‘ Dagga brings us closer to God’
PIGG’S PEAK – For t he past six days, ( dagga) has been the buzzword.
insangu
Thi s i s b e c a u s e o f a r e f e r e n c e made by His Majesty the King when addressing Sibaya.
The King made reference to the word ‘ insangu’ where he expressed bewilderment on whether the people who pe ddl e d unt r ut hs a bout t he country smoked dagga.
Though the phrase received mixed r e a c t i o n s f r o m member s o f t h e public, some Rastafarians are of the view that the King’s statement was only figurative.
Ambrose Zwane, who i s a Rastafarian, said it was highly likely t hat t he King used t he word as a reference because this was also a norm for members of the public to say a person smoked dagga when he behaved in a certain way.
“Even when a child misbehaves, people often ask if he smoked dagga,” said Zwane.
Behaviour
However, Zwane said this did not mean that this was the case literally, but that dagga was always associated with bad behaviour.
Zwane said this was not the case among Rastafarians. He s ai d f or their movement, dagga was an essential part of worship. Every Rastafarian temple is expected to have dagga. It is burnt and also inhaled using lishawulo ( bong) and passed on from one person to another.
Zwane s a i d t h e t r u t h was t h a t among Rastafarians, one could not attain righteousness without dagga. “It takes you closer to God and gives wisdom,” said Zwane.
He said many people who use dagga in its pure form without mixing it with anything were very respectable people. “You won’t hear about someone getting intoxicated with dagga unless t hey mixed i t with something,” he said.
Zwane s a i d s o meti mes p e o p l e abuse alcohol and then smoke dagga, but then when they get involved i n bad acti vi t i es, people usually blame dagga and ignore the alcoholic beverage the person consumed. He also said even other substances such as nyaope consisted of dagga mixed with other potent drugs.
Zwane further revealed that just l i k e Ch r i s t i a n s h o l d s a c r a men t which involves the eating of bread and wine, Rastafarians use dagga for this. “It is the holy sacrament,” h e s a i d . Zwane s a i d d a g g a was considered as a holy herb among the Rastafarians.
Also, Zwane warned against the abuse of dagga, especially when mixed with other substances then s moked. He a l s o u rg e d medical professionals who knew the posi1173/ 21 2161/ 20 660/ 21 1954/ 20 tive effects of dagga to speak out about it.
Some o f t h e Rast a f a r i a n s a l s o echoed Zwane’s statement adding that the King may not have meant the smoking of dagga in a negative sense.
They s ai d dagga pl ayed a very i mportant r ol e among emaSwati such that it was used traditionally. They said dagga was inhaled using lishawulo, which is a filter that uses water and produces the dagga smoke on one end.
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