Sangoma
/sɑːŋˈɡoʊmə/noun
A traditional healer and diviner, especially among Nguni-speaking peoples of southern Africa.
Did you know?A sangoma’s calling may involve ukuthwasa, an initiation and apprenticeship understood as communication with ancestral spirits, though practices vary by community.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial era
Proto-Bantu
*ngoma
“A reconstructed Bantu term associated with a drum, drumming, or ritual performance”
Early Bantu languages
Bantu
ngoma
“Drum, dance, or ceremonially significant musical performance”
19th Century
Zulu
isangoma
“Traditional diviner or healer; the initial isi- is a noun-class prefix”
19th–20th Century
English
sangoma
“A borrowed term for a southern African traditional healer or diviner”
Modern English
English
sangoma
“A traditional healer and diviner in southern Africa”