The use of ditaola (divination bones) among indigenous healers in Sekhukhune District, Limpopo Province : indigenous African healing practices

Abstract

The article serves as a research report on the role of “ditaola” (divination bones) in traditional healing. Twenty-five indigenous healers were selected through purposive sampling and were asked to respond to thirty-five questions that related to the classification, different kinds of falls and the interpretation of divination bones. In addition, the researchers observed the lives of the people through participant observation. The study found that the origin and the naming of divination bones tend to reveal a very close relationship between human beings and the environment. Furthermore, the symbolic names given to the different “ditaola” seemed to make these diagnostic tools more significant in the context of indigenous healing. Unlike Western healing systems, indigenous healing was found to rely heavily on symbols and figurative language.