Every journey of ubizo (the calling) is profoundly personal, and Dr Sinethemba Makanya’s story is a testament to this. For this research supervisor and adjunct lecturer in the art therapy department at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), her path to self-discovery made sense when she welcomed her daughter into the world.
Makanya, now living in Protea Glen, Soweto, is from KwaZulu-Natal and was raised in the Hammarsdale township. She recalls that when she was six, her parents converted to Christianity after struggling to have a son, and their Christian faith helped them through that journey.
As she grew older, she became very active in the church since her parents held leadership and pastoral roles.
“It was also in this context that some of my spiritual gifts manifested,” she says.
“I would have many prophetic dreams, as well as dreams that illuminated themes in the Bible.”
Although this confused her then, her parents understood that she was a gifted child. “The church I grew up in was a born-again evangelical church, and my gifts weren’t really understood in the way they were presented,” she explains.
This uncertainty made her withdraw from the church.
A new path opens
Her parents, both teachers, placed a high value on education, which led her and her siblings to attend model-C schools.
“I think being in semi-private Model-C schools expanded my worldview and exposed me to many things that township schools would not have,” she notes.
At some point in high school, she wanted to study a bachelor of psychology, believing it to be a way to express some of her gifts. However, she pursued a general BA with psychology as a major at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) instead.
Makanya took drama and performance studies as an elective but quickly changed it to her major after becoming enamoured with being on stage.
“By the time I completed my BA, I was convinced I would become an actor, although the agreement with my parents was that I would continue with honours in psychology.”
Dr Sinethemba Makanya
She discovered drama therapy, the psychotherapeutic use of drama and theatre techniques to enhance health and well-being.
“I got excited because, for me, it was a way to continue both with psychology and drama. For my master’s, I received a Fulbright Scholarship to study drama therapy at New York University.”
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Her spiritual journey
In 2012, she returned from New York and moved to Johannesburg to work, teach, and register as a drama therapist. She started at Wits University, where she taught applied drama and drama therapy, and worked with an NGO called Themba Interactive.
Through Themba Interactive, Makanya was able to accumulate the hours she needed to register her foreign qualification with the Health Practitioners Council of South Africa.
However, her calling intensified around 2014/15, and she put her registration on hold.
“Shortly after, I pursued my PhD to try to make sense of my dual roles, but I also think it was part of my calling and intwaso.
“For the next six years, I navigated various initiations, both spiritual and academic,” she adds.
When she welcomed her daughter, who later fell ill at the age of two, she had to listen to and follow her spiritual guidance.
She explains that she was made to understand that if she did not accept her calling, it would be passed down to her daughter, and it would not be gentle on her.
“One of the symptoms I experienced because of my calling was mental illness. There was a time when I got so depressed that I contemplated suicide. As I was attempting to end my life, I was confronted with a vision of my daughter when she was older. She looked very troubled and unkempt.”
Shortly after, she met her first spiritual teacher.
Makanya describes her role in spiritual healing, noting that a large part of her calling as a healer is in teaching and writing, particularly through the arts.
“I feel that even though I no longer spend much time endumbeni healing individuals, the time I spend writing and teaching is to heal the collective.”
Connecting different worlds
She emphasises that she does not fit a particular mould. “I am not a sangoma, nor am I tied to any particularly well-known tradition. I don’t even know what to call myself. The term ‘indigenous healer’ also doesn’t quite fit.”
Looking ahead, Makanya hopes to see greater collaboration between medical and philosophical systems.
She adds, “Ultimately, just as ‘Western’ is our current frame of reference, I would like indigenous knowledge to develop to a point where it, too, becomes a frame of reference.”
She also envisions a future where other researchers are supported in investigating indigenous knowledge in a way that contributes to its development.
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