Tokolosi

Despite the wide practice of Christianity in Botswana, traditional practices are common throughout the country. In more rural areas of the country, like my sub-district, you don’t have to look too far or listen too long before seeing or hearing something about traditional healers. People will often consult a traditional healer regarding illness before attending the health facility, or consult both a doctor and a traditional healer at the same time. There is hardly anything secretive about this either – health promotion teams in my sub-district sometimes host workshops for traditional healers to enhance their understanding of health issues and encourage them to send people to clinics for medical help.

Aside from seeking help for health purposes, people of Botswana will go to traditional doctors to improve life circumstances… basically, they want “good luck”. But not everyone is looking to better their own life; some will see witch doctors to place a curse on someone they have a grievance with. Although I don’t know the full extent of all that can result from being cursed, one consequence I’ve come to know A LOT about is… the Tokolosi. I've become fascinated with this creature and bring it up at random. I've been told that if I keep asking about Tokolosi and writing its’ name it will bring me bad luck... I think I’ll take my chances.

So here's the deal - people have different ideas of what a Tokolosi looks like. Some have told me it is elf-like (think Dobbie from Harry Potter). Some have said it is part animal, part human. In any case, they agree it is a small creature that brings bad luck to a person until they consult a traditional healer or witch doctor to make it go away.

Here's what I believe to be an incredibly accurate sketch of a Tokolosi taking into account all things I've heard. I've been criticized because my creature is wearing pants, but I don't see why it can't have a bit of common decency in photos.

I’ve heard a variety of stories from people in my office about these little guys. Here are some examples:

• One man in a local town was thought to have been possessed by a Tokolosi. He had frequent outbursts in public and spoke in many languages.

•  After one local man’s father passed away, a Tokolosi appeared to him saying she belonged to his late father. The father had seen a witch doctor to become wealthy, and received a lifetime Tokolosi who made him have sex with it in return for financial gain.

• A local woman's sister was being troubled during sleep, right before she woke. She felt as if someone or something was strangling her while she slept and believed it could be a Tokolosi.

The tales go on and on and I giggle at all of them. People ask, since I don't believe, what my logical explanation is. I reply that there may be medical explanations… and also, that Africans just really love stories.

And actually, it would be great if the Tokolosi were real. This would explain all the problems I've been having in Botswana with breaking my headphones...