© 2023 Dr Margaret Sheppard
Washing Property
Traditional doctors also “wash” homesteads, Lands, Cattle Posts, livestock and property, both when these things are new and when they are believed to be bewitched. Perhaps the following description of a bewitched bull being “washed” illustrates the general format of these jobs
This took place in December 1979. The bull had been bought for P30 in 1977, and the same traditional doctor had been called to protect it by “washing” it then. This is the customary procedure with all new property. The doctor had been paid the customary heifer (about 1.5 years old).
However since the bull had been bought, the cows of that family's kraal had not been productive, if they had become pregnant they had had miscarriages. The bull had, however, made other cows from neighbouring kraals pregnant and was constantly going astray. One time he had even been found about 20 miles away.
Therefore in December 1979, the traditional doctor decided to “wash” the bull again to make it productive and stop straying. For this we went to the family's Lands. As it was the ploughing season they had taken their cattle to their cattle kraal at their Lands. The husband was away with the oxen ploughing for other people but the rest of the cattle had, according to the doctor's instructions, been kept in the kraal and not yet been taken out to graze or to be watered.
doctor took out from his brief case his bag of bones, his buffalo
tail, and various ground up "herbal mixtures" wrapped in separate paper
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bags. The young boy also brought hair cut from the bull's tail that
the doctor twisted into a ring.
He then took the bones into his hands, touched the bull's hair
on the ground, then touched the basin of water and the bags and said:
.. With these medicines I have ground I'm going to cleanse you."
He then threw the bones in this way several times asking permission
from the bones to wash the bull with those medicines on that day. He
kept repeating:
"1 am going to cleanse you with these medicines that I have
mixed. I am going to cleanse you, bull, with these medicines
I have mixed. They are very good medicines. I have used a
tree called mosiama.*1 Someone who was extremely ill waited
until the herbs had grown up, and decided to be cleansed."
Maybe here it means that although the bull had been ill, it had waited
i.e. not died, before being cleansed.
"It was even waiting for rain to be cleansed by the Rains.
It was stationary like Moshata~*2
This probably means about the same, i.e. the bull had not got worse,
but had remained the same (stationary). It was stationary and
permanent like the capital and so there was no one who could dare to
harm it. He then continued:
"Some people say that the only things that bite are ditapana *3
but that is not true. Even human beings can bite."
The doctor then explained to the owner's wife that he could see from
his bones that the bull was going to stand still and work for its
own cattle and no longer roam around.
"The cattle will fill up the kraal immediately. The
prostitutes should come."
l.e. The cattle should behave like prostitutes so that the bull could
make them pregnant.
*1 Mosiama -
also section on Death, Burial and Funerals in Chapter 8).
*2 Moshata -
*3 Ditapana -
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"You'll work with your cattle (i.e. making them pregnant) as
tsaka (the prostitute) will come."
The doctor again talked to his bones:
"It's with these bones he's really going to work on his cows."
The above recitations were the words the doctor used whilst
throwing the bones a number of times. Before he threw them, each
time he touched the bull's tail and then the basin of water. From
time to time he would add to the water substances taken from his
bags, and stir them in with the buffalo tail whisk,his hands or his
walking stick. Whilst he was doing all this, the rest of the bull's
owner's family and the son of the traditional doctor and his daughter*1
had been talking socially.
Eventually the doctor took out medicines in a screw of paper
and gave them to the owner's wife. He instructed her to give this to
her husband and tell him that early in the morning he should go to the
cattle kraal and notice where the bull had slept during the night. Then
he should sprinkle the powder in the paper, starting from the direction
the bull had been sleeping during the night and make a line from its
chest downwards. Then sprinkle the remainder in a cross in the
region of the chest.
Then we all went to the nearby cattle kraal. The doctor told
us to drive the cattle to the East. Then he moved amongst the cattle
with the bowl of medicated water and his buffalo tail, flicking the
medicated water first over the bull, and then the other cattle until
it was finished. As he did this he shouted as he recited the protective
words. Unfortunately I did not manage to obtain a clear recording of
these words as we were all engaged in driving the cattle. which
were thundering around, to the East. but I was told they were similar
to those used for washing the family (i.e. daring anyone to challenge
the protections of this traditional doctor, see above p. 104).
