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Finding Healing and Harmony in the Kongo

This beautifully carved elephant is an itombwa, a rubbing oricle, used by diviners in the Kongo to detect the cause of illness. Like healers in all cultures, the diviner has special knowledge and power that allows him understand the illness.

The rubbing oricle is also used to find who the criminal party may be when social and moral offenses have been committed (Visual Arts 265). The diviner uses oil to prepare the oracle and then rubs a wooden peg across its back to discover what is wrong with the client. In the case of crime, the diviner recites the names of people who may have be guilty while he rubs the oracle. When the peg will no longer move across the back of the animal, the person who's name is being recited is found to be guilty.

This oracle can only be used by a qualified diviner who is able to understand the intense spiritual powers of the itombwa. The intricate detail in the carving and the radiant shine in the finish emphasizes the understanding the artist has for the power of the itombwa. The excellence of the craftsmanship makes the itombwa more powerful and effective.

Image: courtesy of Amhurst Museum Creator: Kuba Place: Kongo Material: Wood

"Ritual art both shapes and is shaped by the imagination of the artist who seeks to reveal the interrelatedness of the divine and the human through sculpted image, song, and dance." (Yoruba: Nine 26)

Yoruba Cosmology:

The Power of the Diviner

When illness or misfortune strikes the Yoruba society, the deity Orunmila is called upon to assist the Ifa diviner, the babalawo, known as "the father of ancient wisdom." The babalawo goes through a long training period (ten to fifteen years) (visual art 143) to obtain the knowledge and skill necessary to use the instruments of divination to invoke Orunmila and help his (the babalawo is always a man) client find the cause of his or her ailment. He first taps the divination tray, the opon, with the tapper (iroke), thus invoking the spirit of Orunmila. He then spreads wood dust on the tray and throws sixteen palm nuts on the dust eight consecutive times. With this, he comes up with one of 256 possible combinations and recites the related poems thus finding the cause of the illness or misfortune his client is experiencing. The agere Ife is the cup that holds the sixteen palm nuts when they are not in use.

Opon Ifa, The Tray of Divination

This intricately carved divination tray details the face of Eshu around its border. The border is complex yet interconnected, just as the human life is. The beauty of the carving pays respect to the wisdom and experience of the babalawo. The diviner holds the tray so that the light streams across it without a shadow while he is using it. (Yoruba sculpture 51) This sheds light on Eshu who is always present during divination.

Image: courtesy of Fowler Museum Creator: Yoruba Place: Nigeria Material: Wood, Chalk

Iroke Ifa, The Divine Tapper

The beautiful carving of this tapper, iroke Ifa, demonstrates the reverence the artist feels for the divination process between the babalawo and Orunmila. The oversized head on the woman shows the enormous power carried in the head. It is a symbolic shrine to the head, the ruler of one's destiny. (Visual art 128) It is here that one finds one's true nature or spiritual essence. Not only does it carry the power of knowledge and wisdom, but also one's dignity and serenity.

"It is the head that also links the person with the otherworld." (Yoruba: Nine 32)

Image: courtesy of Amhurst Museum Creator: Yoruba Place: Nigeria Material: Wood

Agere Ifa, The Diviner's Bowl

The diviner's bowl, agere Ifa, hold the sacred palm nuts that foretell the secrets of the divination. The bowl is carried by a woman with a baby showing prosperity and respect to the gods. It is held up by many others emphasizing the importance of the contents. The women on top have their arms around each other signifying the interconnectedness of the cosmos. The beauty of the carving pays tribute to the diviner and the divine.

Image: courtesy of National Museum Creator: Olowe of Ise Place: Nigeria, Yoruba Material: Wood, pigment

The Diviner's Bag, apo ife

This is the bag the diviner uses to carry the tools of divination. In here he keeps his tapper and palm nuts, as well as a chain he uses in the divination process. This bag is made of beads sewn on cloth and trimmed in leather. Beaded regalia is worn by the king and the beads represent the wisdom and spiritual power he carries. This beaded diviner's bag embodies the transcendent spiritual power and wisdom of the diviner and his instruments within the bag.

Image: courtesy of Amhurst Museum Creator: Yoruba Place: Nigeria Material: fabric, beads, leather