Cultural Artifacts and the Oracular Trance States of the Sangoma in South Africa Part 1: Dress Code of the Sangoma he dress code of a Sangoma highlights the importance of his/her relationship with the ancestors. Although the dress code is determined by the symbols of the colors, in South Africa there is no fixed list of equipment or specific dress code for shamans. While there is great variety within the dress code, one characteristic element of the dress code of many Sangomas is the wearing of a goat's gallbladder that is tied into the hair at the back of the head. This gallbladder comes from the goat that was slaughtered at the time of a Sangoma’s graduation, and it is said to "call the ancestors."18 In most cases, a cluster of goat horns and bead containers filled with an assortment of herbs and medicines is worn around the neck, shoulders, and body. A cow-tail whisk and a stick are other typical elements of the shaman's regalia. The Sangoma's whisk, which signifies dignity, is used during dancing and is also used to sprinkle certain medicines.19 The Sangoma may wear strips of goatskin taken from the initiation goat as straps that crisscross his/her chest.20 Daniel Baloyi wears such apparel, visible in the three photos, but the gallbladder that he originally tied to his wig has disintegrated over the years. CONTINUE
				18. Thorpe, African Traditional Religions; Max Kohler, The Izangoma Diviners (Pretoria: Government Printers, 1941); Axel-Ivan Berglund, Zulu Thought-Patterns and Symbolism (London: Hurst, 1976). 19. Berglund, Zulu Thought-Patterns. 20. Lydia P. Makhubu, The Traditional Healer (Mbabane: University of Botswana and Swaziland, 1978), p. 31.
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