On this particular occasion only the bull was bewitched by
neighbours, and so it was the bull that was washed. On some occaions,
the whole kraal may be seriously bewitched.' The doctor showed me the
bead bracelet and necklace he wears on these occasions to assist him
and increase his power. These are like those beads often bought by
* I The doctor's son had driven us there, and the daughter accompanied
me.
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tourists, and this appears to be one of their original uses. Some
months later I heard the bull was now cured and the cows were pregnant.
On arrival the doctor went to work immediately as it was becoming late in the morning for “washing” i.e. the shadows were shortening. A boy brought a metal basin containing water and the doctor took out from his brief case his bag of bones, his buffalo tail, and various ground up "herbal mixtures" wrapped in separate paper bags. The young boy also brought hair cut from the bull's tail that the doctor twisted into a ring.
He then took the bones into his hands, touched the bull's hair on the ground, then touched the basin of water and the bags and said:
“.. With these medicines I have ground I'm going to cleanse you."
He then threw the bones in this way several times asking permission from the bones to wash the bull with those medicines on that day. He kept repeating:
"1 am going to cleanse you with these medicines that I have mixed. I am going to cleanse you, bull, with these medicines I have mixed. They are very good medicines. I have used a tree called mosiama (a holy tree). Someone who was extremely ill waited until the herbs had grown up, and decided to be cleansed."
Maybe here it means that although the bull had been ill, it had waited i.e. not died, before being cleansed.
"It was even waiting for rain to be cleansed by the Rains.It was stationary like Moshata (the capital)
This probably means about the same, i.e. the bull had not got worse, but had remained the same (stationary). It was stationary and permanent like the capital and so there was no one who could dare to harm it. He then continued:
"Some people say that the only things that bite are ditapana (little lice that live on chickens) but that is not true. Even human beings can bite."
The doctor then explained to the owner's wife that he could see from his bones that the bull was going to stand still and work for its own cattle and no longer roam around.
"The cattle will fill up the kraal immediately. The prostitutes should come." (l.e. The cattle should behave like prostitutes so that the bull could make them pregnant.)
"You'll work with your cattle (i.e. making them pregnant) as tsaka (the prostitute) will come."
The doctor again talked to his bones:
"It's with these bones he's really going to work on his cows."
The above recitations were the words the doctor used whilst throwing the bones a number of times. Before he threw them, each time he touched the bull's tail hair “ring”and then the basin of water. From time to time he would add to the water substances taken from his bags, and stir them in with the buffalo tail whisk, his hands or his walking stick.
Whilst he was doing all this,he rest of the bull's owner's family and the son of the traditional doctor and his daughter had been talking socially.
Eventually the doctor took out medicines in a screw of paper and gave them to the owner's wife. He instructed her to give this to her husband and tell him that early in the morning he should go to the cattle kraal and notice where the bull had slept during the night. Then he should sprinkle the powder from the paper, starting from the direction the bull had been sleeping during the night and make a line from its chest downwards. Then sprinkle the remainder in a cross in the region of the chest.
Then we all went to the nearby cattle kraal. The doctor told us to drive the cattle to the East. Then he moved amongst the cattle with the bowl of medicated water and his buffalo tail, flicking the medicated water first over the bull, and then the other cattle until it was finished. As he did this he shouted as he recited the protective words. Unfortunately I did not manage to obtain a clear recording of these words as we were all engaged in driving the cattle which were thundering around, to the East. However they were similar to those used for washing the family (i.e. daring anyone to challenge the protections of this traditional doctor,)
On this particular occasion only the bull was bewitched by neighbours, and so it was the bull that was “washed”. On some occasions, the whole kraal may be seriously bewitched.' The doctor showed me the bead bracelet and necklace he wears on these occasions to assist him and increase his power. These are like those beads often bought by tourists, and this appears to be one of their original uses.
Some months later I heard the bull was now cured and the cows were all pregnant.
When the “washing” was completed,the cattle were released from the kraal to be watered and to graze.
N.B. the “ring” of the bull’s hair by the curve of the traditional doctor’s stick.
Knocking his hand containing the divining bones against the metal basin containing the medicated water to wash the bull. He checked with the bones that the medicine was correct and would afford protection
Casting the bones to check the medicated water is correct and will protect the bull
The doctor (in blue) “washing” the bewitched bull whilst the rest of us “drove” the Cattle according to his instructions. He shouted the protective incantations as he “washed them.