Hoodoo, Rootwork, Conjure
Cowrie-shell divination
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A throw of merindinlogun, resulting in four "open" shells (odù irosun).Cowrie
shell
divination is a form of fortune-telling using cowrie shells that
is part of the rituals and religious beliefs of several Afro-American
religions, such as Candomblé and Umbanda.[1][2][3] It is called jogo de
búzios (Portuguese for "cowrie game") or merindinlogun (Yoruba for
"sixteen") by its practitioners, although the two names may designate
somewhat different systems.
Cowrie-shell divination is derived from the Ifá divination practiced by
Yoruba priests in Africa. However, Ifá uses palm seeds instead of
shells, and different ways to "throw" and count them. Also, cowrie-shell
divination is widely practiced in the Americas by women, whereas Ifá
divination in Africa is traditionally reserved to men.
There are many variants, but generally the divination entails throwing a
set of 8 to 21 (most commonly 16) cowrie shells on a prepared table or
on the ground, and interpreting the patterns that result. Before each
throw, the practitioner invokes and salutes the Orishas, and poses
questions to them. It is believed that the Orishas answer the questions
by influencing the way the shells fall on the table.
History
The practice of ifá divination was brought to the Americas with the
slave trade, mainly between the 17th and 19th centuries. The use of
cowrie shells however is claimed to have come from the Middle East, and
to have entered Africa some centuries earlier. Cowrie shells, which were
used as currency in Africa by the time of the slave trade, are
frequently used in ornaments and dresses associated with the
Afro-American cults.
Divination ritual
Cowrie shells.The cowrie shell, as collected from a beach, has a
flattened side with a longitudinal slit, and a smooth rounded side. Like
a coin, the shell has only two stable positions on a flat surface, with
the slit side facing either up or down. A few cowrie-shell diviners use
the shells in this natural state; then the outcome of the throw, for
each piece, is either "open" (slit up) or "closed" (slit down).
Cowrie shell modified for divination, showing the natural and artificial
openings.Most priests, however, use modified shells whose rounded part
has been ground away, creating a second, artificial opening. The two
stable positions of the shell are still called "open" or "closed" for
divination purposes. In most candomblé houses (temples), "open" still
means that the natural opening is facing up; but some traditions (mainly
in the Candomblé Ketu sect) use the opposite convention.
Merindinlogun
In the merindinlogun variant, sixteen cowry shells are thrown on a flat
surface, and the number of "open" shells is used to select an item (odú)
from a fixed list of oracular verses (ẹsẹ), which is the same as the
principal list of Ifá divination.
References
^ Pierre Fatumbi Verger (1954): Dieux D'Afrique Paul Hartmann, Paris
(1st edition, 1954; 2nd edition, 1995). 400 pages, 160 photos, ISBN
2-909571-13-0.
^ Pierre Verger, Notas Sobre o Culto aos Orixás e Voduns. 624 ages.
Portuguese translation by Carlos E. M. Moura. Editora da Universidade de
São Paulo, Brazil, 1999 ISBN 85-314-0475-4
^ José Beniste (1999), Jogo de Búzios - Um Encontro com o Desconhecido.
Editora Bertrand Brasil, 290 pages. ISBN 8528607747
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external
links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations.
Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where
appropriate. (July 2009)
External links
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowrie-shell_divination"
Categories: Candomblé | Afro-American religion
