Abstract:
The training to become a traditional healer has been under scrutiny because of the
symptoms that are experienced during ancestral calling. Ancestral calling usually
presents itself in the form of a mysterious physical or psychological illness that will not
ordinarily respond to western treatment. The Eurocentric perspective interprets the
symptoms of ancestral calling and the resultant process to become a traditional health
practitioner as a manifestation of some psychological disturbance. The researcher
embarked on a journey with traditional health practitioners to understand their lived
experiences and explored the psychological meanings of Vhavenda ancestral calling
with a view to identifying and documenting the psychological meanings embedded in
this culturally entrenched practice. A qualitative research method located within the
interpretative paradigm was used. A descriptive phenomenological research design
was adopted to explore the lived experiences of traditional health practitioners who
have gone through the process of ancestral calling. Both snowball and purposive
sampling methods were used to recruit 17 participants until saturation was researched
in the findings. The six major themes that emerged are: a) signs of ancestral calling;
b) meaning attached to ancestral calling; c) help-seeking pathway following an
ancestral call; d) responding to the ancestral call; e) roles of the master healer; and f)
post training realities and experiences. The findings of the study revealed that there
are several symptoms that are indicative that one has an ancestral calling. These
symptoms are often misunderstood and misdiagnosed when interpreted from the
Eurocentric perspective. However, accepting the ancestral calling and going through
training is linked with identity formation. The findings also revealed that ancestral
calling is a life-transforming and therapeutic experience and a journey of self realisation
