South African indigenous healing terms and symbolism clearly explained here.
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According to indigenous belief the creator Umvelinqangi, `appointed the ancestors (the amaDlozi) to be the protectors and helpers of the living...and...from the beginning of time they had doctors (izangoma)...who were the appointed teachers of the people.'
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umsamo :
This is the far end of a traditional hut, opposite the doorway, where members of a family communicate with their ancestors.
umsebenzi :
This is a traditional ceremony which enables the family to commune with the ancestors.
diviners (amagqira) and herbalists (amaxhwele)
ancestors (amathonga)
an ancestor (ithongo)
umzi (homestead)
umbhaco: graduation cap, made of wild animal skin
amagqira, igqira initiation is called `the course through the white'.
amagqirha (graduated sangomas) and
their students (abakhwetha)
diviners (ama-gqira)
xhosa word for dreams (amathongo, amaphupha)
Spiritual healers (Abathandazi).
the hidden prsences - Qamata
Sangomas dial up the ancestors by ''throwing bones'' in a ritual known as amathambo.
ancestral spirits (Amadlozi)
a healer (Inyanga)
inyanga - herbalist or traditional doctor
medicine-men (izinyanga)
medicines - imithi
ababelekisi - traditional birth attendants
ingcibi - traditional surgeon
an inyanga is someone who is using medicine without being directly influenced by an iDlozi.
Quote,`the Zulu never actually worshiped their ancestors...the Zulu revered and respected their ancestors'.
Quote,`unlike the Supreme Being, human ancestors are not adored in African societies'.
Another feature of the ancestral-spirits, that their communication takes the form of significant dreams.
The ancestors are always in me. When I think, they are there in my mind, so whatever I will be thinking, even if they (the ancestors) do not come in a dream, they can just make me think what I will do.
iDlozi (ancestral-spirit guide)
guiding ancestral-spirit (iDlozi)
operative ancestral-spirits (amaDlozi)
amahlolozi [ancestral spirits]
Diviner MaKhomo Luthuli from Ndwedwe indicated that much of her regalia (wig, cloth-wraps and beadwork) was worn, "because it is the style of the (my) grandparents (ancestors)... (wearing) it is respecting..because they are with me...I must wear what they wore!" She connected the concept of isithunzi with respect, "yes you must have isithunzi (as a diviner) ...if I do not wear my regalia for even a week I become powerless...that is because I am failing to respect them (the amaDlozi)." She wears permanent beads in her own lengthened hair, over which for consultations she places a full diviners wig, "So as to be always reminded I am an isangoma..working for them (the ancestors)." Luthuli is possessed by her paternal grandfather's iDlozi but she speaks of the ancestors as if they were a group, calling them respectfully the amaKhosi (kings), she also refers to the position of God , "He is the great one (uNkulunkulu) even when I ask my ancestors (regarding matters of importance) they (in turn) ask God." The isithunzi of a diviner and that of her ancestors is, "Combined ...even if going somewhere my behavior shows that of my amaDlozi." She is accorded respect because her isithunzi can be felt, because she is, "...as an isangoma not an ordinary person...."
isithunzi (dignity and power)
character or`moral weight' (isithunzi)
respect (ukuhlonipha)
Dignity and presence (isithunzi) so characteristic of a diviner.
Diviners are the mediums and servants of the amaDlozi and thus their dignity and presence reflects that of their `masters'.
A certain respect is required from those who come into contact with diviners as they are the servants of the ancestral-spirits.
rites of respect (hlonipha)
the ancestral-spirits act as guardians of custom (amasiko)
In traditional thinking those who had `passed on' lived in a world underneath this one, described as abaphansi.
Fortune (inhlanhla) comes from abiding by customary behavior and ritual, thereby invoking ancestral blessing.
Misfortune (isinyama) is seen as a state of being out of harmony with life, usually because of some misbehavior or neglect of customary rituals or by other peoples' witchcraft and ill-intent (umthakathi).
Water (as in water itself) brings clarity to the diviner, the man of the shades.
the shades (ancestral-spirits)
umsebenzi, ...deep, deep talking with the amaDlozi
Diviners' (sangoma): possessed or possessors of `spirits' (amadlozi); initiated; belong to mutual support groups (mpande, or `roots') where they are trained and initiated.
