Oracle bowl "agere ifa" ·  Nigéria, Yoruba · ID: 3035489

Description

wood, blackish brown patina, encrusted in some areas, traces of red pigment, a beautifully modelled warthog as caryatid, in a wide circle surrounded by a snake, both animals biting each other, slightly dam., cracks (bowl, base), minor missing part;
the divination bowls serve for keeping the 16 holy nuts (“ikin”), which are used for the questioning of the oracle. During the prophecy, the “babalawo” (priest) spreads the “opon ifa” with flour, throws the palm nuts on the board and generates the oracle from the lines drawn on the plate. The “ifa” oracle is used in whole Yoruba country and similar soothsaying systems are known all over West Africa.