Inyanga

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Inyanga is also the former name of the Zimbabwean city of Nyanga.

Inyanga (literally "the man of the trees") is a Zulu word for a traditional healer.

Although the word sangoma is generally used in South African English to mean all types of traditional Southern African healers, inyangas and sangomas are in fact different. An inyanga is an herbalist who is concerned with medicines made from plants and animals, while a sangoma relies primarily on divination for healing purposes. The knowledge of the inyanga is passed through the generations from parent to child.

In modern society the status of these medicine men or women has been translated into wealth. Most izinyanga (plural of inyanga) in urban areas have shops with consulting rooms where they sell their medicines.

[edit] References

• http://library.thinkquest.org/27209/Healing.htm
• http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/africa/062399/062399abejakwazulu.html