PUBLIC BURNING OF IMPEPHO DISRESPECTFUL

THE burning of impepho (incense) by the University of KwaZuluNatal (UKZN) students has come under fire from traditional healers who lambasted them for disrespecting customs and culture.

This comes after hundreds of protesting students burnt impepho and sprayed intelezi (herb mixture) outside the KwaZulu-Natal legislature on Tuesday.

Traditional healers have condemned the public burning of incense, accusing the students of disrespecting their culture.

Traditional healer Sazi Mhlongo said that what the students did was a disgrace and very disrespectful towards traditional healers and black people.

“Those students have completely lost respect. According to our custom, only men and women have the right to burn incense,” Mhlongo said.

He claimed that the students would be followed by bad luck if they were not cleansed.

Makhosi Khanyile, a renowned traditional healer, said one has to be given permission by the elders to burn incense.

“A child can’t just burn incense. You need to earn the right to burn incense. You must be reported to the ancestors by slaughtering a goat or chicken,” Khanyile said.

She said the students’ actions had to be condemned in the strongest terms possible.

“What those students did was disgusting. Young people have to respect our culture, not play with it like that in public. Anyone who believes in tradition cannot support what those students did.”

But traditional customs expert and Nomkhubulwano Institute chairwoman Nomagugu Ngobese disagreed with the traditional healers and said she was happy with what the students did.

“What the students did had to do with identity. People need to be open-minded,” Ngobese said.

UKZN students representative council president Siphelele Nguse apologised on behalf of the students and promised that they would not burn incense again during their protests.

“We didn’t know that we were disrespecting anyone. We apologise to traditional healers and other affected people,” Nguse said.

UKZN spokeswoman Sejal Desai said the situation was normal yesterday with a large contingent of police and security guards at the institution.

“We have tightened security to ensure that those students attending lectures are not disturbed,” Desai said.