Esotericism in Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa’s writings

The aim of this thesis is to identify and analyse esoteric motives in Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa’s writings, his esoteric ideology and its perception by international public. Mutwa is one of the illuminators of South African contemporary esotericism and is admired by many around the world. He is a sangoma – a sage, clairvoyant, diviner and healer; Mutwa also calls himself a shaman1 . He is the author of six books on mythology, religion and culture of Southern Bantu peoples, especially Zulus. He also writes about political and racial problems in South Africa. The influence of his work and books crossed the racial and geographical borders and he has become one of the New Age and new esoteric movements’ icons2 . When Mutwa wrote his first book in the 1960s, he wanted to make South African cultures known and respected by both Africans and Westerners. Then, in the 1990s he began the co-operation with New Age publishers and activists, and his ideas and books started to be used to fuel New Age ideology3 . There had been no academic thesis written on Mutwa’s writings before mine. No academic analysed esotericism in Mutwa’s books and social and artistic activities. Also, according to Mutwa, no academic had ever interviewed him before me. Several articles written by Blackney, Blount, Chidester, Rose and Stein offer little insight into Mutwa’s literature and esoteric aspects of his creativity. My study is the first one which analyses esotericism in Mutwa’s writings and places his artistic achievements in South African historical, social and esoteric realities