Steaming in the fringes; healing rituals in Johannesburg

Abstract

Steaming is part of the African traditional health practices, often used on an individual basis to treat natural aliments. In contemporary South Africa, migrants from neighbouring countries members of African Initiated Churches have refashioned steaming in several ways. Steaming huts are erected at the fringes of the city and men and women steam collectively and in its current form is used to treat conditions believed to have spiritual causes. Steaming for spiritual healing can be seen as a local response to the material, social and spiritual needs of African new urban dwellers. The healing needs of participants in the steaming encompass a range of issues such as infertility and various others health-related issues, difficulties in getting married, persistent unemployment and legal problems, among others. Those who practice it believe steaming brings spiritual protection and helps ensure material success. The healing practices that form part of the steaming are rooted in both African and Christian traditions. Steaming with the purpose to achieve spiritual healing involves invoking the intervention of the Holy Spirit to eliminate obstructions to success bringing to fruition the supplicant’s desires and needs. Participants also hold explanations of its effectiveness based on physical mechanism. Steaming allows the body to be cleansed and rid of impurities. Through steaming, the body opens to absorb the medicine selected to treat the cause of the problems participant present to the prophets who lead the practice. This work documents the current form of this practice in the city paying attention to what drives participants as well as how the body is prepared for cleansing, in manners that make visible the blending of African and Christian traditions.