Jungs Breath-body and African Spiritual Healing

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Jung’s Breath-Body and African Spiritual Healing

Stephen D. EdwardsDavid J. Edwards

University of Zululand

Address correspondence to: Stephen D. Edwards, Ph.D, D.Ed.,Emeritus Professor and Research Fellow, Department of

Psychology, University of Zululand, Private Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa, 3886. E-mail: [email protected] Breath-Body and African Spiritual Healing

311-318Psychology essentially refers to the study and use (logos) of the breath, soul or spirit of life (psyche) that leaves a

person at death and continues in some other form. From such a fundamental perspective, all forms of ancient and

modern caring, helping and healing have their foundations in breath-based behaviour, experiences and spirituality. This

article examines Jung’s image of the breath-body or spirit-body in relation to various spiritual healing traditions with

special focus on their source in African spiritual healing.

Keywords. Jung, breath-body, spirit-body, spirituality, African spiritual healing.

Introduction

Jung had deep insight into the prevailing European, mate-rialistic and natural scientific zeitgeist, which had broughtabout great splits in the individual and collective Western psy-che. In striving for balance, harmony and healing, he pio-neered the reintroduction of ancient African and Easternwisdom into the Western world.

Jung insisted that the psyche is antecedent and a precon-dition for that phenomenon now called mankind (Brooke,1991:59). The psychological moment in time for this realiza-tion occurred during his visit to Africa and culminated in hisexperiences of dawn on Mount Elgin in Kenya where theworld appeared as a shining temple (Brooke, 1991; Burleson,2005). An Elgonyi elder had described and demonstrated anancient ritual ceremony of going out of the hut in the morning,spitting and blowing vigorously on the hands before holdingthem up to the sun. For Jung this was a sacred offering to thesun, where the spittle and breath represented the life-forceand spiritual healing power.

"If they breathe into their hands, breath is wind and spirit-it is roho, in Arabic ruch, in Hebrew ruach and in Greek pneuma. The action means: I offer my living soul to God. It is a wordless acted prayer, which could equally well be spoken; Lord into thy hands I commend my spirit." (Jung,1931a, pp.72-73).

In his commentary on the Secret of the Golden Flower,Jung (1957) notes that the Chinese alchemical metaphors of

‘diamond body’ or ‘holy fruit’ refer to the purified, incorruptiblebreath-body or spirit-body sought by Taoist adepts in theirsearch for spiritual immortality. For Jung this also covered anessential quest for all humanity of special relevance in thesecond half of life.

"Psychologically these expressions symbolize an attitude that is beyond the reach of emotional entanglements and violent shocks- a consciousness detached from the world.I have reason for believing that this attitude sets in after middle life and is a natural preparation for death…Chi- nese yoga philosophy is based on this instinctive preparation for death as a goal. In analogy with the goal of the first half of life - procreation and reproduction, the means of

perpetuating one’s physical existence - it takes as the goal of spiritual existence, the symbolic begetting and birth of a "spirit body" or "breath body" which ensures the continuity of detached consciousness." (Jung, 1957, p.46).

To heal means to make whole; to transform from illness tohealth. With the image of the breath body Jung expresses thebody-based essence of established traditions of spiritual healing,building spiritual community and communal spirituality. The aim ofthis article is to explicate this theme with special reference to theAfrican source of various spiritual healing traditions.

Jung and the Breath-Body or Spirit-Body

Jung’s (1931b) investigations into ancient spiritual healing tra-

ditions led to the conclusion that "the ancient view held that thesoul was essentially the life of the body, the life breath, or a kind oflife-force which assumed spatial and corporeal form at the mo-ment of conception, or during pregnancy or, or at birth, and left thedying body again after the final breath" (Jung, 1931b, p.345). Herecognized the vital importance of the various spiritual healing tra-ditions and their archetypes as precursors and correctives for thetype of natural scientific psychology that had developedduring theearly twentieth century in Europe, the UK and USA. This meant apsychology that gave proper recognition to spirit as the universalexpression of soul and soul as the individual expression of spirit,"a psychology with the psyche –that is, a theory of the psyche ulti-mately based on the postulate of an autonomous spiritualprinciple" (Jung, 1931b, p.344).