A healer's power is not determined by the number of medicinal tree barks he knows, but by his ability to apply his understanding of the intricate relations between all things for the good of the patient and the whole community.
Diviners look for disturbing events in the past that would cause or continue to cause misfortune, if left untreated.
There has been a historically tense relationship between diviners (and thereby indigenous religion), colonial law and Christianity.
Christian missionaries regarded diviners as pagans possessed by demonic-spirits rather than as mediums to their ancestral-spirits.
Faith healers (amaprofeti): Generally Christian, heal by prayer and ritual; belong to churches; practice alone.
`Herbalists': Practice as business; not possessed; learn trade from parents or other kin.
dreams (amathongo, amaphupha)
medicines (amayeza, imithi)
diviners (amagqirha) and herbalists (amaxhwele)
diviner-healers (igqirha -sing/amagqirha- pl ).
ancestral spirits (iminyanya, amathongo)
traditional rituals (amasiko)
lidlotis (ancestral spirits that at times possess a sangoma)
lidloti (ancestral spirits)
sangoma (spiritual healer)
in most cases inyanga are told through dreams (from their ancestors) which medicine he/she should use for different diseases.
Xhosa diviner (igqirha lokuvumisa)
ancestors (iminyanya)
visions (imibono)
sacred animals (izilo)
healing powers (ubugqirha)
ityala or spirit animal
During the 19th century the diviner's institution in South Africa comprised numerous types of specialised personnel, some of which included the war doctor (itola), the rainmaker (igqirha lemvula), the witch-finder or "smeller' (igqirha elinukayo) etc. Today some are obsolete such as the ventriloquist diviner.
ngoma (cults of affliction)
diviner (known to Natives as inyanga yoku bula, isanusi or isangoma) or as a rain doctor or lightening doctor
an abaLozi (clair audient) or `whistling diviner'
Traditional religion's positive agents (the diviners) and the negative forces ( the witches or umthakathi) along with all traditional medicines or imithi (the latter considered neutral substances and used by diviners, medicine-men and witches, each to their own purposes).
No African would ever confuse these two personages : the 'doctor' is inyanga (mganga, sing'anga), the witch mchawi, or mfiti, or umtagati.
umthakathi :
Is a person who practices witchcraft.
Abathakathi - sorcerers.
umfufunyane : An evil spirit.
divination by bones (ukubhula)
There are various types of diviner's, differing according to the type of possession by their spirits, thus there are the whistling diviner's (abelosi), seers (ubebuka) and finally
bone-throwers (esibhula ngamathambo).
But the Zulu word inyanga, like our 'doctor,' covers a variety of meanings; properly it denotes a person skilled in any art or knowledge: a blacksmith, for instance, is inyanga yensimbi, "a doctor of iron." So the inyanga may be either a diviner or a herbalist, or both at the same time; possibly, also, a seer or prophet.
Of his divination for sickness he says, "a person will come over here for assistance and I'll tell the person that he suffers from this or that (illness/problem) without using bones for divining or exorcising. I simply tell a person that, "you have such and such a problem."
divination (imvumisa) and training in herbal treatment (impatho)
medicines (amayeza)
Imithi yesiXhosa - Plants for Health, Life and Spirit in Africa.
Amayeza esiXhosa stores - equivalent to the more widely known muthi stores found in Kwazulu-Natal.
ukugxotha:
The burning of plant material in a similar way as incense with the purpose of expelling evil spirits; the equivalent of `smudging'.
imbiza :
A term used for enemas taken to cleanse the body.
Can also refer to blood purifying decoctions.
Umkhwangu :
Powders known as `umkhwangu' are used as snuff for headaches.
Isichonco :
Cold or warm water vegetal infusions used to wash with, to drive away evil spirits and promote good luck, e.g., umhlonyane, (Artemisia afra).
Ama-khubalo (Charms) :
Wood medicines such as roots or barks often worn around the neck and nibbled on. These muti are used for self-fortification and to ward off evil spirits, e.g., Alepidea amatymbica. This plant can also be used for lung conditions, such as bronchitis, by drinking a decoction. This term also means compounded medicines prepared only by professional practitioners and prescribed by them (Ngubane 1977).
