Because traditional Africa trusts in the inherent good of worldly existence, destiny is linked to actions. Misfortune is not a matter of chance but associated with the ire of the ancestor spirits or the evils of witchcraft Hiedi Holland in African Magic........ Traditional ideas that heal a continent. (p 8 ) Penguin Books 2005.
Numbers of parents of young people in Youth Centres (in detention awaiting trial) say that their son's situation brings them considerable pain. The unfortunate series of events in the life of their family and especially the ill-fated events that led to their son now awaiting trial , they say, is a message for them from their ancestors. The ancestors are making that message through their child. It is possible that some ancestral rites have not been performed or were not properly performed. Something needs to be put right.
Sbongile's move to Johannesburg was calculated to change his fortune after his mother's death. He hoped to find work there. There was nothing in his village in Kwa-Zulu Natal, nor in the towns that surrounded it.
But life for Sbongile was not going at all well. In fact, since his move to Johannesburg nothing seemed to be going right.
His search for work brought nothing but frustration. The car he had brought from Kwa-Zulu Natal and used for job seeking in the city broke down. He had no resources to have it fixed. Even his accommodation started to become a burden.
And then at night he started to experience dreams... especially of his mother. All the messages seemed to say to him that his ancestral mother had a need and he had to do something to meet it.
Heidi Holland (2005) confirms that what Sbongile experienced is usual in Africa. Displeased ancestor spirits, she says, usually reveal themselves in dreams. An offending descendant then consults a traditional healer, who prescribes immediate appeasement of the ancestor(s) though ritual ceremonies featuring heirlooms and sacrificial feasts. ( p9)
Sbongilie didn't have to go to a traditional healer, he was sufficiently gifted with spiritual insight to know what was being asked of him. His mother wanted to be housed with him in Johannesburg. So, Sbongile made the arrangements to bring her from the village where she was buried and housed and to settle her in Johannesburg with him .
Everything had to be properly done. No detail could be overlooked. He prepared a place for her at his Johannesburg accommodation
Then he travelled to gather her and bring her to Johannesburg.
Sbongile tells of how he carried her in the taxi with the branch of a tree ( some speak of taking sand from the grave) and how he spoke to her all the way back to his house. "We are crossing a river" "We are at Ladysmith" "We are stopping for food". She was to be informed all the way. And he settled her in the prepared place where he was living.
Sbongiles fortune turned. He got work, he felt better in his health. The money allowed his car to be fixed His life changed and he was set on his journey to become a child and youth care worker.
Ancestor spirits who normally protect the family can withdraw this protection if displeased or upset by a living member of the clan......they must be appeased. says Heidi Holland ( p8 )
His ancestor was pleased.
There are boys in Youth Centres who know that their lives bring pain to the parent and suspect, or know they are being used by an ancestor as carrier of misfortune on the family......and something needs to be put right. Equally they know that family dissension and quarrels are a sure way to excite the displeasure of the ancestors. And again, something has to be done.
But what? And if you are in a place awaiting trial.... how?..... and when I explain my life to social workers and child care workers do I say any of this to them . Can it be written into my IDP (Individual Development Plan) or the FDP ( Family Development Plan)? Is this the kind of thing that can be written into a report or put in my file anyway?
Is there a place for this in "the system"./
Will I look 'primitive ' or foolish?
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