2-4 September 2019
School of Tourism and Hospitality
Africa/Johannesburg timezone

The rise in the staging of sacred intercessions by Traditional Healers on digital spaces’’

3 Sep 2019, 13:40
10m
School of Tourism and Hospitality

School of Tourism and Hospitality

University of Johannesburg Bunting Road Campus Auckland Park Johannesburg South Africa
Speaker Plenary Session III

Speaker

Mrs Thandile Ntumba (none)

Description

Ukuhlola is an exercise of inquiring about one’s well-being from the ancestors through consulting a traditional healer who then acts as an intermediary between the enquirer and his/her ancestors. Lately TV shows like Umoya and YFM with Lloyd Radebe radio programme have been broadcasting these consultation sessions. There has been also a significant number of Traditional healers interpreting dreams and offering consultation session through social media platforms and websites. This case study will explore how the practice of African traditional healing consultation has moved from being a very confidential sacred spiritual practice to something aired on a public platform. The paper will look at the motive of putting what is understood as sacred on public platforms for public consumption and entertainment. The paper will seek to explore possible reasons for this new trend from the perspective of both healers and clients. It will further interrogate the authenticity of this practice. The analysis will be from narrative interviews and participant observation. The study aims to uncover the impact of this social innovation on spirituality's sustainability, on whether these healers have overstepped the boundaries that are regarded as spiritual moral values in trying to fit in and keep up with the fast-paced developing society.

Primary author

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