Traditional Healers and Childhood in Zimbabwe

by Pamela Reynolds

Reynolds (social anthropology, U. of Cape Town) focuses on children as clients of healers and as healers in training among the Zezuru, examining the use of medicinal plants, dreams, and ritual in healing practices, and traditional Zezuru concepts of illness, trauma, and evil. She explains the role of healers and healing during the War of Liberation in Zimbabwe, and documents the effects of the war on children. Numerous appendices offer statistics, and personal and press accounts of the war. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

South African anthropologist

Reviews

[Anne Lutomia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reynolds uses her ethnographic expertise to capture narratives of the role and perceptions of children in traditional healing in Zimbabwe as well as Zezuru notions of trauma, evil, evil and death. She traces the healing role of children in traditional folklore and belief system, during the war for independence and contemporary Zimbabwe. An interesting section of this book is the outline of how healers and children acquire knowledge from healers through spiritual guidance and informal learning - working closely with healers, observing, practicing what they see and listening. The children master the medicinal uses of plants, meanings of dreams are revealed and observe ritual healing practices. Among the Zezuru who she studied children are understood and considered to be pure and therefore suitable in performing or participating in healing practices. As a scholar of informal learning, I posit that this book offered a robust understanding of how Zezuru traditional healers learners attain cosmological and technological knowledge. Must read for those interested in indigenous knowledge and traditional healing.