible), metsi (water), mollo (fire gazing through the use of candles) and basically what is termed ho hlahloba ka hlooho/ukubhula ngekhanda/mediumship. There may be other methods of mediumship that I have not been exposed to, so bare that in mind.

A lot of healers have varying concepts of what Isithunywa/Lengeloi la boporofeta is. In my experience, this spirit is a mediator between humans and the Creator/The Great Spirit of Healing/God. I do not believe that isithunywa/lengeloi has experienced life as amadlozi/badimo have. With that said, isithunywa/lengeloi may employ your family ancestors to guide you along the path ya boporofeta/ubuthandazeli. Still with me?

How would I know that this is my gift and not bothuela?

Firstly, you look at your dreams. If you dream of dipheka (capes) le menazaretha (voluminous gowns that look like graduation gowns or church choir gowns) le dituku (head scarves) this may be an indication that this is your gift. There is a cloth that we call lesela la nkwe in Sesotho. It’s a corduroy material with black spots on it. It can be found in white, red, blue, mustard and cream white. This too, is an indicator of the southern African expressions of boporofeta. I have seen it haholo ho dingaka tsa Basotho tse tswakileng boporofeta, e le boporofeta bo etelang pele. This is not to say the merafe e meng would not be similarly instructed when it comes to lesela la Nkwe. Always bare in mind that these are my experiences of said symbols.

If you dream of religious symbols, water, fire/candles jwalo jwalo, it may be an indication that seporofeto se teng ho wena. A sure way of knowing is to commune with your ancestors/pray using candles and other offerings. This is the best way to know what’s happening and what you’re seeing.You may be shown religious symbols from religions you’ve never interacted with. Fret not. Do what the ancestors show you and you should be fine.

How do we hone this gift?

Through prayer, fasting, adapting your diet so that it consists of very little fatty foods/spykos and overly spicy foods.Spend time in nature. Go on a hike. Go next to a body of water. If you’re shown a cave and what to take to it, do that. Basically, o latela ditaelo tsa moya and your gift grows.That’s all the English I have in me today.

Lesedi bana ba thari e ntsho ❤️❤️

Gogo Malepena

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