THE KwaNjomane reality star and Isiphetho: Destiny actress Smangele Mhlongo announced on her reality show, aired on Mzansi Wethu channel 163, that she's getting married to her thwasa.
Although she expressed that she's in love, other izangoma are against her decision.
Izangoma who spoke to Daily Sun expressed that a gobela can't have a sexual relationship with their thwasa.
According to them, this can anger the ancestors.
The chairman of the KZN Traditional Healers Association, Thandonjani Hlongwane, said that this act is a disgrace to traditional healing.
He said they could get married but did not see their relationship lasting.
Smangele revealed on one of the KwaNjomane episodes that she and her thwasa have been dating for two years and were happy with each other.
Gogo Nomarashiya Mthembu (73), a gobela who accepted her ancestral calling in 1992, said she had witnessed people getting mentally ill because they ended up dating their sangoma trainees or their gobelas.
Gogo Nomarashiya said this is against the ancestors' will.
"The ancestral calling is very deep. Some people just accept anyhow without understanding and end up messing up. Dating each other as sangoma and thwasa had never been allowed. But if the thwasa has graduated, maybe they can perform a ritual, begging the ancestors to allow them to date and maybe get married.
“However, that paints a wrong picture about the gobelas. How can the parents trust us with their kids when they come to us for help? It’s really a disgrace and embarrassing. And we are all blamed, even the gobelas like us, who do this work purely. It's like we are taking advantage of the vulnerability of the kids," said Gogo Nomarashiya.
Gogo Anna Mthembu (51) said there are things that cannot happen between a gobela and a thwasa.
"All my sangoma trainees are my children. I treat them like my children. That's how they should be treated. It's the only way that ancestors allow. Smangele should have done the same to her thwasa. Even if she has graduated, she is still her child," said Gogo Anna.
@mzansimagictv Chicken is going through a hard time when it comes to ubabakhe and uNtokozo is still not hearing indaba yomshado between her mother and Dladla. ?? #KwaNjomane ? original sound - Mzansi Magic
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Smangele said although she can't spill the beans now about this issue since it could jeopardise the show, it will teach a lot about the relationships between the gobelas and their student sangomas.
"I began my ancestral journey in 2009. I did everything that was required of me by my ancestors. What you are watching on the show is my story, it's my life and it’s not scripted. It was my agreement with my ancestors to go in public and announce my relationship with the thwasa," she said.
She said there are things that have dragged the name of traditional healing through the mud.
"Through this show, people will learn a lot about how the relationship between a gobela and thwasa goes about. Most of these kids (amathwasa) are treated terribly by their gobelas. They are sexually violated. Some do not go to graduate because they get pregnant during their training. Some become wives of their gobelas and forget about their calling.
“And nothing is done about it. It's very sad. No one talks about these things. I will speak. I don't care whether I get killed or create enemies by speaking the truth. Let us watch the show. It'll reveal as to when I and my thwasa got involved, who approached who and what we did for ancestors to allow us," said Smangele.
