[Buddha-l] The dying forest

[Kate Marshall]

i> So, if we are about to see Buddhism die out in Asia, when are we going
> to see some missionary response to this situation? Why do we not see
> an amalgam of African shamanism and Buddhism, a la Tibetan Buddhism?

>
> Malcolm Dean
> Los Angeles CA

Hi Malcolm

I was in Africa for 7 years.  From what I saw and heard, African shamanism
has very little, if anything, in common with Buddhism.  It wasn't unusual
for the government newpaper in Zimbabwe to report that bodies had been dug
up in the cemetry for ritual purposes.  Often it was the body of a baby that
had the hands lopped off for shamanic purposes.  Three legged dogs and one
legged birds were common - the result of a similar thing happening to live
animals.  Belief in demons by the name of tokoloshi is an every day affair.
One typical newspaper article reported:

N'anga 'kills' tokoloshi

The goblin (tokoloshi) which excited Beitbridge residents at the weekend was
destroyed outside the police station here on Saturday.  An awestruck crowd
watched quietly as Ms Thandiwe Chibhamu, the n'ang who had brought the
tokoloshi to Beitridge, set it on fire.  Ms Chibhamu decided to 'kill' the
tokoloshi - called Mukwasha - after failing to persuade relatives of its
alleged dead owner to take it back.  The widow of the man who is said to
have bought the tokoloshi in Botswana said Mukwash did not bear any close
resemblance to the goblin she had given to Ms Chibhamu.  Ms. Chibhamu was
supposed to the destroy the tokoloshi at her home in Zaka.

"Ours looked like a bottle and not like this Mukwasha," whe told the Herald.

Mrs. Chibhamu spoke as she set alight an expensive satchel used to carry
Mukwasha.  She first dowsed the bag with paraffin before lighting it.  She
spoke harshly as Mukwasha allegedly protested being killed."

Whole families could be killed by setting their houses alight in the night
while they slept if any of them were suspected of being Black Witches.  (The
N'anga were White Witches and have their own government sanctioned
Association.)  Witch sniffers (I kid you not!) are used to sniff out Black
Witches.  One male school teacher was accused of raping his female
colleagues "without their being aware of it."  The school was closed down,
the witch sniffers called in, and a tokolishi found in a gourd in the
teacher's room.  End of teacher.

We should all be thankful that African shamanism hasn't amalgamated with
Buddhism.

Regards
Kate