Traditional Health Practitioners

Witchcraft is illegal in Zambia. Witchcraft is associated with evil spirits. It is also illegal to accuse someone of witchcraft. However, Traditional Health Practitioners are perfectly legal and in fact 40,000 have been certified and are apart of the THPAZ, Traditional Health Practitioners of Zambia. The four main categories are faith spiritualists, herbalists, diviners, and TBA's (traditional birth attendants). Faith spiritualists are possessed by spirits, speak in tongues and may fall down and go into a trance state. Herbalists frequently receive their knowledge from an older family member such as a grandfather who reveals the way to use plants and herbs for medicinal purposes.There is also knowledge of poisons and plants that can permanently sterilize or injure someone. Diviners have received power and can make predicitons, understand and interpret dreams and may make use of objects such as water or mirrors. A diviner could help you find the keys you lost and could help you understand why you are unable to get a job or find a husband. TBA's deliver babies and also instruct women in hygiene and matters of sexuality. Traditional healers have certain areas of expertise particularly in areas where modern scientific medicine has failed including impotence, infertility, family planning, and psychological illnesses to name a few. Our lecturer was a professed Chrisitan, Presbyterian and the head of the THPAZ. He encouraged us not to demonize traditional healers but admitted there were quacks and cheats and to be careful. Many people wear beads "chibwewe" which he described as similar to immunizations which protect against disease, similarly the beads worn around the waist or neck or over the shoulder protect against bad genes, bad spirits, curses and witchcraft. You might wear something to enhance yourself or your good luck. If you are selling tomatoes you want to draw customers to your stall.  As a Christian our speaker might implore God to come into the beads and thus use the power of the Holy Spirit for protection. Shells and oil are mixed and placed on a baby's fontanelle to give it strength. The smoke from a porcupine quill being burned can stop a bloody nose. Leaves gathered in a certain manner, crushed and drunk from the Muvanga tree can leave a person barren for the rest of their life.
When I asked our speaker how he as a Christian would understand the taboo in Leviticus against cutting the body and tattoos and where scripture condemns divination he acknowledged that he knows divination is wrong and that it is using power only God should have. But "we have all sinned and fall short." Additionally the patients who come to him for help keep him sinning. When they stop coming for help he will stop. He stated there is a great temptation if a large amount of money is given for services. He also shared it is unethical to say no to a patient who asks for your help. Syncretism is defined as "to inconsistently attempt to unify or reconcile differing philosophical or religious schools of thought"