‘Long-Nosed’ Hybrids? Sharing the Experiences of White Izangoma in Contemporary South Africa

This article offers some preliminary insights into the complexities of becoming and being white izangoma in contemporary South Africa.* The reference to whites as ‘long-nosed’ comes from a local magazine article exploring the issue of white izangoma: P. Masiba, ‘Long-nosed Sangomas’, Bona (2001). Written from an insider's perspective, it examines the significance of becoming an isangoma,1 1 Note: isangoma is the singular form of the Xhosa term for a traditional healer/sangoma, while izangoma is the plural form of the noun. and engages with some of the main criticisms of those who oppose white practitioners. It provides a brief description of the making of an isangoma and includes some of the particular challenges to the white initiate (or thwasa). It then goes on to explore the major criticisms of the notion of white izangoma, critically assessing these objections. The article argues that the inevitable traces of ancestral agency in the sangoma experience – its ancestral hybridity – renders every sangoma practitioner hybrid, in the sense of being new, different, and (unless their healing is found ineffective) authentic. Finally, with the essentially healing role of sangoma in mind, the article touches on the potential for expanding the roles of white izangoma as contemporary healers of colonial wounds, as mediators, and as translators between biomedicine and traditional medical practice.