THE Traditional Healers Organisation is set to host a summit soon.
Members said they are disgusted by how their practice is mocked on reality TV.
The organisation’s spokeswoman Zanele Mazibuko said they want to stop fake izangoma from making witchcraft seem like a normal thing.
Zanele said the organisation strongly condemns various celebrities or entertainers who use the practice to create misleading content to make money.
She said they’ve tried to petition against a certain sangoma and got all the necessary signatures, but nothing happened.
But this won’t discourage them as they’re trying to spread the right word for future izangoma.
Zanele said: “Watching various izangoma’s reality television shows feels like a big slap on the face.” This is worsening especially with the mushrooming of fake izangoma and gobelas who continue to take advantage of vulnerable members of our communities who prefer alternative natural medicine to western medicine,” said Zanele.
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She said they’re worried about the increasing number of these types of shows. whose actual objectives is hard to understand.
“This is the reason why any person that can act can easily claim to be a sangoma just for fame and for the sake of creating content so that they can get paid,” she said.
“The biggest problem is that viewers watching these shows believe in this misrepresentation.” Our communities are unable to see the difference between entertainment and reality.Through these shows, true izangoma and traditional healers are being misconstrued and therefore regarded the same.”
Zanele emphasised that the organisation will deal with such izangoma one by one.
Traditional Healers Organisation CEO, Gogo Sthembiso Nene, said: “As elders in this sector, we have always tried to pass down true beliefs, information, procedures, discipline and the real meaning of being a traditional healer.”
“It is not a joke or game for one to become a traditional healer. It’s a true spiritual gift with many responsibilities that go with discipline.”
She emphasised that bewitching people is not healing people.
“Witches have existed for centuries. It doesn’t come from one tribe, one country or one nation,” she said.
“If people want to be witches, they must say so and not call themselves traditional healers or izangoma,” she said.
