Ubulawu : African Dreaming...

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="043fd5a3.jpg"> <div> <B>Ubulawu : African Dreaming...</B></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="044d2b03.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Silene capensis Undlela zimhlope"><U><B><IMG SRC="08f89140.png" border=0 width="137" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Types of Ubulawu"><U><B><IMG SRC="09098140.png" border=0 width="152" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grow Ubulawu"><U><B><IMG SRC="09284140.png" border=0 width="132" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.thebotanicalsource.com/ubulawu-dream-herbs-c-22.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.thebotanicalsource.com/ubulaw"><U><B><IMG SRC="0917b140.png" border=0 width="123" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Glossary"><U><B><IMG SRC="09378140.png" border=0 width="120" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Ubulawu.com"><U><B><IMG SRC="09478140.png" border=0 width="120" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="0a6ecc80.gif" border=0 width="1004" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>____________________________________________________________</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What is Ubulawu? :</B></div> <bR> <div> One traditional diviner (sangoma) calls ubulawu, `The medicine which belongs to the ancestors. It opens your brain, it opens your brain to work. </div> <div> It is used to induce or clarify dreams of ancestral spirits and opens minds to receive the messages of the ancestors.' </div> <bR> <div> A good cross-section of people claim that they never dream or, at least, never remember their dreams. Thus the practical significance of the use of oneirogenic ubulawu roots in the initiation of novice diviners. The use of ubulawu (from the verb ukulawula, to control) is considered not so much to cause dreams, but to throw a white light (ukukhanya okumhlophe) on dreaming, making dreams more vivid and memorable. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>____________________________________________________________</B></div> <bR> <div> For free updates on the benefits of African herbs,</div> <div> enter your email address here.</div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="0463c3c0.jpg" border=0 width="60" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </B><B>  <form action="http://freeautobot.com/cgi-bin/autores/autores.cgi" target="_blank"> <input type=hidden name="do" value="add_lead_external"> <input type=hidden name="Username" value="ubulawu"> <input type=hidden name="Stop_Status" value="Active"> <input type=hidden name="Cycle_Number" value="0"> <input type=hidden name="Success_URL" value="http://www.ubulawu.com/id18.htm"> <input type=hidden name="Failure_URL" value="http://www.ubulawu.com/id19.htm"> <input type=hidden name="Notes" value="Added from opt-in form"> Email : <input type=text name="Email" value=""> <input type=submit value="Submit"> </form>   </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>(We HATE spam and will </B><I><B>never </B></I><B>share your email address with anyone).</B></div> <div> <B>____________________________________________________________</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="098fa6e0.jpg" border=0 width="250" height="366" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The foam generated from certain plants, the sacred ubulawu, is used by the Zulu and Xhosa in order to purify and connect an individual to the ancestors through dreams. </div> <div> Many of these species come from trees, bushes, and vines that grow near water sources. Ubulawu is often administered to healers during rituals conducted in river pools. Significant cave sites, often with San paintings, are often found in close proximity to sacred pools, and many rituals for healing are performed at these sites. </div> <div> Certain places are more favored by the river spirits (or ancestors) than others. They are believed to live in deep pools of certain rivers, often below waterfalls, fast moving “living” water, or in the sea. “Living” water is often associated with its ability to generate foam, and the foam appears to be symbolically important. Berglund (1976: 146) cites a diviner (isangoma) informant who said, `It is as I said water that is living, running in the river. That is the living water.' It is believed the ancestors, or spirits of the water, live in a dry area at the bottom of these pools and have a lifestyle very similar to people living on earth. They are prosperous, peaceful, happy, and in fact, lead an idyllic life. </div> <bR> <div> The term `ubulawu' refers to a specific category of plant that is used in traditional divination practices in Southern Africa, and during the training of sangomas.</div> <div> Its uses include - </div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">a tool to aid with divination and prophecy,</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">to facilitate communication with the ancestors and ancestral spirits,</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">to access conscious dream states. </div> <bR> <div> Diviners and novices agreed that lucid, even prophetic, dreams were the main effects of ingesting ubulawu. </div> <div> The ingestion of ubulawu plays a fundamental role in the relationship between the diviner and the ancestors and is made by twirling a mixture of ground plants with water. </div> <div> Some types are psychoactive and their use, together with the ritual complex (song and dance), often results in altered states of consciousness with accompanying visionary phenomena such as visions or lucid dreams relating to the ancestors.</div> <bR> <div> Our research clearly indicates over two dozen species of plants which are used either singularly to make ubulawu, or mixtures of these plants are made into ubulawu. </div> <bR> <div> To some extent like the ancestors, the various types of ubulawu are distinguished according to the spatial categories of river (umlambo), forest (ihlathi) or grassland (ithafa) where they grow (Hirst, 2000, p. 132). Each of the various types of ubulawu, as well as other important medicinal roots, is linked to a particular wild animal and by extension its pelt, and these connections have ritual significance in the doctoring and installation of hereditary clan leaders, councillors (amaphakathi), diviners and herbalists. Most Xhosa clans are associated with one or other of the types of ubulawu that grow in the river, forest or grassland. </div> <div> However, only clans associated with diviners of the river use `<A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Silene capensis Undlela zimhlope"><U>undlela ziimhlophe</U></A>' </div> <div> (<A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Silene capensis Undlela zimhlope"><U>Click here for further details about `undlela ziimhlophe'</U></A>).</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>____________________________________________________________</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Success stories :</B></div> <bR> <div> `These medicinal herbs do exactly what they are reported to do. They are very powerful.</div> <div> We here in the USA cannot readily get SA traditional medicines, so I am very grateful for the opportunity to receive what I need without having to travel to southern Africa.'</div> <div> -Sharon, USA.</div> <bR> <div> `I was very pleased with the quality of the ubulawu herbs, they were obviously very good quality.'</div> <div> -Andy, USA.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>____________________________________________________________</B></div> <bR> <div> In South African traditional healing, river and forest rituals constitute essential components for the training process of individual diviner-healers (igqirha -sing/amagqirha- pl ). There is a variety of rituals performed during the training process which are usually prompted through dream messages that the novice receives. </div> <div> Ubulawu, a concoction of plants soaked in cold water that is beaten into a foam, is consumed by the initiate during these rituals. </div> <div> These rituals provide a neutral space whereby moral and social commentaries can be made. Inherent in this cognitive framework is an awareness of the integral balance between the social, natural and spiritual worlds.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>____________________________________________________________</B></div> <div>  <script language=JavaScript>  </script>  </div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Privacy Policy"><U>Privacy Policy</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>