- Title
- Three perspectives on ukuthwasa: the view from traditional beliefs, western psychiatry and transpersonal psychology
- Creator
- Booi, Beauty Ntombizanele
- Subject
- Healers -- South Africa
- Subject
- Divination -- South Africa
- Subject
- Schizophrenia -- Social aspects
- Subject
- Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology
- Subject
- Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Date
- 2005
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MA
- Identifier
- vital:2936
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002445
- Identifier
- Healers -- South Africa
- Identifier
- Divination -- South Africa
- Identifier
- Schizophrenia -- Social aspects
- Identifier
- Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology
- Identifier
- Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs
- Description
- Among the Xhosas, the healing sickness called intwaso is interptreted as a call by the ancestors to become a healer. Transpersonalists also see these initiatory illnesses as spiritual crises, while according to the widely accepted Western psychiatric view, illness is purely perceived in physical and psychological terms. A case study was conducted where a single participant who has undergone the process of ukuthwasa and is functioning as a traditional healer was interviewed. A series of interviews were done where information was gathered about significant experiences related to ukuthwasa process. Tapes were transcribed and a case narrative was written and interpreted using the traditional Xhosa beliefs, the western psychiatric and the transpersonal psychology perspectives. Strengths and weaknesses of each perspective were then examined.
- Format
- 94 pages, pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Psychology
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Booi, Beauty Ntombizanele
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCEPDF | 256 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |