Chapter 8

As they sat in the mini-bus taxi on the way to Godfrey’s home in Soweto, Lord Balah took the opportunity to relax and have a quick power nap while Godfrey sat silently next to him and pondered the thoughts taking shape in his mind…

It all made sense to Godfrey now:  the powers he had possessed as a sangoma had left him as soon as he had- in his heart- renounced his life as a sangoma.  But even before that, he realized, his powers had begun fading the day he had performed the sexual act by the river with Lord Balah’s biological mother.  Somehow, Godfrey’s sangoma powers must have been transferred through his ‘man seed’ to the ovary that it then subsequently fused with to create the son that now sat next to him, napping quietly as the mini-bus taxi careened dangerously through the informal township.

Godfrey realized now the reason for the stringent vow of celibacy he had to take at his official sangoma ordainment ceremony:  somehow, and for whatever reason, the powers of a sangoma can only be kept in a vessel that is pure and free from the temptations of the flesh.  Obviously, Godfrey ascertained, the rule did not apply to masturbation, since he had done that many times- sometimes hundreds of times a day- as a young sangoma without ever losing a trace of his powers.

Stepping out of the taxi and into the dangerous streets of Soweto, Godfrey told Lord Balah to follow him and not make eye contact with anyone.  Despite this, however, Lord Balah’s presence in the shanty town that evening did not go unnoticed:  amidst the crowd of Levi jeans and expensive sneakers, Lord Balah’s unusual appearance drew curious stares from the locals as he followed his father home.

Entering the small tin shack, Lord Balah immediately noticed the presence of another man in the far left corner of the room, meditatively stirring a pot of stew.  Godfrey introduced Lord Balah to the man as his life partner, Maurice.  Maurice was a thin man of medium height, and seemed to have a few teeth missing.  As they shook hands to greet, Lord Balah saw a flash in his mind of a young Maurice getting punched in the mouth repeatedly by a bunch of boys who were calling him a slew of derogatory names.  Frightened by the vision but fully aware of the two men watching him, Lord Balah quickly forced the vision he had just seen out of his mind, and took a seat on the floor with his gracious hosts.

While Maurice continued stirring the stew and was getting ready to make a small garden salad to go with the meal, Godfrey explained to Lord Balah how the two men had managed to stay together in that small shantytown as lovers for so long:  no one knew that they were gay.  Granted, Godfrey admitted, people probably suspected it, but until they actually came out and said it- or at least got caught performing anal intercourse- nobody could do anything to them.  Just the other day, Godfrey informed Lord Balah, a woman who had been suspected of being a lesbian finally came out of the closet and told her family- who then organized a small group of men to tie the poor woman to a wooden beam and burn her alive. 

The full extent of the homophobia within Soweto’s borders struck Lord Balah as primitive and somewhat archaic.  Having been raised in Europe, Lord Balah had always accepted the liberal attitude his adopted parents had passed down to him.  Lady Chisselton in particular had always been fond of “the gays”, as she liked to call them.  She would often joke, in fact, that “if it wasn’t for the gays, I don’t know how I would have decorated this Mansion so beautifully!”  Indeed, a large portion of the staff at the Chisselton mansion were homosexuals:  there was Allan the Head Chef, Fabrizio the flower decorator, Montgomery the party planner, and Lucio the pool boy- those just being a few that came to Lord Balah’s mind at that moment.

Sitting there cross-legged on the floor with his father, Lord Balah felt a growing sense of injustice in the pit of his stomach.  The feeling began to flow like fire through his veins as he realized that something had to be done to change these unfortunate and unfair circumstances.  At that very same moment, Godfrey say watching his son, knowing full well the changes that were occurring within his son’s heart:  at that very moment in time, dear reader, Lord Balah was being born anew…and so it was that Lord Balah became a true Sangoma.

Without even eating the delightful meal Maurice had prepared for them, Lord Balah got to his feet and left the small tin shack he had been sitting in.  With an unbridled sense of purpose and determination, he began walking the streets of the township.  Saying nothing, but making sure to meet the gaze of every onlooker, Lord Balah walked the entire length and breadth of Soweto that night.  In the morning as the sun rose, he went back to his father and told him to announce to the people the grand occasion which would take place that afternoon:  Godfrey and Maurice were getting married.

Godfrey knew what had happened and did not question his son’s directive.  And, as if by magic, the entire township accepted the homosexual couple’s domestic union with open hearts and minds.  Within a few weeks, Maurice was enjoying wine-fuelled book club evenings with the other wives in the area and Godfrey was going on weekend fishing trips with the other husbands.  All in all, the happy newlyweds (whose commitment ceremony was presided over by Lord Balah himself) lived happily together in wedded bliss from there on after, free from the homophobic prejudice that had once made them fear ever achieving that dream.