Conflict mediation and Bungoma activism in a South African township

Abstract

The following article draws on fieldwork with traditional African healers in an urban South African township and examines mediation sessions undertaken by a group of healers with a view to contemporary conflicts that emerged during their praxis. I argue that the healers’ mediation practices are a form of activism that addresses the hermeneutical and institutional gap between traditional healing and the magistrates’ court system. This activism further presents a social positioning by healers for greater legitimacy, recognition, and integration with governmental structures. The article introduces the township of Alexandra and two different conflict resolution pathways that exist there, which reflect two divergent judicial moralities of reproduction with their respective cultural frameworks. The article then provides an overview of the institution of traditional healing and, lastly, describes the healers’ mediation as a form of activism.