Observations placeholder
Xam bushmen - Num dom
Identifier
004921
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
From B Keeney – Ropes to God: Experiencing the Bushman Spiritual Universe
When you are learning to be a doctor, your teacher can take you to a big hole in the spirit world… The teacher shows you the line that takes you there. It looks like a white slanted line in the sky that goes underground ….
The underground place is called n/um dom. It means spirit hole. The place in the sky is called n/a’an meaning sky. When I am in the dance and see the ropes, I can go either up or down … If I don’t cool down, my body will disappear. The hot steam inside me leaves my body, giving me new eyes.
The eyes can become any colour. I can change into another form and travel to other places. I once changed into a lizard. I also see horizontal lines. They are coloured red, green, black and white. The lines are connected to the Bushman doctors … the lines go in all directions. For me the lines are usually bright and shining. They pulse, like a pulsing smoke