For Jung the psyche refers to an "open realm within which the

world is constituted as a human world" similar to what Heidiggermeant by dasein (Brooke, 1991, p.93). On various occasionsJung referred to his approach as essentially phenomenological inorientation in its attempt to give proper recognition to all phenom-ena of human experience. His view was that psyche is essentiallyrevealed to humanity through images from which it is indistin-guishable in a form of relational balance requiring ongoing collab-oration. While constantly shaping us environmentally and througharchetypal images arising from the collective unconscious of ourevolutionary past, the revealed world is also what we make andimagine it to be, for example in our language, actions, gestures,drama, poetry and other events of the individuation process.

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2008 18(2); 311-318 Printed in USA - All rights reserved

Copyright 2008 Journal of

Psychology in AfricaISSN 1433-0237



In an empirical attempt to examine the soul, Jung (1931b, p.345) investigatedsuch names people have given to their experi-ences as the Gothic saiwula and old German saiwulo fromwhich the German Seele and English word soul derive as wellas the old Slavonic sila or strength. These words are etymologi-cally linked to the Greek ailos (quick moving, twinkling irides-cent), anemos (wind), animus (spirit), anima (soul), psyche

(butterfly), psychein (to breathe), pneuma (wind or spirit), psy- chos (cool) psychros , (cold, chill) and physa, (bellows) and con-note the experience of a moving life force. The Gothic us-anan ,(to breathe out), the Latin anhelare , (to pant) are linked to OldHigh German, atum , (breath). In Arabic, ‘wind‘ is r h and r h is‘soul, spirit’. These connections indicate clearly how in Latin,Greek, Gothic, German, English, Slavonic and Arabic thenames given to the soul are related to the notion of moving airand breath and the basis for endowing the soul with an invisiblebreathe-body.

Although he visited India, collaborated with Richard Wilhelmon the Secret of the Golden Flower, introduced Eastern philoso-phy to the West and found that the rich symbolism of yoga pro-vided "invaluable comparative material for interpreting the col-

lective unconscious" Jung did not apply Yoga methods in oradvocate yoga for Western persons. His reasons were the dif-ferent lines of spiritual development, the much older and moreadvanced spiritual traditions of the East, greater emphasis onChristianity in the West, the principle that nothing ought to beforced on the unconscious by consciousness with its typical in-tensifying and narrowing effect, and need for Western civiliza-tion to free itself from its barbarous one-sidedness and gaindeeper insight into human nature. He predicted that the Westwould ultimately produce its own yoga along Christianfoundations (Jung, 1936, p.537).

Critical analysis should include Jung’s insight into the splitswithin his personal psyche and other related personal, familyand religious conflicts (Jung, 1961; Hayman, 1999). His predic-tion has not come to pass fully as Yoga is popular throughout

the Western world today. Moreover his method of active imagi-nation to help Western clients make the unconscious consciousand free it from its rigidity essentially uses a form of meditationand imagery recognized in Yoga. Central to this method is thefocus on images arising from archetypes from the collective un-conscious. In describing his method of proof for establishing theexistence of the archetypes, Jung (1917) described theessential features of active imagination as follows:

"Another source for the material we need is to be found in ‘active imagination’. By this I mean a sequence of fantasies produced by deliberate concentration… the patient is simply given the task of contemplating one fragment of fantasy that seems significant to him- a chance idea, perhaps, or some thing he has become conscious of in a dream-until its con-

text becomes visible, that is to say, the relevant associative material in which it is embedded. It is not a question if the free association recommended by Freud for the purposes of dream analysis, but of elaborating the fantasy material that adds itself to the fragment in a natural manner" (Jung, 1917,p. 49).

Variations of this method of amplifying imaginative materialare described, using expressive techniques through concen-trating on inner images, voices, drawing, painting, movement,sculpture and automatic writing. The therapeutic value of the in-tensity of clients’ emotional disturbance related to archetypalenergy and the regulating and transcendent influence of the un-conscious through creative formulation and understanding is

thus given proper recognition and expression. Although caremust be taken with the method so as not to unleash a psychosis(as is the case in kundalini yoga), once clients have fully con-fronted and owned disturbing archetypal material, faith, trustand confidence to overcome similar future threats becomesestablished (Jung, 1916; 1917; 1955).