IMITHI (The herbs).
IZIFO (Ailments).
IMITHI ETHOLAKALA EZITSHALWENI (Active principles).
Umuthi wokuphuza (Infusion or Tea).
Umuthi wokuphalaza (Emetic).
Umuthi wokuthoba (Poultice).
Amafutha (Ointment).
Ukugquma (Sauna).
Ukuxubha (mouthwash).
herbs :
Mbangandlala (u) - Nerve tonic.
Mkhuhlu (u) - Blood tonic.
Nhluthe (i) - Mushroom used with umafumbuka for tumours.
Thethe (i) - Blood tonic.
Herbal remedies can be prepared in many different ways.
The main methods are :-
mpuphu (powdered muti)
ncinda (tasting the muti - often performed ritualistically to treat mysterious allergies and epilepsy, chorea, apoplexy, etc)
ukuchatha (enema or colonic absorption - can be used to relieve constipation and for cleansing of the lower bowel, also employed in cases of inflammation of the organs of the pelvic cavity and for the spinal column)
wokuphalaza (emetics - can be used to induce vomiting)
Mgaba (cutaneous implantation - small incisions are made with a sharpened knife or razor blade. The muti is then brushed over the cuts to introduce it rapidly into the blood.)
gquma (inhalations and facial sauna)
geza (external applications)
izituobo (similar to poultices or herbal compresses)
bema (snuff - the process of sniffing powdered muti up the nostrils)
Traditionally the Zulu believe that a human being is comprised of two parts, the body (umZimba) and the spirit (iDlozi). During life these form a unity but on death the iDlozi survives.
A Sangoma's model of the body
Shadow - (Seriti)
Spirit - (Moya)
Body - (Mmele)
Blood - (Madzi)
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Initiation :
kutwasa (initiation)
ukuthwasa (literally, `to blossom')
In particular, Setiloane (2000:27) mentions that, “Go thwasa, properly understood, means `to blossom', `to come to blossom' like a flower, `to come into being' like a year or month, or `to appear into view' like the sun or moon.”
Ukuthwasa refers to the process of emerging as a diviner.
Traditional song and dance are also key elements in the initiation of the novice and in the professional practice of the diviner.
Novices sing and dance after ingesting ubulawu and this is a regular feature of the initiation period. Part of the treatment of a novice diviner is the performance of the thwasa dance (xhentsa).
The trainee iTwasa who dances and dreams to `strengthen' him/herself to become a diviner.
thwasa - to serve as an apprentice
a trainee or iTwasa
neophyte - uthwasa
diviner candidate - umkhwetha
A condition called intwaso, a technical term derived from the verb ukuthwasa which refers to the process of gradually becoming or emerging as a diviner, involving various symptoms which do not necessarily refer to disease or illness as defined in western medical science.
A trouble or inkathazo, which has numerous disruptive symptoms.The process and state are associated with characteristic signs (iimphawu, imihola, izimbo
umbilini), which corresponds to anxiety in our culture, and ukuxozula (fainting fits) which often occurs in the social or interpersonal context and which is not analogous to epilepsy.
Zulu sangoma tend to see possession by alien spirits as evidence of abnormalities and a sign of madness deserving psychotherapy, while spirit patronage by direct lineal ancestors is seen as a legitimate ancestral call - ukuthwasa (Jansen 1992:98). This means that the Nguni differentiate between spirit affliction and spirit possession.
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Specialists :
The practitioners of traditional medicine specialize in particular areas of their profession, in the same way as orthodox medical practitioners. Thus we find some traditional medical practitioners who are experts in the use of herbs (herbalist), others who are proficient in spiritual healing, especially the use of incantations, while still others combine both. There are also traditional bonesetters and birth attendants. In some African societies, one type of healer provides several or all therapeutic services, whereas others have separate practitioners for different functions.
The magical inclination of African traditional medicine takes nothing away from the fact that many healers are experienced and skilled in biomedical components of their profession. They have an array of biomedical methods at their disposal, ranging from fasting and dieting to herbal therapies and from bathing and massage to surgical procedures.
