Yoruba Divination Trays

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The word ‘Yoruba’ describes both a language and a people who number over eleven million. They reside in southwestern Nigeria and within the neighboring Benin Republic. Their origin can be traced back to the first millennium. According to myth, life began in the Yoruba holy city of Ife. As with several tribal groups in Africa, the art of divination is practiced; each using different spiritual guides and mediums. The Yoruba associate the divination arts with the god of wisdom, Orunmila, the agent of divination, Ifa and the messenger god, Eshu. Ifa divination plays a very important role in determining which royal candidate will take the throne and what life holds in general for the subjects. Villagers seek information derived from divination from the god Ifa in hope that problems or questions, personal, medical, social, political and religious will be resolved. The person will have to go through a diviner or ‘babalawo’ to use this process. The diviner will use the centerpiece of divination, a board called an ‘opon ifa’ that has the face of Eshu (among other symbols) centrally located at the top of the carved wooden border. Eshu is the messenger god and a trickster. He is a symbol of life’s diverse consequences. To begin the divination session, the diviner will toss 16 palm nuts back and forth from hand to hand which enables him to determines a number, either 1 or 2 which is marked down on the board that has been powdered to keep track. The pattern of number marks will then determine which one of 256 signs or ‘odu’ applies to the situation at hand. Each odu has a unique story, proverb, song or phrase that is associated with the lives of gods, humans or animals. The odu is believed to have been brought to the diviner from Eshu. The diviner upon reciting the appropriate odu will thusly supply the client with the much sought after information needed to solve his or her problem or dilemma. This tray is nicely carved from a very attractive native hard wood. A slight patina from wear has formed in certain places. See several other trays below.

This is board 750A. This board has been sold.

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Dimensions: 17 inches tall x 13 1/2 inches wide.

Wt: 7 lbs.

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