Bush Herbs and Ancestral Prayers

In our healing, we use bush herbs and ancestral prayers together. We don't ever use or give out herbs on their own, they have to be blessed by our ancestors through prayer. Before we cleanse anyone with herbs, we make sure that the herbs have been prayed for, both by us and by the client. Some clients are familiar with prayer, perhaps from a traditional family, but some clients are not familiar or confident with our traditional prayers, so we teach and remind them, so that they can pray deeply in the ways of our spiritual culture.

In our cleanses we only use Zimbabwean traditional herbs; we don't mix with herbs from other countries and cultures. This is not because other herbs are not good, but because we know our cultural herbs well; every culture has its herbal traditions which is good, but we stick to those from Zimbabwe.

Most of the herbs we use come form knowledge and experience passed on through our family. Some we have learned through healers who have worked on our own spiritual lives; this is how we might learn herbs that we may not encounter otherwise. Sometime we also come across certain herbs through dreams or visions and this leads us to research and find these herbs to use also.

The most important part of our cleanse is to help clients to liase, to get closer, with their own spirits, as well as the spirit of their healer, through dreams and visions. Another very important element of a cleanse is to bring clients closer to the spirits of their ancestors. By bringing the spirits of their ancestors closer to the client, it is bringing the guidance and power of the ancestors to their life, opening up opportunities and clear paths, through which they can see the power of their ancestors and Yahweh.

Cleanses are all individual and different, but they are all done according to our traditional values, and they always bring us closer to the guidance of the spirit and ancestors. There are so many different types of trees, for which parts are used as herbs for cleansing the body. Some trees are well known throughout the country and are used widely by healers, these trees have been well recognised for their healing powers. There are also so many herbs which are not so well recognised, they are maybe discovered by a healer, or known to a particular family, or some herbs may only be found in certain areas, so are recognised mostly in that place.

When we pray for herbs for clients, we start by praying to our own tribe, as the healers, then we pass the prayer to the father's tribe of the client, then the prayer passes to the mother's tribe of the client. Then the prayer passes to the grandmother's side of the father's tribe and then the grandmother's side on the mother's side of the family. This will bring all four tribes to gather around the prayer of the client, then once we tell the prayer to the four tribes of the client, we tell the prayer to the Lion spirits, or the prophets of Zimbabwe. By sending the prayer to the Lion spirits, we are getting the clients life to be discovered by the prophets. Most Zimbabweans are not mentioning the names or praying to the Lion spirits, the prophets of Zimbabwe, in thier prayers.

In Zimbabwean traditional culture, the Lion spirits were the creators of the tribe, the first powerful ancestors who chose the animal or totem to represent their tribe. In our healing, we believe that every African client who comes to us, has a tribe, but here we stay with the example of our Zimbabwean culture. It means that every client has a way to pray to their tribes, that will get them to reach the beginners of their tribe, the Lion spirits. This prayer will begin from the most recent ancestors, going all the way back to the first and oldest. When we tell the prayer to the Lion spirits, we call their names, so that the client will be listening and learning at the same time. Sometimes when we pray, some clients don't listen well to the prayers and names that we call upon, yet it is good for them to listen as they will benefit from continuing this church that we do, when they return to their daily lives.

When we say Lion spirits, we mean for example, prophets such as, Chaminuka; Nehanda; Gwangwadza; Tsenge; Chimbhikiza; BirinaGanyire etc. These are examples of the names we call upon in our prayers for clients, and it is good for clients to learn to include these Lion spirits, it is good to be blessed by these top spirits of Zimbabwe. In Zimbabwean tradition, we believe that it is the Lion spirits who give strength and power to the younger ancestors, as they have known the soil and life of Zimbabwe for the longest time, since before white people came to Africa.

When the prayer has gone to the Lion spirits, we finish by sending the prayer to Yahweh. We ask Yahweh, the father of creation, to take over and look after us and the things we have prayed for. After this long prayer, this is when we take the herbs and cleanse the person, or it could also be a herb that they are to go and eat. We believe that after doing the cleanse with the herbs and the prayers we have done, the client should see things changing for the better through their dreams, visions and in their lives. The changes we talk about dont always happen quickly. When working with spirits, you need to have a lot of patience and humility. Everything that you heal naturally in your body, and through ancestors requires patience and humility, as ancestors are also natural, and they work in natural ways.

