Prof Mkhize celebrated for his transformative contributions to indigenous African health

THE University of KwaZulu-Natal recently honoured renowned African spiritualist, author and scholar, Prof Bhedlindaba “VVO” Mkhize, one of this year’s 30 top researchers in the institution. 

In a show of affirming the importance of indigenous knowledge systems in South African higher education curricula, UKZN has praised Prof Mkhize (68) for his distinguished peer-reviewed publications written in Zulu and focused mainly on themes pertaining to indigenous African health and religion. 

Mkhize, who is an honorary professor in African Healing, Religion and Ancestral Studies in the School of Religion at UKZN, is the author of close to 20 titles in his long-running popular umsamo book series.

A practicing inyanga (traditional healer), he runs a successful consultancy at Albert Falls in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, also home to Umsamo Africa Institute dedicated to ethnographic research and writing on indigenous African healing and spirituality. 

“Prof Mkhize is one of those academics who have excelled by producing lots of books in his area of traditional medicine, which is a new and unexplored area of knowledge,” said Prof Simangaliso Kumalo, director of the Centre for Constructive Theology at UKZN. 

“He has produced more books than most academics in the university, some who are full-time researchers and have been part of the system for decades.”

Prof Kumalo described Mkhize’s work as fast drawing attention to key aspects of “traditional healing” and holistic health in line with UKZN’s goal to decolonise knowledge in support of African scholarship. 

“This achievement is not just his. It belongs to the broad field of African traditional medicine and must be celebrated by all traditional healers and proponents of African medicine.” 

For over two decades now, South African institutions of higher learning have been debating critical and innovative ways of decolonising their teaching practices in a bid to reflect Africanness, gender justice and a generally-progressive philosophical culture. 

  Since 2008 Mkhize has steadfastly stood out by addressing modern challenges relating to spirituality and culture by challenging Africans to embrace the concerns and needs of their ancestors. 

The first title in his umsamo book series, Umsamo Iziko Lamathongo has been reprinted many times and sold over 10 000 copies. The book introduces the reader to key conceptual, religious and cultural meanings of umsamo in an effort to de-stigmatise black people’s recognition and veneration of their ancestors.

He asserts  that in Zulu cosmology, umsamo comprises four main pillars - umuzi (household), ikhaya (home), iziko (fireplace) and amathongo (ancestors).

An extremely accessible and easygoing personality, this former radio announcer has a popular African spirituality show on Ukhozi FM’s  programme, Ingono Yomsamo hosted by well-known announcer, Dudu Khoza.

On its website, Ukhozi FM claims to be the largest radio station in Africa with its listenership of over 7.9 million. 

Mkhize’s previous popularity as a radio personality has markedly contributed towards making umsamo ancestralism  popular in the search for Africa-centred spirituality in South Africa. 

He grew up as a Catholic and often advises his people that straddling the worlds of the ancestors or amadlozi does not necessarily clash with the original  ethos of the Judeo-Christian faith. Umsamo resides in both the realms of the material and the spiritual. Both subjective and collective, it is concerned with the restoration and maintenance of personal and familial cosmic order.  

Although he was pleasantly surprised, Mkhize has thanked UKZN for recognising what he calls, umsebenzi wethongo/work in service of the ancestors. 

“When I started writing these books on umsamo in 2008, it never occurred to me that at some stage they would be recognised by an institution of higher learning. I was simply responding to an ancestral call and a desire to help re-centre African spirituality and healing in South Africa.

"These books are often passed on to me in dreams, they express the wishes of my ancestors. I am also grateful to my colleagues at UKZN, Prof Simangaliso Kumalo and Associate Prof Herbert Moyo for their generosity and support. Together we are working hard towards enhancing critical research practice that fully respects indigenous knowledge systems, cultures, rituals and beliefs.

"I admire that these two theologians who were both called into the priesthood, are open-minded and welcoming to an Afrocentric spiritual and traditional healing world view. Like true pioneers, they did not wait for universities in the Global North to embrace me before they could do likewise.”

Next year Prof Mkhize will be launching a collection of Zulu poems by the revered late Zulu poet and dramatist, Bethuel Blose “Nonkamfela” Ndelu.

In 1962, Shuter & Shooter published Ndelu’s classic, Mageba Lazihlonza , a dramatised poetic commentary on the 1856 succession battle in the Zulu kingdom between Cetshwayo and Mbuyazi popularly known as Impi Yabantwana. Before Ndelu died he specifically asked Mkhize to take care of his unpublished poetry previously kept safely at the iconic Killie Campbell Africana Library in Durban. 

CAPE TIMES