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Philip M. Peek - African Divination Systems: Ways of Knowing African Systems of Thought

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African Divination Systems: Ways of Knowing African Systems of Thought
Author:
Philip M Peek
Publisher:
Indiana University Press
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Books / Science
Year:
1991
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This volume of finely crafted case studies is also the vehicle for an important general theory of divination.... this is a book overflowing with ideas that will powerfully stimulate further research. -- Journal of Ritual StudiesThe essays in this collection provide a very useful overview of both the diversity of African divination systems and of recent approaches to their study. -- ChoiceThis unique collection of essays by an exceptional international group of Africanists demonstrates the central role that divination continues to play throughout Africa in maintaining cultural systems and in guiding human action. African Divination Systems offers insights for current discussions in comparative epistemology, cross-cultural psychology, cognition studies, semiotics, ethnoscience, religious studies, and anthropology.

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INTRODUCTION
THE STUDY OF DIVINATION, PRESENT AND PAST

Philip M. Peek

Every human community recognizes a need for the special knowledge gained through divination. While this need is hardly of the same order as the need for food and shelter, it is nonetheless universal. Murdock, for instance, includes divination among the features found ''in every culture known to history or ethnography" (1945:124).

Prometheus's gift of fire to humankind is well known, but his gift of the arts of divination has almost been forgotten, even though his name, meaning "forethought," reflects the importance of this contribution to Greek culture (Oswalt 1969:24951). Other great civilizations have granted similar prominence to divination. Anthologies by Caquot and Leibovici (1968) and Loewe and Blacker (1981) include contributions on divination's critical role not only in the classical world but also in the Americas, India, Tibet, Japan and China, Africa, ancient Egypt and the Middle East, Judaism and Islam, and the Germanic world.

Although divination practices continue worldwide, remarkably little research has been done on these systems of knowledge, including those in Africa, the focus of this collection. Mbiti's observation remains valid: "With few exceptions, African systems of divination have not been carefully studied, though diviners are found in almost every community" (1970:232).

Ways of Knowing

Foremost among the concerns which shaped this volume is that, given the pivotal role of divination in African cultures, the study of divination systems must assume a central position in our attempts to better understand African peoples today. 1 As will be demonstrated, the sheer volume of information gained from recent thorough investigations of these systems reveals how much knowledge we lost as a result of earlier prejudices against divination. Throughout Africa whether in

the city or in the country, no matter the religion, sex, or status of the individualquestions, problems, and choices arise for which everyday knowledge is insufficient and yet action must be taken. The information necessary to respond effectively is available, but often only through a diviner. That is why divination continues to provide a trusted means of decision making, a basic source of vital knowledge.

A divination system is a standardized 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. Divining processes are diverse, but all follow set routines by which otherwise inaccessible information is obtained. Some type of device usually is employed, from a simple sliding object to the myriad symbolic items shaken in diviners' baskets. Sometimes the diviner's body becomes the vehicle of communication through spirit possession. Some diviners operate self-explanatory mechanisms that reveal answers; other systems require the diviner to interpret cryptic metaphoric messages. The final diagnosis and plan for action are rendered collectively by the diviner and the clients(s).

Divination sessions are not instances of arbitrary, idiosyncratic behavior by diviners. A divination system is often the primary institutional means of articulating the epistemology of a people. Much as the classroom and the courtroom are primary sites for the presentation of cultural truths in the United States, so the diviner in other cultures is central to the expression and enactment of his or her cultural truths as they are reviewed in the context of contemporary realities. The situating of a divination session in time and space, the cultural artifacts utilized (objects, words, behaviors), the process of social interaction, and the uses made of oracular knowledge all demonstrate the foundations of a people's world view and social harmony. Divination systems do not simply reflect other aspects of a culture; they are the means (as well as the premise) of knowing which underpin and validate all else. Contemporary Africans in both urban and rural environments continue to rely on divination, and diviners play a crucial role as mediators, especially for cultures in rapid transistion.

A second concern of the shapers of this volume was that African divination research had become lost in an almost exclusively functionalist mode, which assumed the practice to be at best simply supportive of other social systems and at worst irrational and detrimental to its adherents. Every study presented here emphatically demonstrates the centrality of divination. Divination systems are not simply closed ideologies founded on religious beliefs but are dynamic systems of knowledge upon which the proper ordering of social action is based. Looking at these systems from this standpoint, we begin to understand why divination is so often chosen over other means of decision making.

We intend this volume to contribute to current discussions in comparative epistemology and the anthropology of knowledge, cross-cultural psychology and cognition studies, and semiotics and ethnoscience as well as to religious studies and more traditional anthropological topics. Although divination systems are not solely manifestations of religious beliefs, a sacred world view is nonetheless a key ele-

ment. It is virtually impossible to discuss social interaction, self-identity, and cognitive process in an African context without consideration of divination, especially diviner-client interaction and the modes of analysis employed. Political and sociological studies of African societies need to recognize the role of divination systems in the enactment and validation of African legal systems and political structures. Investigation of a divination complex reveals a wealth of historical data in divinatory texts, esoteric terminology, and diviner's paraphernalia. Because many diviners are also herbalists, their diagnostic and treatment methods can aid the study of traditional healing systems. No aspect of life is not touched by divination, and so the process becomes critical to any study of African cultures and peoples.

With our emphasis on divination as a system of knowledge in action, we are reminded that our scientific tradition is but one way of knowing and that we can gain much from other systems proven effective over the centuries. African divination systems involve a combination of (as we commonly label cognitive processes) "logical-analytical" and "intuitive-synthetical" modes of thinking, while in the European tradition the separation of these modes is rigidly maintained.

In addition, the European tradition tends to characterize the diviner as a charismatic charlatan coercing others through clever manipulation of esoteric knowledge granted inappropriate worth by a credulous and anxiety-ridden people. Instead, we have found diviners to be men and women of exceptional wisdom and high personal character. The critical input of the divinatory congregation, especially that of the consulter/adviser and the particularizing discussions between diviner and client(s), serves to demythologize the domineering diviner image. By approaching divination as a dynamic, determining process, we are no longer limited to simple product analysis of the divinatory diagnosis.

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