African healing is an inextricable part of African religion and the act of healing is therefore a religious act. When an African patient is taking a herbal infusion, he expects to benefit from the life force of its ingredients and from the power of his ancestors or any other spirits which may have been invoked. This spiritual significance is more important than the bioactive properties of the remedy.
There is an entrenched historical bias towards Western/allopathic health care that has a long history. The government of the new dispensation has committed itself to the involvement of traditional healers in official health care services. This includes the several types of traditional health care practitioners who can be broadly categorised as diviners, herbalists, faith healers and traditional birth attendants. These practitioners are separated by the methods that they use to diagnose and treat their patients. They also employ a number of different traditional formularies.
Zulu traditional medicines (muthi) have changed very little over the ages. The administrators of these traditions have various roles in the Zulu society. They are the inyanga or herbalist who is concerned with medicines made from plants and animals, the isangoma who makes contact with the ancestral spirits and prescribes medicine according to their dictates and the isanusi who is a diviner capable of "smelling out" sorcerers and other evil-doers. Both the inyanga and isangoma must acquire their knowledge through a long apprenticeship, the isangoma however, must have been sacredly called to their profession, and have little choice when called. In modern society the status of these medicine men or woman has been translated into wealth. Most izinyanga (plural of inyanga) in urban areas have shops in which they have consulting rooms and from which they sell their medicines.
Tribal doctors use three main methods of diagnosis:
1. Throwing of Bones
Amathambo or the throwing of bones is the ability to consciously interpret though images or symbols produced by the arrangement or the bones that have been thrown, and apply them to the health of the patient. There is no direct perception from the consultant to the doctor.
2. Transmental Diagnosis
In this method, the Sangoma goes into a trance to determine what is ailing the patient. This is simply an altered state of consciousness brought about by drugs, plants or in many cases self induced, as with autohypnosis.
3. Perceptive Diagnosis
This form of diagnosis implies the ability to see or feel and interpret the various vibrations emitted by the patient (almost like an aura). The doctor sits a few feet away from the patient and, without having to exchange words, he or she will physically perceive the pain actually experienced by the patient.
All tribal doctors have developed their unique methods of diagnosis and act intuitively. They seldom touch their patients to find the troubled part. To explain the phenomenon of those who have perceptive power is beyond rational understanding. It is an inborn gift which many Sangomas have inherited. These powers are called imimoya nayambibi.
Further information on the cultural differences in divinatory practices is supplied by Hammond-Tooke (1989). He explains that "A broad distinction can be made in South Africa between the divinatory practices of the Nguni, among whom the diviner is a spirit medium who diagnoses the provenance of illness and misfortune through the assistance of the ancestors, and the Sotho, Tsonga and Venda, among whom the use of the divining dice is the favoured method" (Hammond-Tooke 1989:105). Jansen (1992) however, states that the Zulu rely heavily on bone-throwing. This practice is said to have been borrowed from the non-Nguni by the Zulu (Hammond-Tooke 1998).
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Oral Tradition :
The Sangoma tradition is almost exclusively passed on orally and can therefore pose a challenge to those who learn by intellect.
The rites of passage are not easy to explain or experience intellectually.
Phase 1
Amanz' Amnyama (Black Waters - Identity through Mother).
Phase 2
Amanz Amhlophe (White Waters - Identity through Father).
Phase 3
Amandawo Amanzi (River Rite - Cleansing the Mother).
Phase 4
Amandiki Olwandle (Ocean Rite - Cleansing the Father).
Phase 5
Ukuvuma (Accepting Spirit Rite).
[To “accept the call”.
Accepting the call (ukuvuma), according to Berglund, includes a sometimes lengthy period of dreams, visions, pain, and time alone away from people all of which result in exhaustion and sickness.
Dreams and visions during ukuvuma almost always involve snakes.]
[It is this ukuvuma that first places a person in the community as a novice and which ultimately, for diviners, represents the most important moment in becoming a diviner. After ukuvuma the novice then chooses a tutor for training. The training involves two parts: 1) restoration of health of the novice and 2) imparting knowledge to the novice.When the training is finished the final initiation (ukuthwasiswa) takes place. The tutor and novice together mark the `coming out' of the novice as a full-fledged diviner with a place in the community as such.]
