This weeks blog is on the primal feminine force (essentially the Kundalini) that Southern African traditional healers (sangomas and inyangas) use in order to diagnose and heal their clients.

Implicit in the medical profession's symbol of the Caduceus (above right,) is the Chakra energy system (above left) and the Kundalini - the yoga life force principle.  

The Southern African San Bushmen have always said that they are the "first" people and genomic studies have confirmed this. We all have Bushmen D.N.A. within us. The Bushmen who are small of stature and look more Tibetan than African are distinct from their Bantu neighbors as are some of their primal healing techniques. The Kalahari Bushmen call Kundalini energy Num. Because they are hunter-gatherers their healers have a distinctly different mechanism of displaying this energy compared to the Bantu sangomas of Southern Africa. They both access "spirit" information using the Kundalini principle. During the Bushmen trance dance they travel out of body into the spirit world to glean knowledge not localized in space and time. This helps them to heal, hunt and gather, and keeps them whole.

Bushmen rock art depicting "Num" energy vibrating up the spine and causing the dancer to literally fall into trance and travel out of body into the cosmic Field.

Prone Bushmen dancer in a state of deep trance.

All Southern African indigenous people believe in a primal snake like energy  that is feminine and that resides in the lower belly. This feminine energy is key to spiritual power . 

The blog will focus on the sangoma, rather than the Bushmen model.

There are numerous Bantu tribes in Southern Africa and although traditions differ slightly their healing techniques are all similar. Their healers are called sangomas and also inyangas. In Zulu, Umbilini means "the place of the two," that mystical place in the belly where the body and soul unite and become one powerful thing.” Umbilini like Num also seems to be a Kundalini equivalent and is the sangoma's way of controlling this energy for healing. Here the healer becomes "possessed" by the spirit guide who enters the body to give non-local information while the ego of the sangoma temporarily steps aside.  Umbilini (and Num) are induced with clapping, chanting, singing, drumming and dancing. The "possession" of the sangoma occurs not only in trance but  also in dreams and in the throwing of divination bones which are guided by a spirit force. This information from the "Field" is more "seeing" in a quantum way and can be profound and even life saving.

Sangoma Moses Dudlu in trance, channeling his spirit guide