Becoming a Xhosa traditional healer: The calling, illness, conflict and belonging
South African Journal of Psychiatry
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Becoming a Xhosa traditional healer: The calling, illness, conflict and belonging | |
| Creator | van der Watt, Alberta S.J. Biederman, Sarah V. Abdulmalik, Jibril O. Mbanga, Irene Das-Brailsford, Pricilla Seedat, Soraya | |
| Description | Background: Traditional healers (THs) are an important part of the healthcare system in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding their training, experiences of becoming healers and their perceived roles in society is critical.Aim: This study aimed to explore the experience of becoming a TH, including accepting the calling, and sheds light on how the experience is conceptualised within the cultural and communitarian context of THs.Setting: This study was conducted amongst Xhosa THs in the Western Cape, South Africa.Methods: In-depth phenomenological interviews (n = 4) were conducted with Xhosa THs and analysed using Giorgi’s descriptive pre-transcendental Husserlian phenomenological analysis.Results: The experience of becoming a TH can be summarised in the context of three units of significance: (1) the gift of healing as an illness; (2) the experience of conflict (including with their families, the church and self-conflict); and (3) the experience of belonging. Familial conflict, specifically, was fuelled by the financial burden of becoming a TH and a lack of understanding of the process.Conclusion: To develop a workable model of collaboration in the future, it is crucial that mental healthcare providers develop a better understanding of the experiences of THs in becoming care providers. The findings highlight an appreciation of the challenging process of becoming a TH. Finally, further research and culturally appropriate psychoeducation can provide trainee THs and their family members with the skills and knowledge to support each other through a difficult process. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2021-03-04 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1528 | |
| Source | South African Journal of Psychiatry; Vol 27 (2021); 9 pages 2078-6786 1608-9685 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1528/1992
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1528/1991
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1528/1993
https://sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/article/view/1528/1990
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