Phase 6
Ukuhlanganiswa (Mother Father Union Rite)
Phase 7
Ukukhungwa (Welcoming Rite)
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Snake Symbolism :
Traditionally the ancestral-spirits took on the form of snakes. An all-green grass snake known as inyandezulu was said to be the form that Zulu royalty took after death, while a bright green snake, spotted with black and known as umhlwazi, was the form commoners took. Old women were thought to come back in the form of lizards (umabibini).
Some Zulu, even those in the mid 19th century, regard the depiction of the ancestors as snakes as somehow absurd, Reverend Calloway's informant had an interesting debate,"....we do not understand why Umvelinqangi said "the Idhlosi is a snake." For a man dies having no tail; and even we in that respect do not believe in a snake; for a man is asleep, and he dreams of a snake, he awakens immediately and starts; but if he dreams of a dead man, he speaks with him of affairs in a dream; but if he dreams of a snake, he does not talk to it; he starts. For my part, I say there are no Amadhlozi with tails. And we say Umvelinqangi made a mistake when he said, "People are snakes."From Berglund's study of Zulu cosmology it would appear that this informant was not party to the experiential knowledge of Zulu diviners. Snakes stand as symbols of the amaDlozi where they function as creative and healing forces (in this they are irrevocably linked with the high-god uMelingqangi ).
That snakes slough their skins and form new ones is taken as symbolic of the ability of the creative spirits to aid transformation or `rebirth'. A Zulu trainee diviner will in a lucid dream-like state`enter' a pool of water where the creator-snake resides, there to be initiated into healing, `coming back' out of the pool with his/her body smeared in white clay and carrying medicines. (Click here for further details on the river myth.)
The creator god uMvelingqangi, The Lord of the Sky.
uMvelingqangi is normally only contacted through the ancestral-spirits but in times of dire need, like drought and barreness (of land and women) the creator may be approached in supplication (usually on mountains). It is difficult to assess the impact of the Judeo-Christian God, as `God the Father' has become synonymous with uMvelingqangi.
The position of God , "He is the great one (uNkulunkulu)."
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Trance :
Altered states of consciousness are an indispensable adjunct to divining in South Africa. The recourse to trance seems to be commonplace among Southern African diviners who use dance, music or psychoactive substances to induce ASC, see Lambrecht (1998). South African researchers have not explored trance elicitors in the diviners healing practices very thoroughly. One aspect of traditional Southern African healing that is currently being investigated is the importance and use of psychoactive plants in inducing ASC in South African diviners. It is suggested that, like true shamans, Southern African diviners use visionary plants to induce ASC which are used for various spiritual purposes e.g., to gain healing knowledge or insight reportedly from the ancestral spirits (Amadlozi). Significant physiological changes accompany trance states see L.A. Oliver's: a comparative psychological study between the Dingaka tsa malopo mediums.
"During divination, a gentle trance state is induced, and the ancestors "speak" to the Sangoma in a soft voice".
Sometimes they use various herbal medicines to help enhance the experience such as snuff, or other dried plants.
Sangomas have a few different methods they use to go into trances depending on what they wish to accomplish while in the trance state. If they want the ancestors to speak through them, they use dancing to go into the trance state. During this time the ancestors can tell a number of different things - the future, revealing hidden agendas, interpreting puzzling dreams, or finding objects that have gotten lost. During lucid dreams the sangoma may get indications of particular medical plants to be used on their patient, who is going to visit him the next day.
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Artists & Ancestors :
Many Zulu artists, (like most Zulu lay-persons) still believe in the existence of their ancestral-spirits (even if they are nominal Christians) and this original belief was an experience of the efficacy of the ancestors. The amaDlozi choose a descendant to express through, traditionally such a chosen person is called to become a diviner but very often such a chosen person is told to carve or paint. It is said that an iDlozi chooses his/her most favored descendant to become a diviner or artist(thus often the spirit-guide of a diviner/artist is a grandparent who favored the child in life). It is considered that a talent (any talent but in this case an artistic one) is a "gift from the ancestors". Most present-day Zulu readily acknowledge such a gift as coming from God but it is mediated via the ancestors. As in the case of diviners, the call is often marked by a period of extreme disorientation (nervous breakdown) although there are many artists who were simply `chosen from birth' in a family of artists. For many artists it is the actual process of carving or painting which expatiates their confused state of mind and acts to `cure' them (similar to the trainee iTwasa who dances and dreams to `strengthen' him/herself to become a diviner.) The final recognition of an artist as a man/woman of talent is the purchase or demand for his/her work and this can be equated to the diviner's `coming-out' rite.
