Samaita's Story, Part 1: Spirit Medium Initiation & Surviving Alone in the Bush

This episode was recorded in a traditional mud hut in the rural bush of Zimbabwe outside of the capital city of Harare, with native Jonathan Dube, also known as Samaita, meaning of the zebra clan.

Samaita is a kind hearted Shona man, who lives a busy life as an initiated spirit medium, traditional healer, herbalist, community counselor, & musician of cultural music. He is also a father, grandfather, and husband. A pillar of support and guidance for his community, he serves from his dhare (essentially a spirit house and place of healing) at Dzimbanhete Arts & Culture Village, a project he started with a dear friend to keep their traditional Shona traditions alive.

In this episode Samaita shares his story of what it was like to become the spirit medium for his grandfather Sekuru, & the initiations he faced through illnesses as a child, mysterious dreams, and being left alone to survive with absolutely nothing in the bush for just over 8 months.

In the Shona traditions, spirit mediumship is the practice of allowing your specific ancestor(s) or guardian spirit(s), who are chosen by your ancestors, to manifest through your physical body. Rather than simply channeling, the spirit inhabits your body for an certain amount of time to share wisdom, insights, and perspectives from the spirit world and information from the time period the spirit was alive.

Tune in to part 2 to hear the end of the story, and a discussion on what it means to be a spirit medium in the Shona tradition.

:::
Samaita
Dzimbanhete Arts and Culture Website

Fatua
@fatua.soul
fatuasoul.com

Sponsored by:
Soul Melody Cacao
@soul_melody_cacao
https://www.soulmelodycacao.com

Chapters

• 0:15 Mbira intro
• 0:16 Intro
• 0:49 Meet Samaita
• 2:24 Life before becoming a spirit medium
• 8:12 1991, The spirit journey begins (mystery illness & dreams)
• 24:43 College chapter & the spirits call again
• 45:00 Initiation begins: the bush ceremony
• 54:06 Left alone in the wild