Sangoma

Quick meaning: Sangoma is a noun meaning (South Africa and other parts of Southern Africa) A (usually female) traditional healer or herbalist, or witch doctor.

Meaning

(South Africa and other parts of Southern Africa) A (usually female) traditional healer or herbalist, or witch doctor.

Example Sentences

This case also attracted a large crowd – not to see me, but to find out whether the white man's laws could be applied to a sangoma.

Lesedi was a sangoma, you know. I think she tried to put a curse on me because I was spying on her. But I wasn't really spying, I just thought that she was nice and wanted her to be my friend and then I saw the mask and I didn't anymore.

The Natal Zulu believes in witchcraft, prophesy, love philtres, and such like. He is firmly fixed in his mind that the witch doctors and sangomas (female diviners) have power to bring rain, to trace spells of witchcraft, to heal by incantation, and to perform sundry other wonders and miracles.

Sangomas nowadays tend to have at least two or three, and at times as many as fifteen or more, spirits that guide and assist them in their healing practice. Sangomas describe a division of labour among such spirits whereby each tends to have a specialized purpose, ranging from guidance in diagnosis to help in collecting overdue patient fees.

Word Forms

• sangomas

Synonyms for sangoma

Depending on context, synonyms include isangoma.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include inyanga, mganga, ngaka, mundunugu, imbongi, igqira.

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