Sangoma - Hardcover

Hall, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874777801 ISBN 13: 9780874777802

Publisher: Tarcher, 1994

Synopsis

A white man describes his two-year spiritual and physical ordeal as he underwent the demanding and secret rituals of kutfwasa, being initiated into the mysteries of psychic possession and traditional healing to become a sangoma in Swaziland.

About this title

About the Author:

James Hall is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California and he practices as a traditional healer in Manzini, Swaziland.

From Booklist:

Why would a successful writer--and a Catholic former Eagle Scout from Winnetka, Illinois--move to Swaziland to become the first white person to undergo kutfwasa, the secret study and rituals necessary to become a sangoma (shaman)? The answer to that question isn't as clear and succinct as rational, linear Western readers might like, but the author's account of his two years of training is an amazing story. Hall explains that while interviewing Miriam Makeba, the singer told him that he might be able to "see" as her sangoma mother could. During kutfwasa, Hall's lidlotis (ancestral spirits that at times possess a sangoma) directed him to father a child (he later fell in love with and married the child's mother) and to adopt another. This is an oddly compelling book. The secrecy of the rituals and procedures of kutfwasa creates as many questions as are answered. The author's reserved style sometimes clashes with the fantastic events he's describing. And hanging over every chapter is the big question: Why? Even with those drawbacks, the book will offer public library users a page-turning true adventure unlike anything they've ever read. Thomas Gaughan

About this edition

• Publisher: Tarcher
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0874777801
• ISBN 13: 9780874777802
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 260