Another typically Zulu idea, no one `thinks-up' something unique and original, he/she is inspired to do so by an iDlozi. It is as if the "muse" or "daimon" (gods who inspired and possessed artists and poets in classical Greece) are there in Zulu thinking, except that in Africa they are not gods but ancestors. To reiterate, artistic expression is almost always attributed to the ancestors in Zulu thinking, while Christian Zulu attribute the gift as coming from God. A Zulu will comment on talent, "your amaDlozi loves you," this is especially so if you are financially successful. Many artists indicate that their neighbours become jealous and work witchcraft against them at these signs of ancestral blessing, ironically diviners also report that other less successful diviners are jealous and place medicines on them so as to bring them bad fortune.
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Color Symbolism :
When asked about the beads in her hair and wig, she said that,"... white is symbolic of the grandparents (ancestors)..each time I consult I must wear this (full wig)..." she also explained that white was a healing color as one wanted "lightness (in order to heal)." The red, blue and green beads decorating her hair indicated the various phases of her training as a diviner.
Further a black cloth skirt, often worn by mature or respected sangomas is associated by some informants with the wearers' status as a married woman, thereby acting as a cloth substitute for the isidwaba. The latter denotes marriage, social acceptance and the acknowledgement of a patrilineal heritage of amadlozi, access to which is essential to many isangoma. In therefore wearing black, the isangoma is able to convey either an extant or desired reality, which may in fact be unattainable, given economic or social constraints.
Berglund refers to a square piece of black cloth, the ingubo yamadlozi or 'cloth of the shades', used by some diviners to cover the shoulders when divining or which can be used to cover the knees 'to cast a shadow'. It can also be used by male diviners as a mat on which to throw the bones.
The uthwasa also commonly wears a plain red cloth wrap or skirt. The red here is associated with her/his expected regressive status as a 'child' requiring instruction, and in this resembling the blood cloth (ihluhle), which ultimately develops into the fetus in the womb. Red is by some however also supposed to symbolize 'the evil of the mamtsotsi bird', which is in turn neutralized by white beads or any white part of the sangoma's clothing (Tyrrell 1971: 94). In the above cloth has in fact embraced a concept which previously had no designated expression in dress. It is also significant that red and white (and often other colors) also appear in the sangoma headdress, with similar connotations.
Red and white are further associated with the rites of passage of the uthwasa who will wear either red ochre and/or white medicinal clay on her face, neck and shoulders, which areas are said to be most accessible to the shades, or as the most spiritual and therefore requiring protection (Berglund 1976 and Tyrrell 1971: 42). The white medicinal clay the uthwasa must ostensibly (or symbolically) collect at the bottom of a river from the idlozi snake (Tyrrell 1971: 89) also betokens bravery and power which can counter the negative impact of red (and other evil), and is equal in strength to its opposite. Ngubane further indicates that the white clay of the neophyte (just as mother's milk) represents 'excessive goodness or excessive power which is abnormal' and therefore accesses similar power in the wearer of clay or cloth with white (Ngubane 1977: 96).
The use of white clay may indicate the liminal nature of the igqirha herself in the process of divination, as she moves between the realm of the ancestors and the realm of the living in her experience of particular events.
In many Xhosa-speaking communities, white is associated with the ancestors, and white clay is used to paint the bodies of male initiates (abakhwetha) in the initiation schools.
White as a color of the spiritual realm is markedly different from the red ocher favored throughout the region as a body cosmetic. Similarly, the white feathers-though from a bird species that has not yet been identified by scholars-would symbolize the diviner's powers of seeing.
white (umhlope)
light (ukukhanya)
For further information on color symbolism, click here.
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