Typical ProcessAlthough quite often diviners grasp the will of the
gods and the ancestors while under spirit posses-
sion and in a state of trance, they also operate via
a complex system of knowledge that requires
several years of rigorous training. A divination
system is a rigorous process deriving from a
learned discipline based on an extensive body of
knowledge. This knowledge may or may not be
literally expressed during the interpretation of the
oracular message. The diviner may utilize a fixed
corpus, such as the Yoruba Ifa Odu verses, or a
more diffuse body of esoteric knowledge. Some
diviners operate self-explanatory mechanisms that
reveal answers; other systems require the diviner
to interpret cryptic metaphoric messages.
In other words, divining processes are diverse.
However, in general, some type of device usually
is employed, from a simple sliding object to the
myriad symbolic items shaken in diviners’ baskets
(Dikumbo). Among the Baluba of Central Africa,
for instance, the diviner (Kilumbu or Bwana-
vidye) communicates with the spirits by incanta-
tions, songs, percussion, dance, and trance. The
answer of the ancestors or other spirits is known
only through a laborious process by which the
diviner interprets visual codes or a kinetic
arrangement of items in a gourd or basket. During
the consultation, the diviner articulates a narrative
plot that leads the client to answer some specific
questions. Then the diviner shakes the gourd and
interprets the resulting configuration of items.
Items contained in the sacred gourd (mboko)
include a wide assortment of natural and manu-
factured objects, cowrie shells, the carapaces of
dried beetles, fruits, seeds, twigs, bird beaks,
claws, chalk, composite bundles in antelope
horns, human teeth, several miniature carved
wooden human figures, and so on. This array of
items constitutes the raw material that the diviner
uses to diagnose a problem. To this effect, he
shakes the gourd and then opens the lid. The
objects or figures that remain standing in the
gourd or come to the surface of the jumble of
pieces are taken as a revelatory sign of the prob-
lem and then interpreted.
The process is repeated by shaking the gourd
again and again until a satisfactory understanding
of the problem has been reached. Items contained
in the gourds constitute a set of symbols that carry
a secret meaning. It is believed that the meaning
carried by the juxtaposition of various items in the
gourd can be decoded and disclosed by the diviner
only under the influence of spirit possession. Once
the diagnosis of the problem has been accom-
plished, the diviner ends the session by issuing a
series of recommendations to the client. These
include sacrifices and a new type of behavior. The
failure to follow these guidelines leads to the
return of misfortune.Among the Yoruba
The Ifa divination system of Yoruba religion is
one of the divination forms that have been studied
widely and more systematically by scholars. The
structure of the Ifa divination suggests that
African divination systems are first of all based
on a fundamental cosmology. It is only by under-
standing the nature of the world and the structure
of human nature that the diviner can predict
future events or diagnose the cause of misfortunes
that afflict an individual.
According to Ifa cosmology, the world is the
theater of two pantheons of competing spiritual
forces. These good and bad forces struggle for
the control of the universe and humans as well.
According to the Yoruba, there are 400 Orishas
that are benevolent to humans and 200 ajogun
that are malevolent. These 200 evil powers include
the eight most infamous warlords: death (Iku), dis-
ease (Arun), paralysis (egba), curse (epe), loss
(ofo), big trouble (oran), imprisonment (ewon),
and “ese” (a general name for all other human
afflictions). A successful life requires the art of
living in harmony with these spiritual forces.
Ifa diviners predict events only by focusing on
the idiosyncratic harmony or disharmony of the
individual with the spiritual energies of the uni-
verse. Hence, the outcome of the divination
process is predicated on the belief that the future is
determined by the specific energy balance and
current behavior of the individual. Although the
orisha bless humans, whereas the ajogun try to
destroy them, the Yoruba religion underscores the
responsibility of the individual in his own happi-
ness. It teaches that good character is the essence
of religion (Iwa Lesin) and is also the best shield208 Divination Systems