A 32-year-old British banker has given up his "nice life" to become a witch doctor in the wilderness of Africa. Asia One reports that Thomas Heathfield quit his job where he previously advised a retail bank on management, and moved to South Africa to become a healer, known by the locals as a sangoma.
The training to become a sangoma took a total of three months. It included him having to forfeit three days of sleep, going into trances daily at 2.30am, drinking goats blood and throwing it up.
To pass his final tests he also had to learn Swazi and hunt for small animal parts that were hidden by the villagers.
The Daily Mail reported that Mr Heathfield had a spiritual awakening that had him drop his life in Berkshire to pursue his calling in South Africa.
His parents travelled from England to join him for his graduation ceremony called a twasa.
The villagers have also renamed him Gogo Mndawe and he plans to stay for a fortnight before making his way down to Cape Town where he is friends with another healer.
Find out more at http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20110704-287513.html
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