Worshipping Two Gods At Mass?

Question: I recently attended a meeting at a Catholic parish and was surprised to see a priest wearing traditional Zulu goat-skins on his hands and sprinkling the holy water with a horse’s tail, normally carried by Zulu traditional healers.

I would like to know why that priest is allowed to wear the traditional goat-skins, because from my understanding these are worn as a thanksgiving to the ancestors, and in the Zulu tradition ancestors are deceased family members. Is that priest not contradicting his Christian oath and values by praying to God and also his ancestors? Is he serving two Gods?

Answer: Firstly, let us be very clear: there is only one God and God desires to draw all people to himself. Various cultures and traditions think of God in different ways, however imperfectly, all seeking the Divinity.

Secondly, the Church is tasked with interreligious dialogue, and must evangelise through words and actions, so that all come to know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.

Throughout history, however, there have always been some who try to make gods out of things that are ungodly. Even today, many bow down to wealth, celebrity, power and prestige. They work to get these things, assuming they will bring love, status and independence, or hoping they will protect them from hardship and sickness. This is as true of some aspects of traditional African society as it is of Wall Street or Hollywood.

The ‘living dead’

Ancestors or “the living dead” are venerated, not worshipped. The customary belief is that they continue to influence the lives of their descendants, so they are honoured and are called upon during various events in the life of a family and of its members.

This belief has been likened to Catholics asking for the intercession of patron saints, but it is not exactly the same thing. Saints are related to us by faith, the ancestors by blood. Any Catholic can call upon any saint, but Africans can be in relationship only with their own predecessors.

Some people fear their ancestors, saying that they can show displeasure to those who do not honour them. Catholic belief has no parallel here: our saints do not send punishment upon those who do not invoke them correctly.

Point of Zulu tradition

There could be several reasons why a Zulu person wears a band of goatskin or cowhide around the forearm or wrist. These bands are called iziphandla, and they are made from the skin of an animal slaughtered when a family commemorates its ongoing relationship with those who have passed into the next life. No part of the slaughtered animal is wasted because it has been dedicated to the ancestors.

The meat is shared among the family members according to age and gender. The horns are placed on the roof of the dwelling as a reminder of the ceremony, and iziphandla are made for the various members of the family. All may receive one made from goatskin but, if it is a cow that is slaughtered, cowhide bands belong only to the senior man, the first-born son, or the one for whom the family has been asking favours.

There are several ways of interpreting the wearing of iziphandla. The most common is that it is a visible reminder to the spirits that the appropriate ceremony has been performed. Perhaps someone who does not have strong ancestral beliefs might still wear the band to please his elders, or to show pride in his cultural identity.

Families differ when it comes to how long the isiphandla is to be worn, and whether it should be displayed publicly or discreetly hidden in a sleeve. The usual custom is to wear it until it falls off by itself. The piece of hide is then kept safe until its wearer returns to the family homestead when it is placed at the umsamo, the place opposite the entrance which is sacred to the spirit world.

Another thing that should be mentioned is that someone might wear isiphandla for a sinister reason. I have been told that leaders who seek greater power in society may seek out an unscrupulous isangoma who performs dark rituals to enter into a pact with malevolent spirits. The skin of the slaughtered animal is then displayed prominently to strike fear into the hearts of others. Such behaviour is unworthy of any Christian, and would be appalling if done by a minister of the Church.

Not just a sprinkler

The traditional “flywhisk” you mention may be made of horsetail, but in Zulu culture it is more likely to come from a cow. The tail is detached after the animal is slain. It is then left at the umsamo where it is believed to become an empowered “divinity stick” that connects the sangoma with the spiritworld.

Such a tail is called ishoba. It is used to sprinkle intelezi: herbal remedies said to ward off negative influences and ensure safety: properties which many Catholics attribute to holy water. While many Zulu Catholics feel it inappropriate to sprinkle holy water with ishoba, an inculturation enthusiast might consider it an inspired choice. The ishoba is no mere sprinkler or aspergillum, however, as it is thought to have power of its own.

Since ishoba is an implement reserved to izangoma, it could be said that this priest crossed a line by using one. In “Ancestor Religion and the Christian Faith”, a 2006 pastoral statement of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), our bishops declared that priests cannot be izangoma and that priests and religious must desist from ubuNgoma practices.

Studies have continued since that statement was published. Workshops are currently being held under the sponsorship of the SACBC and the Leadership Conference of Religious Life (LCCL) and we await their findings with interest.

Whole books have been written on the place of the ancestors in Christian life. Much work has still to be done until no one feels torn between their religion and their culture.

Just as European Christians absorbed statues, wedding rings and Christmas trees from their pagan forebears, inculturation continues today as a slow but vitally important movement in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

(Fr Thomas Plastow SJ)

Asked and answered in the September 2025 issue of the Southern Cross Magazine