Christian Belief Fused with Traditional Healing

Our group and Lesego

In our religion class we get the opportunity of going out and seeing different spiritual practices and perspectives. Today we went to hear from a traditional healer at her house. The western perspective defines traditional healing practice in Africa as a combination of primitive and polytheistic understandings without western influence. These perceptions are of course very limiting and can be dangerous. It was interesting to hear from the healer, Lesego and see her method of practice, the power of faith in healing and her understandings of the healing process. Her practice contained the tenets of traditional healing through the use of medicinal roots in the making of various remedies, but was mixed with a Christian belief structure. It seemed like these two components of healing could not be taken separately, but are intricately and synergistically intertwined in the healing process.

Lesego is an instrument of healing, but not a healer in the absolute sense. On many occasions she reiterated that it is not her that heals, but God. The Holy Spirit is critical in providing her direction in this process. It points her to the use of a particular medicine and has the power to tell her of past and future events. She has to consult the spirit on a continual basis and uses prayer as a method of healing. Lesego said she wouldn’t be able to teach her daughter about her methods, because it could only come through the Holy Spirit. Additionally, she realizes the importance of gifts given from God. Hers is the abilities of traditional healing, while others can be gifted in Western medicine. Both are valid methods of healing. Interestingly, she didn’t have a lot to say about healing practices that weren’t centered in Jesus. Lesego only attempts to heal people that are believers of Christ. She put it simply on different occasions, “you must believe in Jesus.”  Her faith didn’t seem to be rooted in an intellectual understanding, where some call this “blind faith.” Nevertheless, faith was so obvious and definite to her that it didn’t need further questioning.

Lesego highlighted the importance of patience in the healing process. She said there is a time to be happy just as there is a time to wait. To her faith had a healing power in the holy spirit brought through medicine. Ultimately, it was this process of prayer and traditional medicine that brings about a real and visible transformation in the individual. Her medicine is taken from the roots of plants and put into liquid form. But when asked further about the specific types of medicines utilized, she would not elaborate and said that it is a secret. Even though she receives payment for her traditional healing practices, she would accept people if they didn’t have money. Lesego said, “I don’t look after the money, I look after people.”

Overall, it was a thought-provoking talk which challenged previous perceptions of traditional healing and showed the influence of Christianization in the healing process. Her understandings seemed to demonstrate the complexity of healing and that there are multiple factors that can affect a person’s well-being. The combining of two methods illustrated her holistic approach to healing through the power of the Holy Spirit. I was left to wonder about the power of faith in healing practice. What is the relationship between an individual’s belief and the healing process? What about that of traditional African religion and Christianity? We will grapple with questions like these in the next couple of weeks during religion class. The infusion of faith with healing demonstrates the pervasive importance of religious belief in Namibian society today and the difficulty of separating religion from culture. Further discussion on the critical role of religion in Namibia will be discussed in due time.