Encyclopedia of African Religion

Chidester, D. (1992).Religions of South Africa. London,
New York: Routledge.
Douglas, M. (2000).Purity and Danger:An Analysis of
Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. New York:
Routledge. (Original work published 1966)
Frazer, J. G. (1913).The Golden Bough:Vol. I.A Study
in Magic and Religion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press.
Metuh, E. I. (1985).African Religions in Western
Conceptual Schemes:The Problem of Interpretation.
Ibadan, Nigeria: Pastoral Institute.
Turner, V. (1974).The Ritual Process:Structure and
Anti-structure. Chicago: Aldine.
Van Gennep, A. (1960).The Rites of Passage
(M. Vizedom, Trans.). Chicago: University of Chicago
Press; London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. (Original
work published 1909)

SEERS

In its narrowest and most literal sense, a seer is a per-
son with the ability to foretell events or a person’s des-
tiny. However, in a broader and more interpretive
sense, a seer is also one with profound moral and
spiritual insight or knowledge, such as a sage. Using
either definition, seers abound in Africa. A seer is,
first and foremost, one who sees. What precisely is
being seen and how it is being seen is another matter.
Because African ways of knowing include a combina-
tion of cognitive faculties, such as divination, think-
ing heart, intuition, possession, dreams, and keen
observation from sources that are both natural and
supernatural, a seer has a potentially infinite well
from which to draw information. This information
can be accessed in a systematic way, such as by div-
ination, where the diviner or client poses a specific
question on which to receive information. Or the
information may come in the form of a dream, where
the person would act on the information in the dream
or seek the counsel of someone with a reputation for
interpreting dreams. Sometimes by learning the lan-
guage of nature, such as the songs of birds or the
movements of clouds and wind, a person is able to
“predict” a future event. Because of all of these
sources of information, the tasks of a seer are spread
across many roles in the community, such as priests
and priestesses, diviners, medicine men or women,
rainmakers, and family elders. Often these people
work in the context of a specific family or

community, so their information is targeted or mean-

ingful to a relatively small group. This, along with the

perception that traditional Africans have a limited

concept of the future and are influenced by the future-

oriented religions of Christianity and Islam, feeds the

perception that Africa does not have prophets.

However, there have been instances where seers have

predicted events with broader implications, such as

the coming of Europeans to Africa, the arrival of guns

and airplanes in Africa, World War I, and the inven-

tion of the telephone. One sangoma sharing such

information is Credo Mutwa of South Africa, who

says that “prediction is a vital human power” and an

“early warning device that the gods placed within the

human soul so that one can recognize future dan-

gers.” With the power to recognize the dangers comes

the power to avoid them. Information about the

future, whether received intuitively or requested, is

really about what is happening now. African people

want to know what needs to be done now so that

situations can be made right, harmony can be

restored, or that whatever the undertaking it will be a

successful one.

Denise Martin

See alsoDivination Systems; Sangoma

Further Readings

Melale, L. I. (1997).L’interprétation africaine des rêves:

conception des Baluba. Lumbashi, Congo: Editions

Kivunge.

Mutwa, V. C. (1966).Africa Is My Witness.

Johannesburg, South Africa: Blue Crane Books.

Mutwa, V. C. (2003).Zulu Shaman:Dreams,

Prophecies,and Mysteries. Rochester, VT: Destiny.

Nkulu-N’Sengha, M. (2005). African Epistemology. In

M. K. Asante & A. Mazama (Eds.),Encyclopedia of

Black Studies(pp. 39–44).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Pemberton, J. (Ed.). (2000).Insight and Artistry in

African Divination. Washington, DC: Smithsonian

Institution Press.

SEKHMET

In ancient Egypt, there was a lioness goddess

named Sekhmet. The meaning of her name was

“the Powerful One.” She was represented as a

Sekhmet 601