03/02/2026
UKUQUQUDA ITHAMBO (BONE READING)
There is nothing I enjoy and find pretty easy like ukuphosa ithambo. Upon the bones touching the ground, I would take a moment to listen, not read. (This is very key). Reading ngendlela they fell is superficial, and doesn’t touch on the deeper meaning implied. But if ungenalo idlozi elisebenza ngamathambo, noma ngingakufundisa ukuthi amathambo asetshenziswa kanjani, you will battle and not be able to grasp this skill. Bones are very similar to poetry, let me break it down.
A poem has the literal meaning, which most people are able to pick up ukuthi kukhulunywa ngani, but it also contain the hidden and deeper meaning, few people can actually bring this to the fore. So are the bones. Amathambo that we use ukuphengulula izindaba zomuntu, contain ithambo lendoda, lomfazi, siblings, abantwana, amanzi, izilwane etc. So when you throw bones either on icansi or phezu kwebhayi, it is how they fall and their relation to each other. Uthole ithambo lendoda limele kude from elomfazi, which is safe to arrive at the conclusion ukuthi indoda isidinwa umfazi wayo. This is the literal meaning of the reading of the bones. Most people would end up here on this level of reading, by dissecting the physical plane. But just like poetry with it’s hidden and deeper layers o meaning, one needs to listen to idlozi to be able to get to the deeper meaning. Lendoda who stands so far away from umfazi wayo, while they are married, might not neccesarily mean ukuthi indoda idinwa umfazi, kodwa umshado waphela kudala, uthando selaphela, sebahlanganisa abantwana, and do not want to divorce, fearing the splitting of their pension fund.
There is a school of thought that says, udinga ukuwapheka amathambo akho, and mix with certain herbs, bese uphuza amanzi akhona, by doing so, you gel and become one with izinhlolo. Having said that, I repeat, if ungenalo idlozi eliququda ithambo, this is like mission impossible. Mina I can walk up to any indumba, bakhiphe amathambo abawasebenzisayo, I would be able to make a thorough consultation ngamathambo omunye umlaphi, because nginedlozi that loves ukuphonsa ithambo. This is so true as well to ukubhula ngekhanda, if ungenaso isithunywa esivuthiwe, angeke ukhona ukugijima ngekhanda lodwa.
But here is the most fascinating thing I have ever encountered when it comes to ukubhula ngethambo. In life, we can stand at the same spot, and look in the same direction, but we will not see the same thing, that is how subjective perception is. Same with the bones, singahlala siyi 3 and read the very same bones, we will not pick up the same issues and concerns raised by one set of bones, there will be 3 different readings.
There is something very odd that happen whenever we do a duet with my wife, I have never seen this phenomenon before. I would throw the bones on the grassmat, as I stand back to listen, because uholwa isithunywa, she would be the first to grasp the meaning of the bones without even looking at them. By the time I catch on and want to share my findings, it turns out ukuthi bengizokhuluma lento she has just voiced. This is a rare occurrence and it’s something that doesn’t happen randomly. When we consult, it’s like we become one person, one mind, one heart, but most importantly, one ancestor working through both of us, simultaneously. I dare you, to find a healing couple and see if you will be able to identify this phenomenon in them.
In conclusion, it’s not everything that we see on the bones that we will share with the paient, ezinye zezinto uyazibona, but it’s not wise to voice them, instead, we will rather give you the remedy to correct/fix that challenge. For instance, a couple comes for consultation, and you can tell ukuthi indoda inomntwana ngaphandle komshado. To divulge this information might even break their marriage, or worse, lead to a divorce. Umsebenzi wethu ukwakha imizi, not ukubhidliza. I would casually ask his wife to go buy me a candle espaza, while she is out on this errand, speak to her husband about the child he has outside his marriage. It is not my place to tell his wife ngomntwana wangaphandle, but ufeleba self, under the right conditions.
NB: Noma ungamthola ayedwa uMkhul’ Dalindyebo ngingekho, uzokubhulela into ehambayo, she doesn’t need me for ukuhlola, the opposite is also true, ngizokubhulela into eyisimanga even when I am alone, but if you happen to find us together, you are truly blessed, as you will get to experience this magic detailed above. Those who have, will bear testimony to these wild claims.
(In as much as I am untouchable when it comes to the bones, isithunywa sami on a secondary position, so that I can know ukuthi umuntu makawa eduze kwami etaxi rank, there are no bones to consult, but I would know ukuthi why did you fall). Idlozi needs to be balanced with isithunywa for spiritual equilibrium)
Abaphile abantu and prosper with guidance yedlozi
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