Becoming a Xhosa traditional healer: The calling, illness, conflict and belonging

TY - JOUR

T1 - Becoming a Xhosa traditional healer: The calling, illness, conflict and belonging

AU - van der Watt, Alberta S. J.

AU - Biedermann, Sarah V

AU - Abdulmalik, Jibril O.

AU - Mbanga, Irene

AU - Das-Brailsford, Pricilla

AU - Seedat, Soraya

PY - 2021/3/4

Y1 - 2021/3/4

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

U2 - 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1528

DO - 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1528

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

VL - 27

SP - 1528

JO - SAJP-S AFR J PSYCHI

JF - SAJP-S AFR J PSYCHI

SN - 1608-9685

M1 - a1528

ER -