{"id":1644,"date":"2012-07-30T14:49:24","date_gmt":"2012-07-30T14:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/php7.innershed.com:10000\/virtual-server\/link.cgi\/212.71.245.84\/http:\/\/www.connectafrica\/?p=1644"},"modified":"2012-11-03T12:30:56","modified_gmt":"2012-11-03T12:30:56","slug":"traditional-healers-and-cellular-phones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.connectafrica.net\/?p=1644","title":{"rendered":"Traditional Healers and Cellular Phones"},"content":{"rendered":"

We drove for a while on a \u201croad\u201d, thankful that our vehicles could handle the bad condition of the dirt, and with a\u00a0more sympathetic awareness of why the elders of Moono Chiefdom, in our earlier discussion at the Palace<\/a>, had said that a priority for them was to improve the conditions of the roads in their Chiefdom.<\/p>\n

Our first stop in our jam packed programme for the day was to their traditional healer, or sangoma.\u00a0 Dr Longwani, a tall, smiling\u00a0man with a hearty laugh, booming voice and a large presence, captured all our hearts even though he couldn\u2019t speak English.<\/p>\n

His office is a raised mud hut, enclosed from the other huts in the clearing by a wire fence, and with many plastic bags, charms and feathers hanging from the thatch roof.\u00a0 While we sat and recorded his interview in his vernacular, I noticed the many car parts lying around, and the old land rover up on bricks in the courtyard: Dr Longwani was also a car enthusiast.<\/p>\n