MSOGWABA – The government disability grant has finally brought closure for Florence Lubisi.
The 36-year-old graduated as a traditional healer (Inyanga) last Saturday after she had overcome financial problems and insults from community members.
Being an Inyanga is not easy, as it is expensive and is a calling from the ancestors.
During her interview with Mpumalanga News, she indicated that she had lost both her parents when she was still a teenager and ever since then, her life was a living nightmare, as she was raised by relatives and forced to drop out of school.
She said,
“Since I was a kid I used to have dreams where I would see red clothes in a river. It was dreams leading me to the exact house where they would perform the ritual.
However, I turned a blind eye because I already knew that my ancestors wanted me to be a great healer. My difficulty was getting money, since I had no one to pay for my initiation.
“I later became very ill, lost hearing and my ability to walk properly.
Then doctors discovered that I qualified for a disability grant. I started to save up to R500 a month in order to fulfil my ancestors’ desire. Eventually to undergo initiation.
“I was labelled crazy until they discovered that I was gifted in predicting people’s circumstances,” concluded Lubisi.
According to statistics,
80 per cent of the South African population makes use of traditional health practitioners, but still there is little space or tolerance for sangomas and other traditional healers.