The Breath-Body in Various SpiritualHealing Traditions

The etymology of the term spiritual healing is derived from theLatin roots spiritus, (spirit), the German terms heilin (whole), helig (holy) and related old English terms hael (whole), haelen (heal)and halig (holy). The adjective ‘spiritual’ is added here only for the-matic emphasis, as strictly and etymologically speaking, to behealthy is to be whole or holy, which embraces both the physicaland spiritual aspects of humanity. For example the ancient Greeksviewed the universe as a kind of organism sustained by pneuma orcosmic breath. In similar fashion, spiritual healing is characterisedby a holistic, holographic attitude, where all parts of the universeare viewed as fundamentally inter-related (Wilber, 1998). Nature isperfectly replicated in each person, so that every cell in the human

body is a microcosm of the cosmos and all levels of an individual’sbeing, physical, psychological, spiritual, social and ecological areof equal importance in the prevention of illness and promotion ofhealth (Chopra & Simon, 2004; Graham, 1990; Reid, 1998). In es-sence the healing task is to balance and harmonise various pat-terns of energy flow within and without our physical and subtlebodies and in our interpersonal, social and ecological relation-ships, through tuning in to the rhythms/vibrations of the cosmos,nature and humanity.

The theme is further contextualized as follows. Complement-ing orthodox Christian faith healing, the spiritual science of RudolfSteiner (1999) distinguished four main energy layers or bodieswhich surround the physical body; the etheric/health, emo-tional/astral, mental/I am and causal/I AM energy bodies(Dziemidko, 1999). There are over eighty hospitals world- wide

that are now run by the anthroposophical medical model (Evans &Rodger, 1992). Attempting to integrate Western and Eastern tradi-tions, with special reference to the chakras, Judith (2004) has de-fined soul as the individual expression of spirit and spirit as the uni-versal expression of soul, symbolizing the energetic pull of mindand spirit on the one hand and that of soul and body on the other interms of ascending currents of liberation and manifestation re-spectively. Viewing matter and spirit as exterior and interior as-pects at all levels of evolution and involution, Wilber (2007) has in-tegrated traditional, modern and postmodern views on the greatchain of being linking matter, life, mind, soul and spirit into an inte-gral psychological model consisting of four quadrants: represent-ing inseparable dimensions of human being-in-the-world first-per-son, second-person, and third-person accounts: the "I" of self and

consciousness; the "we" of culture and world view; the "it" of brainand organism and the social system and environmental "its".

From a breath-body perspective, ancient practices of spiri-tual healing, modern forms of counselling and psychotherapy,art, dance, music and other expressive therapeutic techniques,progressive relaxation, systematic desensitisation, crisis inter-vention and all other forms of caring, healing, illness preventionand health promotion have their ontological foundations inbreath-based behaviour patterns and are mediated by variousbreathing experiences. Our following discussion traces suchpractices to their roots in African forms of breath-based healing

The breath-body and spirit body may be regarded asphenomenological equivalents of the concepts of soul and spirit

310 Breath-Body and African Spiritual Healing



respectively, two fundamentally interrelated aspects of the psy-che. Jung’s interpretations reflect breath-based, spiritual heal-ing traditions used since ancient times by indigenous healers inAfrica, India, China and other areas of planet earth (Chopra &Simon, 2004; Reid, 1998; Taub-Bynum, 1984). Healing tradi-tions variously extol a form of healing energy called Ra and Ka(Ancient Egypt), N/um (San), Umoya (Zulu), Elima (Congolese),

Ruach Ha Kodesh (Hebrew), Prana (Hindi), Nafas Ruh (Mos-lem), Baraka (Sufi), Spiritus Sanctus (Latin for Holy Spirit),Pneuma (Greek), Chi (Chinese), Mana (Figian), Ni (Sioux),Manitu (Alonquin), Chindi (Navajo) (Elinwood, 2004; Reid,1998; Taub-Bynum, 1984). This healing energy is typically ex-perienced through the life-breath as a form of bridge betweennature, God, ancestors, body, mind and world. Breath-basedspiritual healing may be viewed as holistic, contextual and es-sentially psychological, in the original and literal meaning of thisterm, in its concern with the logos (study) of the psyche (breath,energy, consciousness, soul, or spirit of life that leaves a personat death and continues in some other form). This vital life forceof breath-energy is recognized as the most fundamental es-sence of life, to which we have direct, phenomenological accessthrough intra and interpersonal experiences, behaviour and inall other environmental relationships as in the followingexamples.

