Beads, crafts and things

Sangoma beads: red, blue, white, black

Prior to going lefehlong, I used to frantically search Google for the symbolism of beads, their colours along with the cloths with motifs on them. Im quite pedantic in how I approach my life. I make lists, I research, I arm myself with as much knowledge as possible, prior to jumping into a situation. Let’s fast forward to when I’ve gone through the process and now understand that ancestors ascribe a meaning to beads and cloths, depending on who they are, what gifts they possess and how they manifest to you, the gojwana.

I am going to try be as concise as possible with my explanation of bead colours.

Small white beads, known as icamagu, signal the beginning, purity and a clean slate. Should you dream of these beads in the context of a prophetic gift, it signals to you that you’ll probably make use of white candles, water (from several natural sources) and coarse salt in your routine healing work.

If you dream of white and sky blue or plain sky blue beads in your prophecy work, consider that your dominant candle colours will be white and blue. You will use a lot of water, coarse salt, blue and white candles, along with stones/crystals that are representative of the sky or spirit.

If you see yellow and white or plain yellow, consider that the candles you’ll make use of are predominantly yellow and white. Consider that yellow is a warm colour, therefore you’ll make use of stones/crystals that represent this yellow element. Condiser that the colour of the sun is yellow /orange/red, therefore fire will play a pivotal role in your practice of boporofeta.

In my experiences, red and white beads are representative of Nguni ancestors. Black and white beads are representative of Ndau ancestors. Plain black beads or red and black, may stand in place of Basotho ancestors. Tankarala (teething beads) may signal to you that you have sedimo sa Masarwa. There are beads known as intothoviyane/umsomi/mohlomi. These are white beads with 3 lines of another colour going through them. The diluting colour is typically red, blue or black. These beads are representative of Ndau ancestors in the Thokoza tradition of training and apprenticeship. To Basotho, these beads are representative of ho kopanga diboko (reconciling/reunifying clans). I will elaborate on this in another post.

Along with these bead colours, take note of the manner of ukuvusela/ho dumedisa that you dream of. Is it “Vomang hee! *slow paced speak*” or is it fast paced. Take note of the drumbeat, is it reminiscent of galloping horses or is it slower.

With all this said, the healing modalities employed in the healing tsa setso make use of the elements of mollo (fire) , metsi(water) , moya (air) , mobu (earth) le Moya (spirit). Only you can fully grasp your dreams and direction you’re being guided towards. Bare this in mind when you frantically do your research. Also bare in mind that a lot of the knowledge our forebearers have is passed through communing with experienced healers and elders. No man is an island. Ha ho motho ya ifehlellang, mono teng ke hana hehehe.

Ebe Kgotso le kganya bana beso.

Nkgono ‘Malepena

Gogo Malepena

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