S African spiritual world

Demas, a black mother of four who works with female abuse victims, is satisfied. “He was so powerful,” said Demas, who likes consulting Kyle because she believes young healers are more honest about the results of readings. “They tell you everything they see,” she said. Kyle said he did not choose to be a sangoma but was discovered to have healing powers a few years ago.

Even before undergoing training last year, he was already able to “accurately” read the bones, according to Solly Mathebula, his teacher, who is also a sangoma. Since he qualified, he has been in demand. “I have got people from overseas now phoning (for appointments with Kyle), I have calls from all over South Africa,” said Mathebula. In his hometown of Musina, near the border with Zimbabwe, people stop him while he is cycling home from school to solicit an on-the-spot diagnosis.

“They stop me on the street and ask ‘can you give me a reading’, but I say ‘no I can’t give you a reading now’,” the slender soft-spoken youth told AFP. But he is considerably less popular in the predominantly white neighborhood where he lives with his parents and younger sister and brother. He gets teased at school and has lost some friends who fear that he might cast a spell on them. “Most of (my) friends went against me and started being ex-friends,” he said. “It has been difficult... being in a community that doesn’t understand sangomas,” his father Mike, a mine diesel mechanic, said. “They believe that sangomas are part of witchcraft.”

Most of Kyle’s clients are blacks who have “accepted him very well”, according to Mathebula. “I treat mostly black people, (because) white people, most of them don’t believe in this. So they don’t come,” said his protege. A bone-throwing session may be required to tell if he will go on to become a full-time sangoma. His parents want him to finish his education first and pursue a career in pharmacy or herbal science. Maybe, at that point, “he can combine the two (traditional medicine and science)”, his father said. — AFP

Kyle Todd (left) preparing for his initiation ceremony.

Kyle Todd (left) getting dressed for his initiation ceremony.

Twelve-year-old South African Kyle Todd (center) dancing during his initiation ceremony to become a Sangoma or traditional healer at a traditional healer school in Pretoria, South Africa. — AFP photos

Twelve-year-old South African Kyle Todd (center) dancing during his initiation ceremony to become a Sangoma or traditional healer.

Kyle Todd (second left) getting ready for his initiation ceremony.

Kyle Todd (left) getting dressed for his initiation ceremony to become a Sangoma or traditional healer.