Islam . Various stages and levels of spirituality are out-lined in the Islamic mystical tradition of Sufism. For example,seven unfoldinglevels of soul are distinguished in all people; themineral, vegetable, animal, human, angelic, secret soul andSoul of the secret of secrets. The term nafs , refers to a processinvolving breath, soul, essence, self and nature of the incar-nated soul in its quest to return to the realm of spirit though(Frager, 1989:307): commanding nafs , of physical and egoisticdesires; accusatory nafs who cause repentance and intention toimprove; inspired nafs motivating compassion, morality andservice; tranquil nafs bring trust and gratitude; fulfilling nafs mo-tivating spirituality above selfish bodily desires; perfected nafs

bringing realisation that individuality and separateness areillusions and only God exits.

Christianity . John 20:21 reads: Again Jesus said, "Peace bewith you! As the father has sent me, I am sending you." Andwiththat he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."The Life Application Study Bible (1991,pp.1927) reads "throughthe breath of Jesus God imparted eternal spiritual life. With thisinbreathing came to the power to do Gods will on earth." TheHoly trinity consists of father God, son Jesus and the Holy Spiritalso called Spirit of Truth with the function of providing divinecounselling and guidance to humanity. Priests carry on this tra-dition during baptisms, catechisms and last rights "in the nameof the Father and the Sonand the Holy Spirit" with the Latin term"spiritus’ conveying this essentially spiritual communication.

Jung’s family history, personal experiences and extensive re-search has provided deep insights into the psychology of Chris-tianity (Hayman, 1999; Jung, 1936; 1961).

Buddhism. As a vast spiritual tradition, based on the life andteachings of Gautama Suddhartu, who became known as theBuddha (enlightened one). Buddhism teaches the encounteringof suffering and meaningful world engagement. One particularbranch of Buddhism, Zen, places great emphasis on thelife-breath. Zen Buddhism developed in the fifth century A.D,through the influence of the Tantric Buddhist monk from India,Bodhidharma, nicknamed Tamo, who taught pranayama at theShaolin monastery in Honan Province in northern China. Tamowas responsible for fusing various Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist

traditions in developing and improving various meditative, mar-tial and medicinal breathing styles. In Zen breathing techniques,special emphasis in on breathing as a grounding and meditationtechnique, through life-breath stored in the energetic, intestinalarea of the belly, referred to in India as the second chakra orsvadisthana, in China as the lower tantien and in Japan as thehara (Brasier, 2003; Galante, 1981; Reid, 1998).

Taoism. Unlike Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, Taoismhad no particular founding figure. It grew out of treasured writ-ings such as the Tao te Ching and the ancient book of divina-tion/changes known as the I-Ching , leading to the developmentof Chi gung , the first branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine.Chi gung took root some 10,000 years ago as a form of tribal,ceremonial, great dance (da-wu ), which was discovered to havetherapeutic benefits (Reid, 1998).

In its meaning of breath, air and energy, the Chinese andTaoist concept of chi or qi indicates the vital role that breathingplays in transmitting the atmospheric energy of air, oxygen andnegative ions into the human system. Gung connotes anymovement, action, work, skill or achievement that require muchtime, effort and practice to cultivate and perfect. Chi-gung there-

fore refers to a form of energy skill or control, which is typicallyassociated with breathing and movement (Reid, 1998).

The first written references to Chi-gung are found in textsdating back 4000 years, when another slow moving aerobic andtherapeutic dance was specifically developed to prevent ill-nesses arising from dampness and flooding in the Yellow riverbasin and to promote health through guiding and gathering chi (dao-yin ). This dance combined breath control with rhythmicbodily movements patterned on those of animals in nature(Reid, 1998, p.26). Since these early times, Chi-gung breathingskills have developed into a form of health and energy care withmedical, martial and meditative applications. The system wasfurther developed in the fifth century A.D, by the TantricBuddhist monk, Ta Mo (Reid, 1998).

Taoist systems of breath control emphasize breathco-ordinated movement. In the focus on stimulating internal en-ergy through soft continuous external movements harmonizedwith deep, diaphragmatic breathing under conditions of mentalcalm and quietude, Chi-gung is often referred to as ‘movingmeditation,’ which balances yin and yang, stillness and activity,medicine and the martial arts. Tai Chi is a special, internation-ally popular form of Chi-gung (Reid, 1998).

