African Magic
by Talks about African culture.
IN the past, African football and superstition have proven just about as inseparable as Siamese twins. And with the World Cup visiting Africa for the first time ever, superstitious natives here in South Africa and all over this vast continent are hell-bent on ensuring its stay on these shores isn’t short-lived.
On-pitch, the players are fully expected to execute their assignments. But off it, certain external forces are eager to lend a helping hand.
Umthakathi Inhlwathi, a South African shaman, is one among many determined to help African teams register success. Based in Sebokeng, Umthakathi’s full title loosely translates into “Python Wizard.”
He remains convinced that despite the wealth of talent among African teams, him and his ilk need to actively influence proceedings on the pitch.
“Africa has come far but without the help of our ancestors, there’s still a long way to go,” Umthakathi insists. “In Africa, we’ve gods for everything; gods for success and even ill-luck. If we pray to these different gods to bless us with fortune and strike our opponents with ill-fortune, then the World Cup will be ours.”
Tales of African teams consulting with witchdoctors have circulated relentlessly ever since Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko dispatched a planeload of wizards to help his team punch above its weight at the 1974 World Cup in Germany.
That Zaire ended up on the receiving end of a 9-0 thrashing by Yugoslavia hasn’t discouraged African adherents to supernatural intercession.
Umthakathi has an interesting explanation to Africa’s failures in past editions of the World Cup. “These past events were held overseas. African gods and the shamans are powerful. But for all that, our powers can’t work overseas. Our potency is nullified if it has to cross the high seas or the oceans.”
Umthakathi believes the full wrath of African gods will be let loose upon the unfortunate foreigners in all its dubious glory.
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