World-famous Afro-Honduran herbalist and healer, Dr Sebi (born Alfredo Darrington Bowman) believed that, “a society that keeps cures a secret so they can continue to sell medication for huge profits is not a real society but a huge mental asylum.”
This statement echoes his local counterpart, Otsile Molefe’s position on modern medical healing as he asserts: “There is a healing connection that mankind has with nature that cannot be replicated in a laboratory.”
Do people fully appreciate this? I ask.
“People are naturally cynical; Ga ba dumele! When you speak fancy terms like ‘microorganisms’, people are quick to listen, however, when you mention things of the spirit, people don’t believe. Then they go to church, one wonders, what they’re worshipping there? A Spirit or what?” he asks, rhetorically.
To address the cynicism, I probe further and ask the medicine man to enlighten me: how is traditional doctor different from a witch doctor, because there’s a thin line between herbalism and divination/sorcery… Is he a witch doctor or a healer?
“We grew up with a fear of traditional doctors. The practice was seen as dark. My grandfather was a healer, but just as any other trade, not everyone who helps people can be trusted. We know there are politicians who are dedicated to uplifting others’ lives, and those who enter politics to enrich themselves. So, likewise, some traditional doctors are not necessarily in it to help people. They practice voodoo, bo-raboko ba bolayang batho. Others, like me, will outright refuse. I remember there were those clients who’d make such wicked requests to my grandfather. A certain man travelled all the way from South Africa, he told my grandfather that he wanted to end the life of someone who was troubling. My grandfather reproached him; ‘Monna, o utlwile gotwe ke bolaya batho? (Has anyone told you I’m a murderer?) Just go back to where you came from and never set foot here! If you are looking for a murderer, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m not one, therefore I can’t help you: I thought you sought me for genuine help but you’re asking me to kill someone, no I can’t do that because it’s evil.”
Indeed, Molefe reiterates that murder is unacceptable.
“Motho ga a bolaiwe, mma. A human being is a spirit. If you happen to perish in a car accident due to witchcraft, and your family asks a traditional doctor to perform a ritual on your grave, your murderer will certainly die! In fact, there’s no protection against such. So, all these ritual killings making front-page news, it’s only a matter of time before the perpetrators of those crimes depart this life, too. That’s how sacred a human life is!”
Does Rre Molefe return lost lovers?
“I get many such requests and for the same reason as mentioned prior: I do not return lost lovers! When you approach me with such a request, I will try and find out why your husband or boyfriend has disappeared. What is it about you that causes him to stray or cheat? So, we have to address that and work on you. Not bewitch him. Clients bring clothing items of lovers or delinquent children and ask me to help them; I candidly explain to them that as long as that person is not here with them, that amounts to witchcraft. I’m not a witch doctor; I fix you, not bewitch him.”
Do his clients heed his advice? “One couple sought my services for their business, but they were unmarried. I outright expressed that because the business was actually the woman’s – the guy was unemployed – if I helped them, it would mean that they’re united as one, and what follows is they should marry because, should that man cheat or do anything to hurt the woman, things won’t go well for him. So, know that once I help the pair of you, you’re inseparable. Last week, that woman reported back that she discovered that when they left this place, her boyfriend went to consult other traditional doctors and, as a result, newer problems exist. His main gripe was that I asked him to commit to marrying her. Obviously his intentions were never good. She divulged that since dating that man, her business started losing money since the boyfriend was so demanding and controlling. She complained that he pushed her to keep selling assets and she felt she’d lost a lot. You see, now I can begin to help her business. She presented with a clear problem, a clear solution can now be offered! But, she’ll have to part ways with that man, and a better man with the right energy will come into her life. A lot of women are being taken advantage of. We need to fix you so that you attract the right man, only then will you prosper.”
How does the good doctor fix this? Let’s go back to Setswana practices: what is a ‘pheko’? “Tell me, which plants do you know?” he asks, and I name mongana, mosetlha, mosukujane, sengaparile, moretologa. “Aha! Moretologa, anything lost, be it a period or whatever, can be retrieved or returned: ‘RE.TO.LO.GA.’ The medicinal properties inherent in the plant will – even when you bath in it – spiritually, return the period, e tla retolola.”
Fascinating stuff! Perhaps a vague voyage into the unknown for this Christian woman, but I recall Genesis chapter 1 verse 11, which reads, “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” This was on the third day and 3 days before the Creator made man. So, could the good doctor be onto something here? Does it not follow then that man lives off what Abba Father – our source and sustainer – provided and prepared ahead of man’s existence, in fact it states that explicitly in verse 29: “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed…”
Molefe says that the biggest problem with us Christians is that we are lazy to read the Bible for ourselves; instead it is the pastor who corrupts the message. “Read it and understand it for yourself. How do you think Africans cured diseases before the advent of modern medicine? They thrived, never suffered the kind of ailments this generation suffers. Is it not time we acknowledge these facts? There’s a lot of unlearning to do in Africa… a lot of demystifying, which brings me to my next issue: banna ga ba tsogelwe kgaitsadiaka (increasingly men are becoming impotent, prematurely) and women are battling fibroids thus face the risk of losing their wombs. Many women are struggling to keep men as men are busy gallivanting, chasing young, nubile lasses. Promiscuity brings about evil spells or misfortune, curses.”
Molefe says that at the height of the pandemic, a lot of women reported the vaccine affected their menstrual cycle or reproductive systems. “One wonders what was it about the vaccines that caused that. Medical science is questionable: who is trying to interfere with the reproductive health of Africans? The western world’s aim is to control populations; they tried us with Aids, now they’re targeting the very organs of reproduction. Our biggest issue as Africans is that we are brainwashed. Traditional medical practitioners don’t believe an African must toil to enjoy excellent health. We believe that between diseases and healing, there’s a plant or herb to treat any curable malady.”
Does Molefe believe Christianity is responsible for this delusion? I ask. “My dear, I help pastors, too. After all, these are sons of the soil; when they’ve tried everything else that hasn’t worked, they remember their ‘genesis’. The pandemic, alone, humbled a lot of Christians! One, a Seventh Day Adventist pastor was healed by my herbs that he proposed that fellow clergymen and traditional doctors must meet to find common ground. Ironically, this mistrust of traditional medicine is a result of doctrines they also learnt from others. Healthcare is expensive, it is sad people are so ignorant about alternative medicine. When laboratory-tested medicine doesn’t treat your ailments, o gopole tse di tswang mo mmung o re o gatileng ka dinao (Remember the God-given cures abundant in the very land you walk on).”