Christmas Road Trip - Zulu Village

Our visit to a Zulu village included a session with the local sangoma (traditional healer). The one we visited is a diviner, who gets her messages from the ancestors.  She put on quite a show, lighting incense to invoke the ancestors, who then rested on her shoulders as she knelt on the floor.  She never revealed her face to us the whole time we were with her. The hut was adorned with animal skins and  various animal parts and feathers were stuck on the walls.  I am not sure why - perhaps she reads the patterns as they are flung and adhere to the walls ? Through the guide, she told us about some of the more common remedies for various afflictions.  Most were herbal or mineral concoctions, but some used dried and powdered animal parts, bones, and blood.  She read my future (no animal parts required), and told me that my ancestors are looking out for me (always reassuring) -- oh, and that I think too much !

From there, we made a few friends walking through the village to the cultural centre where we were given Zulu warrior fighting and dancing demonstrations.