Review: Leopard Warrior: A Journey into the African Teachings of Ancestry, Instinct, and Dreams by John Lockley.
Review: Leopard Warrior: A Journey into the African Teachings of Ancestry, Instinct, and Dreams by John Lockley. Published by Sounds True. John Lockley’s Leopard Warrior: A Journey into the African Teachings of Ancestry, Instinct, and Dreams is a book which seems both timely and timeless in equal measure. Today, a person from a non-indigenous tribe speaking for those who have a direct blood relationship to a cultural and spiritual tradition is often looked upon with suspicion, if not openly challenged. Importantly, the author is sensitive to his role as being one of the first white sangoma priests and acknowledges that there is a heightened awareness around the topic of potential appropriation without due training. The early chapters in this work detail Lockley’s experiences growing up in South Africa at the end of apartheid and his confusion as he is drawn to his sangoma calling. And yet despite being a white man in South Africa at this volatile time, it...