Let's make use of our indigenous knowledge on witchcraft, black magic, divine intervention
Keletso Thobega | Monday September 28, 2015 11:29
Belief in magic and witchcraft has been around since the beginning of time. In fact, almost all nations have their own secret world of magic and wizardry – pacts with the Devil for power, to do evil and even harm others.
A few weeks ago, following Nigel Amos’ loss at the China Games, a meme circulated online depicting a photo-shopped picture of a Chinese news report that said Batswana blamed the loss on witchcraft. Some people took offence but it’s just a joke considering that some Batswana are bigoted, common and narrow minded to the point of believing in witchcraft.
Look, I don’t doubt that witchcraft exists. Like other realms, the supernatural world and that of divine intervention is real. However, the effects are probably short-term. It’s also spiritual energy… and energy returns to the source. There is an English saying that,
‘Curses always come home to roost.’
Over the years I have observed the type of characters who believe in witchcraft are often villagers. I guess you can take a Motswana out of the village, but you can’t take the village out of them. Even if you bring them to towns and cities, the ‘bush’ remains with them.
It boggles me that someone can believe that an ashy dusty person with no understanding of the workings of the modern world can dictate their life. I think prophets and witchdoctors are cut from the same cloth. But forget prophets and their snakes, holy water and fire, clearly witchdoctors run this town – they can temper with weather conditions and relay a clap of thunder and flash of lightning out of nowhere!
But regardless of how much the “divine world” is ridiculed, some people are adamant that it does exist, and that they are being bewitched and need to ‘strengthen’ themselves.
A friend of mine who once worked in government told me of how the first time he found a job in one department, he was over the moon. On his first day on the job, as he was introduced to his new colleagues, one gentleman pulled him aside and whispered to him, “Monna, a o ipaakantse?” Noticing that he was lost, the man leaned in and said, “Heela, ga go theogelwe hela. Go a ipaakangwa!” The gentleman hastily offered to help him. A re mothaka wa teng ke fa a mo raya a re a batle madi gore a mo isa ko bo Shorobe, gore seditse se ye go kgachetsa boatleng! Realising that the man wanted to take him to a witchdoctor, my friend claimed that he had already seen “someone”. Apparently the gentleman believed so much in witchcraft and traditional medicine that he always had potions stuffed away somewhere. Gatwe fa o re tlhogo e a opa o tla bo a go susumetsa toisinyana a re o sunetsesunetse, a ntse a re,“Wena o tla re ke tlhogo hela, kante baa go kolopa!” Ha!
Maybe it’s time to make use of our indigenous knowledge on witchcraft, black magic and divine intervention. The sorcerers who claim to be able to cast spells, perform sacred rituals or harness the power of the gods, would now be exposed - we want to see them in broad daylight!
We could be a power nation and overtake China, America and Germany. Superpowers would not need to spend millions creating atomic bombs; they could just consult our witchdoctors here and solicit lightning. We might even introduce digital lightning, the type that will find and strike you, regardless of which high office you sit at. We could even start a lightning franchise, where you can buy lightning in a plastic bag. Dear reader, perhaps its time to develop ‘African Science’. This special science should of course come with a disclaimer that for one, there’s no guarantee that it will work. If you try to send lightning and it strikes you instead, you have yourself to blame! Also, prolonged use of these potions and powers might lead to paranoia and madness. You might start to imagine that people are ‘out to get you’, and are bewitching you. In worse cases, it might lead to schizophrenia. This would be a sign that, di a chenyempologa jaanong!