BY AZOLA MATROS
MEET Cian “Mahlalekhaya” McClelland, a traditional healer.
The 55-year-old traditional healer from KwaNonqaba in Alexandria rural, Eastern Cape, embraces amadlozi through zol.
He has worked with different traditional healers in Mzansi, including the late isanusi Vusamazulu “Credo Mutwa”, where he learnt about plants for medicine.
He runs a company called Druids Garden, where they plant zol for commercial and research purposes.
Mahlalekhaya said Africans who are becoming more westernized view izinyanga as witch doctors and evil.
“It’s not true. They’re indoctrinated by the West. This is a beautiful culture, not witchcraft. Zol is a powerful medicine. Our community in South Africa has been using it as food and medicine for many years,” Mahlalekhaya said.
He started his journey as an inyanga in 1990 and registered in 2019. He heals through questions, focusing on the body, mind, and pain.
Mahlalekhaya believes amadlozi are not evil but ancestors who are with God. He connects with the spirits and energy of ancestors and God, living near the mountains.
Mahlalekhaya has never seen a mamlambo but believes they exist. He started smoking zol and was arrested three times.
“Zol is the most powerful medicine in the world. I even used muthi in 1990 to wash my face for the magistrate to be nice to me,” said Mahlalekhaya.
He loves Xhosa traditional culture and energy and encourages other mlungus to embrace African culture and its medicine.
“It’s natural, and it has no side effects. It heals in a clean way,” he said.
The zol tree can make medicine, bricks, oil, fuel, plastics, clothes, and more.
Mahlalekhaya works with different plants and has more than 30 community projects in the country.
He collaborates with gobela Simon “Mkhulu sijo” Varrall, understanding both African and Western ways of life.
Daily Kasi News
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