Fine African Art Auction
Lot 54:
Length 12 inches. Wear with age or use, repair to old break down the middle.
In Africa, almost all problems are believed to be spiritual problems and so people seek the help of a diviner. Afa, Ifa, minkisi or many other names are forms of divinations. Divination was used to find out and correct the causes of misfortune of all kinds. The medicine man or dibia attributed afflictions to ancestral spirits, the local or nature. In my homeland, Oba-Idemili, the divination process, Igba-afa may take a form of liturgy which usually comprise the invocation of the spirit- mmuo; pouring the libation on the earth and other divination implements; making offerings, epkele, prayers, and chants; taping of bells and drums. – – Also it depends on the spirit force involved. There will be presence of ojii and nzuu (kola nuts and the white chalk), and Ikenga (divination board and tappers and shells). The diviner Dibia will then perform the necessary ritual with the divination implements to determine what spirit and offer some kind of peace offering to cast the spirit away from the patient or from the community. All the process is different from one to the other as each problem differs. Most diviners are able to bring complete peace to the community. The act of divination is not something you learn by reading books, nor can you buy the skill, it is usually inherited and can not be manipulated, though that there are hundreds of fake diviners who practice by guessing game, and one must be careful in choosing a diviner. To perform this process, you are either given this gift or you may be initiated with a vow to practice using implements such as trays, shells, mirror, a bowl of water, a bible and also a penjaline. During the process, you may use the allowing by journeying into the past or the future to track the problems. Always remember to stay connected, so that you can find your way back, many have traveled and got trapped. Then you will begin to hear stories and or see images.
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