Sangoma

By James Hall

Book Overview

When James Hall was working in Africa with legendary singer Miriam Makeba, she perceived he had the rare gift to see both into the future and into people's souls. She urged Hall to consult a Sangoma,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874777801
• ISBN13: 9780874777802
• Release Date: October 1994
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

nice view of africa

James Hall made me feel that I was an African. The view was from thse eyes. Americans can really feel and see the people of that community. A fine read to get a total world view and not the myopic view that we Americans have of the world and others. Please let me know where I could find him now and get caught up on his life. His kids would be about 14 1nd 20 now. let me know bob huff bob_huff@comcast.net thanks

Interesting and Informative

James Hall takes us on his personal journey as a midwestern America who slowly gets drawn into the world of African healers. The story is personal, poignant, and very detailed. It lets us look into several windowns we don't ordinarily get to look through - everyday living in rural Africa and the world of the african healer. From 1977 to 1980 I taught at a major university in Africa and spent 2+ years working closely with sangomas. Most of my acquaintances were Zulu or Sotho, but there are not very many differences to the Swazi that Hall talks about. What does differ considerable is whether or not the spirits are from the river or from the land, but that's another issue. Hall gives a precious insight into the role of the sangoma and the personal issues that sangoma must face. My own work was in the urban areas, and it's very different from Hall's rural adventures. Anyone interested in africa, african healers, and stories of personal growth will find this book very interesting and informative. It is suitable for young adults as well as adults.

Great Spiritual Quest

This book really absorbed me during the two days I read it. I could not put it down before I had finished the last page. James Hall gives a candid and vivid account of how he became a traditional African healer, a sangoma.This is not just an outstanding adventure story but remembrance to all of us that more exists than meets the eye on the physical plane. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to further his/her horizon and enjoys a great book.Andreas Biebl

An immensely readable, life-altering, inspirational book

James Hall's odyssey into the spirit world of Africa makes nearly the entire output of today's spiritualists and self-help gurus- and much of the non-fiction of the past several decades- obsolete and insignificant. His biographical portrayal not only honors the spiritual and spiritualist's history as it is and was in African culture, a giant antithetical perspective to the Newtonian/Keynesian world of the West with our comfort in the worship of material objects and the acquisition of wealth from that perspective. It honors the spiritual world in total, and in so doing redeems the human spirit via the transformational path of action, self-awareness, enlightenment and active service to something greater than one self that could not by definition fit into comfortably established forms of sensibility and recognition. Sangoma can easily be compared to Herman Heese's Siddartha and the like, and should be on the booklists of every college course in literature as well as anthropolgy, religion and Africana studies. The only drawback, however accurate, was his depiction of many African natives as deceitful, in the context of his presence and study of the rituals of the Sangoma healer, without a further mentioning of the hostilities they suffered at the hands of the Western world before his arrival. An altogether wonderful and inspiring book that leaves you feeling like something beautiful in you has been powerfully affirmed.

Sangoma is a unique, amazing, readable autobiography

Sangoma depicts the fascinating tranformation of a talented American writer into a 'second career' of a full-fledged, African traditional healer. Having visited with James Hall in person, his story becomes credible, and genuine. A must for anyone, within and beyond the health professions, who seeks to better understand a form of alternative medicine used by millions of Africans. Highly recommended!!