When clients have new dreams, we advise them to share them with us so we can discuss and assist them on how to answer the dreams. Ancestors and spirits are not visible so we meet them most easily through dreams, visions and also through possessing by a spirit. Dreams that come from ancestors are normally like parables and proverbs, yet sometimes they can also be very direct depending on the situation. The dreams also bring an answer as to whether the cleanse was good or bad, whether it was successful or not. Sometimes this is soon after doing the cleanse, or it can take longer; this often depends on whether a person is good at receiving and being aware of their dreams, to see the answers and meanings that are shown to them. The ancestral dreams of the client should always give a clear answer, even if the client has judgements towards the healer. The ancestors will always tell the truth towards the situation, but sometimes we, as people, dont understand what we are shown and blame the misunderstanding on the ancestors, but we only need to work and develop our understanding with patience and a good heart.

In our healing, we believe that if the body of the client is not healthy, it will affect their cleanse that we do externally. We advise that it is good to work on both aspects, external cleansing and the health of the body. If there is a problem with the tissue of the body, we may give them herbs to eat, a course of food and dietry program plus we get them to drink plenty of clean water. Most Zimbabwean clients seem less happy with dietry programs of eating natural foods, but if they want to face Yahweh, it is good to go back to eating natural foods, to have a chance to heal the body. In our healing, we believe that a person with a spirit is supposed to be fit, like an athletic person, not to be walking too much like an old person and putting too much imagination into the way they carry themselves. We believe that when you are praying to ancestors, you have guidance from the ancestors, who want to see you healthy, to walk fit like a young person, no matter how old you are. In our experience, most of our Zimbabwean clients want the prayer to work whilst they are seated there, they do not expect to go and work on healing themselves as well, through health and spiritual practices.

To help the prayer to work, you should also be looking at your lifestyle and the things that you are putting into your body, will they help to keep you healthy and fit in the future, or are they even doing more damage than the problem you are trying to fix? Because these days many clients are working in workplaces, where they don't have the chance to walk around, keeping fit and active, but spend most time seated, we advise them that they should find ways to be active, do exercise and stretch, drink enough clean water, as well as to eat naturally sometimes. Some clients expect the herbs to work on their illness, whilst they are eating a lot of unhealthy food, including meat, oil and sugar at home. Our advice is that when you are eating the couse of herbs, it should go together with eating natural food. This will help the herbs to be effective. A natural healing cure may take some time, but once it has healed it is lasting and effective.

Sometimes clients come for healing with problems in their own bodies, but believe the problem has come through someone elses causing. Often they have been told by other fake healers or by some apostolic faith followers, that another person is using witch craft against them. Our advice to that person is to eat proper herbs, proper healthy food and water, plus maintaining a healthy lifestyle, exercises and stretches. They should see their body changing by itself, without fear from another person. It is true that there are bad people, and those who would put evil on others, but they will never conquer the power of nature, good ancestors and Yahweh, the father of creation. We believe that every prayer we do should conquer the power of wicked ones, since we call upon all the good in our prayers, to come along with us. In our prayers, we don't deal with politricks, we work for good ancestors from all tribes, and for Yahweh.

We believe that praying to ancestors is a whole life commitment. It shouldn't be something that you do for a short while, hoping for your things to work out. It is like bring up a child, something which you will do forever, looking after your own spiritual life and helping it grow and develop. By saying this, we mean that everything shouldn't be solved by one prayer. In another way, to be in the spiritual world, you have to be reborn again and commit to the ways of the spiritual and natural world. We don't look to science and doctors to solve all our issues, we deal with them through nature and the spirit. We don't mean you shouldn't live your town life, but you should create balance by living equally, both a modern and natural life.

In our Zimbabwean traditions, the town life of a client is led by water spirits, that is where we divide the prayer. We believe that in the seas and oceans that surround the nation, there are white ancestors, who come to link with our black ancestors. The prayers towards the white ancestors are not so long, because they don't mention too many names; these prayers are directed just to the white spirit that is moving with that person. That white spirit will make you dream more about your town life, as the scientific modern world was brought by white people and their ancestors. We believe that the white spirit gives you strength towards your modern life and the things you are doing, but don't forget to create the balance by honouring your ancestors, your tribe. We believe that, despite how powerful your white spirit is, before you were born, you were already chosen by a black ancestor and are reborn to a black ancestor. You will realise that some of the things that a white ancestor likes are not the same things that a black ancestor likes, but it is your job to create a balance, as you know, both spirits came for you in your life.