African tradition and psychology

HAVING had the opportunity to work with some traditional healers, I have observed some very interesting things worth discussing, but, obviously, conscious of our own biases.

Certain conclusions can be reached but more research is required to validate such findings.

Interacting with traditional healers (vanasekuru) has provided me with great insights into traditional beliefs and interventions.

When two people are arguing or fighting, African traditional religion (chivanhu) asserts that there is a spirit (mhepo) that causes such disharmony and, therefore, requires cleansing by powers from the spirit world.

Similarly, many believe when one is raised by a parent with mental illness, the same spirit may spill onto them, causing similar difficulties due to avenging spirits (ngozi, kutanda botso).

These are examples of psychological traumas.

An individual who struggles in school or is prone to accidents is not necessarily under a spell (kuroiwa). The dilemma with most people is that of cognitive discord, where parents preach love while they practise hate or preach independence while being highly protective.

Psychology is the study of all human behaviour — regardless of gender, culture, tradition or race. So, for as long as there is a human being, there is psychology and psychological explanations to whatever is done (behaviour), thought or felt.

However, there is the view that psychological explanations and practices are Western, and, as such, they are discredited in favour of “Afrocentric” or “Pan-African” psychology.

While people in Africa may think, feel and behave differently to those in the West (or in the East), the differences depend on the aspect being explored.

Most African practices have remained occult in nature due to fear of researching into them. There is fear of exposing sacred things. Sadly, foreigners come to study those same things and write their own narratives about our livelihoods. The writings are largely negative and portray us as barbaric.

The dependency syndrome keeps us looking outward for answers yet most solutions lie within. The locus of control is perpetuated by educational and religious systems that maintain power exists elsewhere, and not within the individual, as people often say: “Thank God” or “Vadzimu vachakutungamirira”.

There have been a lot of tribulations in the African child’s story. If analysed properly, this will help explain his/her predicament today and give an indication of the remedy. The African family’s difficult dynamics are easily explained by parental attitudes and styles, birth order, abandonment issues, neglect, losses and other adverse experiences.

The psychological explanations are not mysterious in any way but simply require assessment or observation to arrive at specific evidence-based explanations through theories that have been tested for centuries.

Such in-depth explanations are empowering and improve an individual’s self-esteem.

Upon analysing the situations above, one can realise that what is described as “mhepo”, “zvishiri” or “zvipoko” (evil spirits), is what is regarded, in psychology, as “psychodynamics”.

These can be observed from behaviours exhibited or from reported thoughts and emotions. There is a lot of speculation in what is described as witchcraft and most of the facts are misinterpreted.

The issues are equally complex within traditions, religions and cultures. However, it is noteworthy that witchcraft and other ancient traditions also exist in the Eastern and Western worlds.

This is, therefore, an invitation to all different belief systems to converge on their psychology, before going anywhere else, for belief is power. Whatever one believes in will control their thoughts and destiny.

As long as we are human, we are three things first and foremost: body (biology), mind (psychology) and spirit (sociology). This essentially defines how we interact with ourselves or with others, regardless of origin.

It can be inferred that following this line of thinking, all cases of disturbed behaviour should be considered for psychological evaluation.

However, a psychiatric assessment may be a priority depending on the nature and degree of the presentation.