Signs and Things

I am going to write about signs you should look out for to determine which route of bongaka you’re going to take, if you’ll be trained as lethuela/ngaka or moprofeta.

There are numerous and varied cultures in South Africa. There are Basotho, Batswana, Bapedi, amaXhosa, amaZulu, Vatsonga, Vavenda, amaSwati, amaNdebele. All these linguistics groups have their own expressions of culture, rituals, philosophies about the cosmos etc. Even within each group, there are variations of ways in which culture is expressed, rituals carried out and philosophies. No one person can claim to be completely Mosotho or Mopedi because of migration and intermarriages between cultures. You may find that as a Mosotho individual, you have a great (x10) grandfather who was Motsonga and they come bearing the gift to you, their great (x10) grandchild.

Back to the linguistic and cultural groups. Each group has their own way of ho fehlella/ukuthwasisa, governed by ancient protocol, accompanied by culture specific rituals of song, dance, channeling and slaughtering. The ways of greeting isangoma/ngaka are varied in each. Basotho say “Lesedi/Kganya”; amaXhosa speak of “Camagu/Chosi”; amaZulu speak of “Makhosi”; amaSwati speak of “Thokoza”etc. It is because of these various greetings that we speak of impande ezahlukile (different schools). Impande can be literally translated as a root, but it can also mean the ‘school’ of initiation one goes to.

You may believe yourself to be Mosotho or Mopedi and therefore be of the opinion that you will be initiated in your cultural and linguistic group. Brace yourself, it may not be that way. There is no one way that is better than another. There is no sedimo or idlozi that is ‘bigger’ or more powerful than another. Your ‘power’ as isangoma comes from your faith in the abilities of sedimo sa hao; your ability to not overthink when it comes to channeling because the conscious/logical mind can do you dirty; your ability to surrender to the messages coming through you and experience. The more you work and grow in your gift, is the deeper your knowledge and connection become. I don’t want to hear anyone saying their gift is more powerful than everyone else’s or banedlozi elikhulu. This is how you get fleeced of thousands. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Mkay?

PS: You are not ‘the chosen one’. You’re a conduit. You’re a conduit. You’re a conduit. Don’t ever come into my emails or DMs telling me about you being the chosen one. Re tla qabana.

Let’s continue with the signs you should look out for.

Look out for the beads you dream of and the colours; listen to the rhythm of the drumbeats you dream of; look out for wild and domestic animals; perhaps you dream of medicines, pay attention. The only way to retain everything is to journal.

1. Baby blue and white beads, with phepa/umcako on the face and limbs could be intwaso kaCamagu.
2. Red, black and mohlomi/umsomi/intothoviyani along with a beaded crown known as moqhaka, usually made with translucent coloured beads, could denote lefelho la Lesedi.
3. Letsoku/ibomvu/red clay on the face and limbs could also be an indication that you’re going to be initiated in the Sesotho way. This clay is typically shiny and not matte.
4. Black and white, as well as white and red beads could denote the Thokoza way, where black and white denote uMndau/Mondao and red and white denote uMnguni.
5. Dreaming of yourself with red, shiny clay on your head could also be an indication of the Thokoza way. The red clay is known as idumane.
6. Red cloths as a skirt, a cape and headscarf, with red, matte clay on the cheeks, forehead and chin could denote the way of oMakhosi.
7. The cloths you dream of and their motifs are also important in determining where you’ll be initiated.
8. Royal blue and white OR yellow and white beads may denote the gift of seporofeto/ubuthandazi/ubuthandazeli.
9. If you dream of church gowns like the ones the pope wears, you may be dreaming of your gift ya seporofeto.
10. Seporofeto may also be denoted by dreams of depheka (capes that go around the shoulders and matching headscarves).
11. Typically, the colours of menazaretha (cloaks that look like graduation gowns) are green, yellow, red, sky blue, baby blue, cerise pink etc. but they are not limited to these.
12. These cloaks may have crosses, stars and moons, typically in white, but may be in other colours.
13. You may dream of yourself flying a lot, singing church songs, praying powerfully or encountering powerful beings.

I think I will conclude here for today because the signs and symptoms are varied. Pay attention to your dreams, asseblief. Journal them and commune with your ancestors through ukuphahla.

*Please note that I have written mostly about Thokoza, Makhosi, Lesedi and Camagu because these are  the schools I have interacted with mostly.

Also, the bead colours are based on my experiences. They may differ from healer to healer.

Lesedi bana ba thari e ntsho <3

Gogo Malepena

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