Church and witchdoctors (TAS)

(photo - Mwandi village church and visitors)

Max and Margaret (Tasmania) are in Zambia. Their story continues…

We went to church Sunday and it was packed. The seats were very hard after an hour and a half but the music was spell-binding. The choir sang movingly and danced while they sang .It was great. The dancing was staccato-like, but still had a sense of rhythm and flow.
I met the witchdoctor. It came about while we were being given a tour of the hospital. We were asked, ”Would we like to see traditional medicine?” (Do ducks swim!). A short cross country four wheel drive excursion took us to a group of mud huts where people were beginning to gather - 3 old men, maybe a dozen old women and the rest were young and babies. They were all colourfully decked out and warmly welcomed us and the American students who are visiting the hospital. The witch doctor appeared in T shirt and western trousers and with exquisite timing organized the crowd and his little combination locked case. He set about explaining the deep mysteries within, and produced a stick. We were told that, with one touch of the wand, instant diagnosis of illness was possible. Next came three circles of string to which were attached zebra tail hair arranged like a fan. He was later to dance with these adornments around his neck and arm pits. Then he produced a talon, a claw of a mighty eagle, which we were told lets the demons out. We asked, ‘How do you control them etc, only to learn that the power comes from within, from god. Which god remains unanswered. Finally, to put our minds at rest and assure us of his veracity he produced a certificate from the Witch Doctor Association valid for twelve months at a subscription of 550 kwatche.

(for information about People in Mission, contact Kathy Periera, People in Mission Coordinator, Ph 02 8267 4230, kathyp@nat.uca.org.au)