SPIRITUAL social worker Lydia “Mamadiba” Mariha said a voice from the ancestors has told her that the spirits of the liberation warriors are not resting peacefully.
Mariha, from Bophelong in the Vaal, has gone through ukuthwasa but prefers to call herself a spiritual social worker or cultural activist rather than a sangoma.
At a ceremony at Hector Pieterson Precinct in Orlando West, Soweto, she told Daily Sun the guardian spirits are saying that we are commemorating in silos and should be united.
“They are saying we are leaving them behind, especially the spirit of Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe,” she said.
“The PAC (Pan Africanist Congress of Azania) are here because Ntate Sobukwe is one of the greatest ancestors of our land. He fought for Mother Africa and Mother Africa connects to him directly.”
Kneeling in front of mabele, a calabash of mqombothi, fruits, slaughtered chickens, snacks and other food, she said Africans should be using the power of mabele, a natural resource from the soil, to communicate with God. “White people communicate with God through the Bible and we use mabele,” she said.
“For 28 years we have been going up and down because we were not doing things the right way. We are here to phahla. We are pleading with our ancestors because they are complaining that we leave them behind.”
Mariha said the way for Africans to create their wealth was to hold on to the power of the ancestors.
Sarah Chauke, a PAC member who observed the proceedings, said their party was spiritual in nature.
“We cannot shy away from where we come from. The system that is controlling us tells us our ancestors are demonic but we need to acknowledge our ancestors.”
After the ritual, Mariha gave the food to bystanders because she said she was not supposed to go home with it.
