“In order for the light to shine, it needs to draw power from the darkness.”
I agree with the thrust of this idea. I consider darkness to be an interesting concept and location; for the healthy mind and spirit it is often the starting point in the voyage towards finding light. Sometimes one can linger in what seems to be an endless loop and pit of darkness. Nonetheless, light will be forthcoming if we choose it. Walk with me...
A couple of days ago I found an interesting 90 second clip on Facebook. It appeared to be a panel discussion between spiritually strong African men. It is where I encountered the opening quote and other utterances about light needing darkness to shine ever so bright and eternal.
With conviction, one of the speakers contextualised their argument by proposing that isithunywa “feeds” through sexual intercourse – with intercourse as the darkness and isithunywa as the light that emerges. The speaker uses isithunywa and one’s “gift” or “calling” synonymously.
“This is outrageous,” I thought as I copied the link and shared it with my sister Nina. “What’s this about broski?” she instantly replied. “Nothing but some possible inspiration for my writing,” I said.
In the clip, the other panelists were visibly shocked. They had every right to display outrage because they (with the exception of the speaker) were all dressed in spiritual regalia from amahiya (printed clothes) to beads and head gear – Ba ziZangoma (they are traditional healers).
This tells me that, like me, they hold opposing principles about sex and its favourability in any spiritual practices. Unfortunately, the clip wasn’t long enough for me to hear their rebuttals or the lack thereof.
According to what I know, I suspect the other panelists hold to this inherent knowledge that intercourse is a no-go zone when one is trying to achieve any kind of enlightenment of awakening. I actively know it to be a blocker or severer of the connection between one and one’s spiritual third eye.
Awunobona kwanto ulibele kuxabisa umlalo ... Mathiyane’s (my shaman) words echo in my mind as she explicitly told me that an optimally functioning spiritual eye is not possible when one is pre-occupied with thoughts and feelings about intercourse. She is an incredibly theatrical individual, so I would always laugh when this particular teaching was reiterated. She’d have been mortified at the speaker’s utterances.
At initiation school, it is made clear that intercourse could get you fined by your shaman, or worse, overtly punished by your own ancestors or possibly expelled from initiation. The fine is often payable in cash amounting to a incamazane (goat) or iMeta (a cow) – if you have a sympathetic shaman a chicken will do. There also needs to be a cleansing ritual for your spiritual home and your person – each requires the ritualistic sacrifice of an animal.
These cleansing rituals and fines are observed because the initiate would have made a commitment, yokuZila (to abstain) while praying, fasting and meditating in the attempt to become one with spirit. Spiritual awakenings, trances and visions of a vivid and life-altering nature become possible because of the suspension of intimate energetic exchanges.
Intercourse is then by no means the powering of anything, rather for an initiate it is destructive.
I can imagine what might be going through your minds at this point: “Is Gogo Zipho saying that izangoma or spiritually gifted people are abstinent for life for their third eyes to work?” No, that is not what I am saying, rather I am saying that once someone accepts their calling, they must accept that there will be times when they need to be abstinent for optimal third eye functioning.
At the risk of being regarded as disrespectful for talking about my shamans’ lives in this way, I will draw on them as examples. For my stints in initiation school, I was the sole initiate, intimately living with and learning from my shamans.
They too shared the sacrifice of their intimate lives out of respect for abantu abadala (my ancestors and theirs) and the practice. They observed ukuzila. As fully qualified healers, they understand that they too are not exempt from ukuzila, nor does it mean that they can draw power and strength from its ill observation.
The feminist in me cannot retire my argument without refuting the idea of intercourse as a darkness that can possibly fuel some light. I just can’t accept that. What do you think?
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