Hinduism. Like Taoism Hinduism has no individual foundingfigure. It grew out of sacred writings such as the Vedas andBrahamans and settlements in the valleys of the Indus andGanges rivers, has been tolerant of all paths to spiritual truthsand gave birth to yoga. In the Yogic conception prana or lifeforce, is experienced and conceptualised as the connecting linkbetween matter, life, mind, energy and consciousness in the cy-

cle of life and death, reincarnation, karma and nirvana (Hewitt,1977; Reid, 1998; Taub-Bynaum, 1984).

"Prana, which exists on all the planes of manifestation, as the connecting link between matter and energy on the one hand, and consciousness and mind on the other. Con- sciousness expressing itself through the mind, cannot come into touch with matter and function through it without the in- termediate presence of prana" (Hewitt, 1977, p.421).

Many specific Yogic breathing and meditation techniqueshave been developed to realise the main goal of yoga: unionwith ultimate reality. One branch of yoga, kundalini , practisesspiritual refinement of the life-breath through seven chakras or

Journal of Psychology in Africa 2007 18(1); 311-318 311



spinning wheels of energy, associated with particular anatomi-cal locations of the spine and brain, plexuses of the nervous, en-docrine and other human functional systems as well as colours,sounds, patterns and symbols (Judith, 2004; Mumford, 2005,Ralston, 1999; Reid, 1998). For example, from perineum tocrown, the chakras muladhara, svadisthana, manipura,anahata, vishudda, ajna and sahasrara are respectively associ-

ated with energetic, systemic functions of elimination, reproduc-tion, digestion, circulation, respiration, nervation and ultimatecosmic realisation.

The Source: African Spiritual Healing

Ancestral reverence, which forms the foundation for all spiri-tual traditions, is nowhere more alive than in Africa. This is ap-propriate in view of general agreement across diverse scientificdisciplines, with regard to central Africa providing the originalfountainhead, over one hundred thousand years ago, fromwhich all streams of humanity flowed. From this source, itseems that homo sapiens gradually emigrated across the SinaiPeninsula some fifty thousand years later, settling in the neareast before migrating into Asia, Europe and the rest of planet

earth (Jobling et al., 2004; Myers, 1993; Sykes, 2001). Sykes(2001, p.353) has pointed out how we use our ancestralmitocondrial DNA formula constantly:

"Every atom of oxygen we take into our bodies when we breathe has to be processed according to the formula that has been handed down to us by our ancestors. This is a very fundamental connection in itself."

While an infinity of factors such as language and creative in-telligence would have played a role, it is clear that contemporaryhumanity has survived primarily because of a remarkable facil-ity to form and maintain social relationships (Jobling et al., 2004;Myers, 1993; Sykes, 2001). The fundamental form of theselinks in human relationships is poetically portrayed in the Zulusaying "umuntu umuntu ngabantu ". This saying, which literally

refers to the fact that a person becomes a person through otherpeople; only through you do I becomean I and I am because weare; has the deeper implications of a shared sense of self inboth temporal and spatial dimensions that include the commonancestral heritage of contemporary humanity.

Inspirational South African healing. Direct information wehave about the earliest history of spiritual healing comes fromrock paintings tens of thousands of years ago in many cavesites in Southern Africa. It is therefore appropriate to describe atypical spiritual healing dance by the "first" or "real" people, asthe Southern African Kalahari !Kung refer to themselves.

"!Kung healing involves health and growth on physical, psychological, social, and spiritual levels; it affects the individ - ual, the group, the surrounding environment, and the cosmos. Healing is an integrating and enhancing force, far more fundamental than simple curing or the application of medicine. Sometimes, as often as four times a month, the women sit around the fire, singing and rhythmically clapping as night falls, signalling the start of a healing dance. The en- tire camp participates. The men, sometimes joined by the women, dance around the singers. As the dance intensifies,n/um ("energy") is activated in those who are healers, most of whom are among the dancing men. As n/um intensifies in the healers, they experience !kia ("a form of enhanced consciousness") during which they heal everyone at the dance.The dance usually extends far into the night, often ending as the sun rises the next morning. Those at the dance confront

the uncertainties of their existence and reaffirm the spiritual dimension of their daily lives" (Katz & Wexler, 1989:23).

