Busisiwe DhlaminiThe healing of Black families and all that is tied to black families is in the details of their stories. We receive stories from our elders about how certain things connect, but there are crucial details that are often left out of these stories.
It’s in the details that we will understand conflicts, feuds and curses. It’s in these details that we see who or what the real enemy is. Sometime it’s not just the person/spirit who is the enemy but also the circumstance they were in. This is not an excuse, but all facts count in making sense of things. We do all kinds of rituals to fix things, but we will be doing that forever if stories continue to be oppressed .
The suppression of details causes us to overlook real questions like: Why & how did someone become umthakathi? Why and how did one become iDlozi elimbi? What happened in their life? What things were they dealt with that resulted in that bitterness? What trauma led them to the dark side? What pain? What stopped this and that from being done? What really happened?
There needs to be more transparency and context in the stories of black families. We need to get comfortable with telling our real stories. We need to open safe spaces for our stories, and to BE safe spaces for these stories to breathe.
The newer generation, in any period, doesn’t JUST get lost. Full stories are not told.
Alot of our medicine and restoration is in the narratives that are buried inside the chests of the ones who were not free to use their voice.
Busisiwe Dhlamini
