VOA标准英语2013--South African Traditional Healers Face Increased Competition

 

South African Traditional Healers Face Increased Competition

Traditional healers

Grace Bavumile burns incense¹ to call the ancestors. She recieves several patients a week at her home, some seeking a cure for body pains and others hoping she can bring them luck or a job.

Bavumile has been a traditional healer, or a “sangoma”, for 12 years. When she began practicing there were few sangomas in this city, but now there are several on each street.

"We do have great relationships. Though there are some differences because of the place where we grew up, or different schools. So we are not performing the same," said Bavumile. "We usually talk about difficulties, yes the difficulties of being a sangoma, and so many things. But most of the time where we met, we talk about the field."

It is estimated that South Africa has about 200,000 traditional healers and more than 30 million people seek their counsel.

But in modern times, some fringe elements have tarnished² their reputation. South African authorities say there have been 300 murders in the last 10 years allegedly for body parts to use in traditional potions - known as muti.

Rebuilding reputation

In order to protect their image, sangomas created the Traditional Healer Organization, known as THO. Launched in the 1970s, it does lobbying and also trains and teaches new sangomas on the ethics³ of the job.

These new recruits are learning about physiology⁴, HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases. Program manager Thlakele Shongwe helped create the code of conduct - which he says protects sangomas and their clients. “Yes, it's very important to protect their rights, because traditional healers are not really recognised by communities, by the government itself. So they are victimised, sometimes they are called witches... when in actual fact, we know that traditional healers are very important in the society because that is where we get healing, that is where people get counseling,” explained Shongwe.

Recognizing the cultural importance of sangomas, the government created regulatory guidelines in 2003 in the Traditional Health Practitioners⁵ Bill to protect both the public and the practice. But it has yet to be fully⁶ implemented⁷.

Sangomas also face increasing competition from Western medicine as general health care has been made more accessible to more South Africans in the last 20 years.

Most sangomas are no longer able to earn a living from their practice alone. For 20 year old Rachel - who comes from a family of traditional healers - that could lead to blending traditional healing with Western medicine. “I'm planning to go to school, because I think I'm still young, I won't sit at home and wait for patients. I was thinking of doing a degree in biomedicine," she added. "Because I think it's quite a good combination.”

A recent poll says 70 percent of South Africans still visit sangomas on a regular basis. 

1 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

2 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

3 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

4 physiology   

n.生理学，生理机能

参考例句：

• He bought a book about physiology.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for achievements in physiology.他因生理学方面的建树而被授予诺贝尔奖。

5 practitioners   

n.习艺者，实习者( practitioner的名词复数 )；从业者（尤指医师）

参考例句：

• one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction 最了不起的科幻小说家之一
• The technique is experimental, but the list of its practitioners is growing. 这种技术是试验性的，但是采用它的人正在增加。 来自辞典例句

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句