Contemporary indigenous Zulu healing is based on thebreath-energy of the ancestors. This energy takes differentforms as reflected in ukububula/ nokubhonga kwedlozi, the reli-gious, spirit-power and supernatural force of the ancestorsbreathing through the Zulu divine-healer (isangoma). The en-

ergy is strengthened by healing and good deeds, and is weak-ened by evil spirits and abuse. During a typical divinatory ses-sion (vumissa), after contacting the spirit of the ancestors, theisangoma may breaththis spirit into the divinatory bones, beforethrowing them. Likewise clients may be required to inhale thisancestral spiritual breath-energy from the bones and use it invarious healing rituals. Depending upon the depth of the pastevolutionary ancestral call, diviners may breathe like roaringlions (ukubhodla kwengonyama) or even pythons in their silentcommunication (inhlwathi igingile ). However, typically theisangoma is breathed by recently departed ancestors who hadpreviously appeared to her in dreams, called her to become adiviner and accompanied her through a creative illness in theform of a religious conversion experience until she completed

her apprenticeship under a qualified diviner in a spiritual rebirthmacro-process called ukuthwasa. This is a perennial way of so-ciety caring for and being cared by persons, first spiritually af-flicted and then purified (Edwards, 1986; Mfusi, & Edwards,1985; Ngubane, 1977).

The micro-process of being breathed by the ancestors dur-ing divination occurs in response to a request by clients, whoconsult the diviner for various reasons, such as illness preven-tion, health promotion, prosperity, and romance. While divinersdiffer in divinatory methods, the essence of the processconsistsof the diviner invoking her ancestors and acting as medium fortheir messages concerning the client. In an ongoing emotionallycharged dialogue, clients verbal and nonverbal responses be-come progressively more enthusiastic with the divination expe-rienced as becoming more true and real, in a form of consen-

sual validation as to the assessment of the problem andsolutions offered. The end result typically consists of agreementas to some form of culturally accepted ritual ceremony for theancestors, for example involving protection, appeasementand/or thanksgiving (Edwards, 1999; Gumede, 1990; Ngubane,1977).

As noted above, there are various methods of divination.South African Zulu diviners were also originally called izanuse (smellers). Gumede (1990, p.80) notes that similar word isanusi is used in North Africa to describe a diviner involved in a smell-ing out type of public divination in which praises are sung to theking, followed by frenzy of bellowing, yacooning, sneezing, androaring, as ancestors are implored to identify an evil doer in thecommunity. In Zulu history the story is often told of how the

great king Shaka once secretly poured blood in the kraal in or-der to test his diviners and only one true diviner was able to cor-rectly identify Shaka himself as the responsible person.

Psychosocial dynamics of ancestral healing. The term‘psychosocial dynamics’ refers to an umbrella concept explain-ing the often hidden, unapparent, psychological, familial, socialand cultural tensions, forces, mechanisms, reasons and/orcauses underlying otherworldly or spiritualistic phenomena, inthe form of visions, dreams and hallucinations, that may appearto persons concerned with ancestral visitations. Such phenom-ena can become amplified under conditions of stress, death,and bereavement. Nocturnal dreams lose their distortions andintensity in the light of day, and reality becomes clear and sharp




when we have eaten and slept well. Skilled helpers and per -sonal insight may be needed to interpret reality as phenomena,which may seem confusing and threatening, become readilyunderstandable.

From a psychodynamic perspective, ancestral visitationsand their communications will be as threatening or reassuringas these personages had been in their former physical

existences and as perceived by the perceiver. For example,verbal abuse, corporal punishment and familial rejection bypowerful parents and/or elders are clearly very threatening ex-periences for a vulnerable child. Such experiences will remainrooted in the consciousness of the child, be amplified and cor-roborated by familial and sociocultural belief systems and, afterthe death of such elders, may assume gigantic proportions andreadily manifest as "abaphansi basifulathele " (ancestors haveturned away), requiring appropriate appeasement rituals. Onthe other hand, if deceased parents and grandparents had beenaffirming, kind and loving, their continued recognition(abaphansi banathi ), kindness and love is more likely to be ex-perienced by future generations. In terms of reciprocal par-ent-child relationships, bad behaviour is punished/rejected and

good behaviour rewarded/praised. Such patterns are recog-nised by various schools of thought in psychology. Childrenlearn to bring about rewards of parental recognition, love andpraise through proper behaviour. These are very good reasonsfor surviving generations to continue to communicate andhonour their ancestors, be well behaved and performappropriate ceremonies to ensure continued health, protectionand prosperity.

