“You Didn’t Have a Calling”: SA Reacts to Woman Cutting Beads, Ditching African Spirituality
- A woman shared a personal moment of cutting her ancestral spirituality ankleband, hinting at a significant life shift
- The evocative video, shared on TikTok, captured a personal decision, almost revealing the reasons behind her departure from African spirituality.
- Social media users responded with divided opinions, debating the validity of her spiritual calling and potential repercussions
- Briefly News spoke with Mkhulu Thobile, a local sangoma, to get his expert take on the woman's brave move
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Source: TikTok
A personal and symbolic act by a young woman sparked an intense debate across online platforms.
The expressive video, shared on TikTok by user @tiroentle89, captured a key moment in a woman's spiritual journey, generating floods of comments from social media users.
The clip featured the woman cutting her ankle band, made of red and white beads, which are widely associated with ancestral spirituality. Her accompanying caption was intriguing; she stated that she got too comfortable and nearly shared the specific reasons why she had decided to stop practising African spirituality.
Cutting ties and near reveals
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This deliberate withholding of full details created a sense of mystery and compelled viewers to speculate. Her act of cutting the ankle band served as a powerful visual metaphor for severing ties with a significant part of her spiritual past.
Source: Getty Images
A sangoma's perspective on a spiritual journey
We at Briefly News spoke with local sangoma Mkhulu Thobile to gain his professional insights on the young woman's journey.
The video suggested that the woman had a calling, so we asked the sangoma what the signs of a genuine ancestral calling were. He responded:
"A true calling is not something you choose; it chooses you. It often manifests through vivid dreams, feelings of being unsettled, or physical sickness that doctors cannot explain. It is a spiritual gift that must be honoured and accepted, not something one can easily acquire or rid of.
The team asked if there were potential consequences of cutting the beads and exiting ubungoma, like the young lady did in the video. The traditional healer said:
"Cutting the beads is a very symbolic act, but it does not mean you have rid yourself of the calling. The beads are just a tool, a symbol of the spiritual gift, which does not reside in the beads themselves but lives on you. If a person truly has that gift, there's no getting rid of it. You may anger the ancestors by refusing your duty, and such an act can lead to severe spiritual challenges, as the ancestors will not be easily dismissed.
After many social media users said @tiroentle89 did not have a calling to begin with, we asked the sangoma if a person could just end their spiritual calling when they feel like it. He said:
"An ancestral calling is a lifelong commitment. You cannot simply decide to end it because you feel comfortable. If you have a true calling, it will stay with you until you answer it. The ancestors will continue to make their presence known in your life through various signs until you accept your path. If you die before accepting your calling, it might be passed on to your kids."
Mzansi debates the woman's actions
The viral post gained 1.5M views, 22K likes, and 1.6K comments from social media users who shared differing views on the woman's decision. Many commenters challenged her, arguing that she must never have had a genuine calling to begin with, which, in their view, was the ultimate reason she was now choosing to abandon the practice. This perspective implied a criticism of her initial engagement with spirituality.
Some offered direct religious advice, asserting that Jesus was the only solution, and commending her for the good decision to leave ancestral practices. Others issued stern warnings; they contended that if she truly had an ancestral calling, the ancestors would not cease their influence until she fully accepted and embraced her spiritual path.
User @Nobukhosi Maseko said:
"You didn’t have a calling, you had a missed call from a private number, into ongayazi ukuthi uzoyithini (something you had no idea about)."
User @Letlhogonolo commented:
"You were not spiritually aligned, and unfortunately, there are only a few chosen ones."
User @67frv7rgoy added:
"Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life."
User @Dance_With_P shared:
"Being gifted is ruff amaDlozi wabukisa ngami (shome me flames). I wanted to throw in the towel, but I'm grateful they initiated me themselves. It requires discipline, though."
User @Lady Tee commented:
"Being gifted is not in amabhayi (the robes) and beads, my love, wearing those means nothing, even taking them off means nothing. If you are gifted, it will always be within you, whether you practice it or not. Spirituality is way deeper than the beads love, but I hope you can use your gift the correct way. Remember, there's a difference between a gift and a calling, you just need to know which one is yours 🥰. All the best."
User @jabu said:
"You will be back. This is an ongoing journey."
Watch the TikTok video below:
Source: Getty Images
3 Briefly News articles about tradition and rituals
- A family performing a traditional ritual at home experienced an unexpected mishap when one of the chicken's feathers caught fire from nearby candles.
- A local makoti shared a video of her and her in-laws going to perform an Easter tradition at the graveyard in the early hours of the morning.
- A granny watched her two granddaughters with pride while performing a Xhosa traditional dance at an Eastern Cape rural ceremony.
Updated by Hilary Sekgota, Human Interest HOD at Briefly News.
Source: Briefly News
