Resilience in Healing: Hombakazi Mercy Nqandeka on indigenous medicine and African heritage
Growing up in Xhora, Elliotdale in the Eastern Cape, Hombakazi Mercy Nqandeka was surrounded by healers. “My grandmother was a fertility herbalist, helping women struggling to conceive,” she recalls. “At home, remedies for sickness were normal. That shaped my relationship with healing.”
For her, the language of healing matters. Nqandeka, who is a Public health PhD Candidate, whose work bridges research, culture, and advocacy. She prefers the term indigenous medicine over traditional medicine. “Traditional suggests something stagnant, but indigenous medicine is alive, it grows with us. It is as old as humanity.”
Nqandeka’s upcoming presentation at the Rural Health Conference focuses on indigenous healing and resilience, two concepts that are inseparable in her view. “Resilience is what kept indigenous medicine alive despite suppression. Even when laws like the Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 tried to erase it, people held on. That is resilience.”
While some worry about the future of indigenous medicine, Nqandeka believes it is thriving. She points to a new generation of healers who are taking the baton. “This healing is preserved because healers themselves have seen to it that it continues. Our role as researchers is to document and amplify, because so much of it is passed orally.”
Eight out of ten South Africans consult a healer before visiting a hospital or clinic, according to existing literature. For Nqandeka, this statistic shows the strength of indigenous medicine, and the opportunity it holds.
“If the government were smart, they would incorporate indigenous healing into Western medicine. This would give people choice, reduce the burden on clinics, and ensure people don’t feel they must hide to seek help. Indigenous medicine is not secondary, it is the main thing for most Africans.”
Through her research, writing, and public voice, Nqandeka champions the recognition of African healing traditions not as relics of the past, but as living, evolving systems of care.
Her message is clear: indigenous medicine is not just surviving, it is thriving, resilient, and deeply woven into the lives of communities across South Africa.