Generally speaking, the ancestors are protective of their liv-ing progeny and descendants. It depends on the attitude of theliving towards the ancestors that determines whether they turnaway or whether they remain and protect. If there is discomfortabout whatever abuse or conflict occurred in this life, then a rit-ual can be performed which informs the community of the situa-tion, thereby effecting reconciliation and in that way the link to

the deceased is restored.From a local African perspective, ancestors are regarded as

custodians of the lives of future generations. They occupy a po-sition of dignity and awe among their descendants. From time totime through certain ritualistic procedures that differ from groupto group, they are celebrated and consulted for guidance. Asthey are dead, ancestors are believed to know more than any-one alive, to have extra-ordinary powers and to be at any placeat any time. It is believed that they can bring good luck and badluck equally if they are pleased or angered respectively.

Healing by ancestors may be achieved through provision ofa sense of rootedness; anchoring and confirming their descen-dants’ identity. Taub-Bynum’s (1984) concept of the family un-conscious and Jung’s ‘collective unconscious’ explicate differ-

ent levels of this ancestral connectedness (Ivey, D’ Andrea, Ivey& Simek Morgan, 2002). The knowledge of having superior be-ings as custodians provides a sense of security. Doing all thatneeds to be done in order to secure future destination promotesidentity, a sense of belonging and purpose in life. When a newperson joins the family, s/he must be reported to the departedelders of the family (abaphansi ); e.g., a new bride or a newbornchild. It is believed that illness and misfortune could result if theexpected procedures are not followed correctly.

Faith healing. There are basically three categories of an in-digenous Zulu healer, the traditional doctor (inyanga), diviner(isangoma) and faith healer (umthandazi) all of whom work withbreath/soul (umphefumulo) and spiritual power or energy

(umoya). The doctor’s methods are usually based on the activeingredients of local herbs, plants, roots and bark administered ina culturally appropriate, holistic and ceremonial manner. Thefaith healer typically belongs to an African Indigenous Church(AIC), whose Christian faith embraces ancestral spirituality(umoya), which gains further meaning with reference to the thirdperson of the trinity or Holy Spirit (Umoya Ongcwele). Christ is

regarded as the ancestral, divine, Son of God and the peace,truth, power, love, and wisdom in inspirational African indige-nous healing is experienced at one and the same time andplace in the body and breath of the individual, group and com-munal ancestral spirituality as graced and mediated by God,Christ and Holy Spirit.

As noted above, healing implies a transformation from ill-ness to health in becoming whole again. In South African soci-ety, this means caring humanity (ubuntu ) and an ongoing every-day form of healing, beyond truth and reconciliation, that isslowly making its way in the experience of generations of peoplegrowing up together from childhood in freedom. To care for overforty-five million people in South Africa, it means the harmoni-ous collaboration of all community healing resources; some five

thousand psychologists, ten thousand social workers, thirtythousand medical doctors, one hundred and twenty-five thou-sand nurses, two hundred and fifty thousand traditional healersand one million AIC faith healers (Edwards, 2002).

Gumede (1990) estimated that indigenous healers cater for80% of the health needs of the African population and are usu-ally consulted before modern doctors, particularly in the less de-veloped and rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. The AIC movement,whose earlier religious roots also formed an apolitical founda-tion for the African National Congress in 1912, deserves specialmention for its role as buffer in preventing violent civil war be-tween warring political groups during the Apartheid struggles.The AIC’s continue to promote communal spirituality, spiritualcommunity, and practical public health in the form of food,money, surrogate family and work to anyone who asks for help

(Bakker, 1996; Berglund, 1976; Dube, 1989; Gumede, 1990;Nyembe, 1994; Oosthuizen, Edwards, Wessels & Hexam,1989).

