Ancestral Healing
The intimate relationship between the living and the dead is revealed through the importance attached to the concepts of umphefumulo (soul), umoya (spirit), the shadow (isithunzi) and the ancestral shades’ brooding (ukufukamela) over the lives of their descendants just as a hen broods over her eggs. Unless appropriate rituals are performed and actions taken, this brooding can lead to misfortune, illness, madness and vulnerability to sorcery and witchcraft. From an African perspective, ancestors are regarded as custodians of our lives. They can bring good luck and bad luck equally if they are pleased or angered respectively. Healing by ancestors is achieved in a sense that they provide us with a sense of rootedness; they anchor us, and they confirm our identity. Therefore if one looks at healing as an act of one making healthy, we can argue that nothing heals a person better than knowing who she/he is, (descendancy) what she/he is about (purpose) and where she/he is going.