Have you ever seen an indigenous practice on a TV show and thought “Hmmm… this is like when we do xyz in my culture?”

Hear me out. The other day I watched as a Reiki healer (a Japanese form of energy healing) worked her “magick” while she chanted in a voice that very clearly wasn’t her own. I jokingly said to myself “Kuthetha idlozi nje apha” loosely referencing the invoking of spirits, consequently allowing vocalisation on their part.

Allow me to digress a tad, I use the word “magick” to reference the conscious ritualisation of intentions rather than “magic”, which I accept as the art of illusion and gimmicks. Magic and magick are conceptually different.

Also quite recently, I watched Stephen King’s Dr Sleep specifically the part where Snakebite Andi was getting inducted into the “True Nots”. Her human-self died to make way for the self she needed to be to take her place in the group.

My mind drew similarities between Andi’s induction to a ceremony called imvuma kufa, where an initiate agrees to let go of the binds of their physical selves to make way for their rebirth as isangoma.

Now before I go any further, I want to categorically state that imvuma kufa is about awakening the spirits of the undead, not consuming the spirits of the dead to remain undead, as the film suggests.

I must confess that I have a contentious relationship with drawing similarities between spiritual practices I see on TV (western or indigenous) and my own (Nguni) spiritual practices. In my mind, I don’t want to come across as legitimising African spiritual practices by simply drawing parallels and similarities to western endorsed and recognised spiritual practices. Similarities and parallels don’t credit indigenous African spiritualities with validity, let that be clear.

I also feel that with relying heavily on these said similarities we run the risk of conflating all indigenous practices, which I must add are valid in their own varying culturally and historically specific ways. I remain conflicted.

I am more comfortable finding similarities and making sense of the logic behind ceremonial rites of passage laterally. I mean, for example with reference to Xhosa culture, examining how initiates are isolated upon arriving home from initiation school, before they are dressed in their new man (amaKrwala) regalia. They are then unveiled in the same way as ithwasa (a trainee sangoma) is isolated and unveiled in their new dlozi regalia  wearing a white body paint called ingceke at their mvuma kufa ceremony.

Regardless of my preferred lateral thought, my brain reverts to drawing patterns and similarities, across cultures, which has not proven completely useless. It was through this thinking that I was able to observe and conclude on the universality of indigenous spiritual practices based on what I had seen.

By universality I reference, for example, the existence of indigenous practices aimed at commemorating life and death, omnipresent in indigenous communities globally. In Xhosa culture for example, when a baby is born an imbeleko ceremony is held to introduce the child to their clan and for the ancestors to recognise this new life.

The imbeleko ceremony follows burying of the umbilical cord (inkabi) to plant firm roots for the child in their ancestral land. The ceremonial practice ensures the baby’s protection from jinxes and bad omens. This is why when Xhosa people ask you where you are from they will say “iphi inkaba yakho” relating to the burial location of your umbilical cord.

Mercy Nqandeka explains this beautifully in her 2022 book: Don’t upset ooMalume. The book teaches us that those locations of burial within the family homestead may differ across clans. I then engaged my colleague, Asive, about this. She lives in Cape Town and is from Ngcobo. I simply asked that if one lives in a rented space, away from their home, what do they do with the inkaba. She advised that it should be kept until such a time that one can go home and have the ceremony performed. It is ill advised to plant your child’s roots in a rented space, one which you are likely to vacate. This makes sense.

Globally, for example, the Navajo and indigenous Filipino tribes perform these rites as imbeleko with similar meanings and reasonings attached to them. I must again state that my likening of rites of passage across cultures is not to legitimise my own ancient spiritual beliefs by evidencing its practice in other cultures.

It is simply to create awareness that we are not the only ones who think similarly in terms of fostering an un-breakable connection with one’s clan and the earth at birth. I mean think about it, we are inextricably bound to our earth and clan from the tender age of 10 days old. We are claimed and granted a sense of belonging. It is mind-blowing, think about it!

Our ancestors were wise enough to comprehend the significance of affirming our existence – in consideration of our future psychological selves. This is powerful.