African Indigenous Churches meetings can be found at anytime throughout Africa. In their brightly coloured attire, groupsgather wherever convenient, at the river or the mountain, nearthe sea, at a vacant plot in town or at the bus stop. Spiritual en-ergy (umoya) is invoked through bible reading, prayer and sing-ing in a healing circle. In more formal meetings held in churches,community halls or houses of faith healers or prophets(abaprofethi ) may close windows and doors to keep out distrac-tions and amplify spiritual energy for an evening, day or week-end of intense individual, family and community healing andspiritual purification (ukuhlambuluka) in a religious ceremony

which include rituals, music, drama and dance. This is a form ofpastoral community psychology where community develop-ment, healing and education are harmoniously integrated(Nyembe, 1994; Oosthuizen, et al ., 1989). The African Indige-nous Church movement revolves around receiving the HolySpirit (Umoya Oyingcwele ) through various circular symbols ofspiritual perfection. For example, a common occurrence ob-served at South African beaches will be a Zionist group dancingin a circle, while chanting "come spirit, come" (woza umoya,woza umoya) (Oosthuizen et al., 1989:175).

Familial and communal spirituality. Taub-Bynum (1984) hasdescribed the family unconscious in terms of an active, intense,and immediate shared energy field, characterized by affective




interactional patterns, communal dreaming, telepathy and vari-ous other psi phenomena. Such phenomena are fully experi-enced in African extended family kinship ties, through ongoingcommunication with the world of the recently deceased andolder living dead ancestors, all of whom continue to be freshlyexperienced as responsible for shaping the lives ofcontemporary humanity.

We should not neglect to mention that inspirational and spir-itual healing is not the sole province of the priest or psychologistand occurs readily in everyday life. It is more common in cere-monial, ritual, communal spiritual gatherings (umsebenzi ). Forexample, a sneeze is believed to be an indication of ancestralpresence and is followed by an exhortation to the ancestors(makhosi !). A six year old child may be required to breathedeeply (ukuhogela) the burning fumes of izinyamazane (piecesof animal skin and fat) as a preventive and strengthening tonicwhen being given a second name which characterizes his/herearthy existence to date. A woman in labour will be told tobreathe like a dog (hefuzela) during contractions. Men workingtogether in a slow motion physical activity such as digging atrench may chant in time to deep abdominal breathing rhythms

before taking a breather (ukhukhokh’ umoya) in order to regainenergy and strength. Such deep breathing, rhythm andharmony are characteristic of traditional singing and dancing.

Conclusion

Jung’s insights during his central African visit changed hislife, work and contribution to humanity. Taking his image of thebreath-body in relation to various spiritual healing traditions aspoint of departure this article has examined African forms ofspiritual healing. The breath body is experienced as a naturalform of life-force, energy, consciousness, soul and spirit thatmay be accessed in various ways such as meditation, prayerand ceremonial dance for healing purposes. The earliest formsof conscious breathwork seem to have been related to spiritualbeliefs and practices such as those concerning nature, ultimate

reality, ancestors and human existence with special referenceto such matters as survival, growth, health, life and death. Inharmony with the ceaseless cycles and forces of heaven, earthand ancestors, life-breath skill forms the essential, experientialfoundation for spiritual healing of self and others in its preven-tion of blocked, stagnant or unbalanced energy and promotionof nourishing, protective and harmonised energy. This indicatesan archetypal core to healing practices throughout the world, ofwhich breath, particularly in relation to spirituality, is anessential component.

Emphasis on the breath body ensures that we are groundedin our experience of the lived body and world, yet also tuned toour spirituality. An essence of this bodiliness is the comfortingpresence of our breathing, which is the precondition for tran-

scendence in terms of liberating spirituality. During times of clar-ity and equanimity we are comforted by the rhythmic regularityof our breathing and its harmony with the bodily phenomenathat appear to our consciousness. Sitting and moving forms ofbreath co-ordinated behaviour form the foundation for all formsof healing and transcendence as exemplified in alpha condition-ing, biofeedback, transcendental meditation, !Kung healingdance, izangoma divination, yoga and Tai chi. Healthy breath-ing and related spirituality experiences, that have been bodilyre-experienced as anchors, provide a phenomenological foun-dation for various forms of imagery, light, sound, colour, touchand movement used in breathwork, expressive therapy, pro-gressive relaxation, systematic desensitisation, crisis interven-

tion and other forms of caring, healing, counselling, psychother-apy, illness prevention and health promotion. As exemplified inpast and present African contexts, such breath based healingencompasses all of these forms in addition to building spiritualcommunity and communal spirituality.

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Jungs Breath-body and African Spiritual Healing