ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Material

Manufacturing Technique

Place Made

Date Collected

Date Owned

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Measurements

Item Classes

Condition

Current Location

Accession Number

Description

Woven root basket (part a) and divination contents (parts b-r). The coiled basket has watch-spring and splint weave at base. The contents of the basket are: b) short piece of horn pierced at tip and base; c) desiccated hoof; d) cowrie shell; e) part of seed pod; f) cocoon covered with sticks; g) wooden thread spool; h) disc of copper; i) carved, cylindrical wood object; j) carved wooden effigy; k) fruit pit; l) wood with wax coating; m) fragment of black plastic or bakelite; n) stone; o) ball of wax; p) smaller ball of wax; q) ball of wax with hollow centre; r) fragment tar-paper with two nails.

Narrative

A tag with the basket said it was given to a minister by the original diviner, a tahi. Due to the rough structure of the basket, it is likely it was used many times before being given to the minister. It was obtained by the donor from the Ovimbundu, however the basket features more closely resemble a Chokwe basket; Chokwe baskets are made of root, Ovimbundu baskets are made of grasses. The trinkets in the basket may be more closely associated Ovimbundu divination tupele.

History Of Use

Divination basket (ngombo ya kusekula), made from the roots of the mukenga bush, with trinkets (tupele plural, kupele singular) that are used in the process of divination by a diviner (tahi or ochimbanda). When a diviner is performing divination they are possessed by Ngombo (divining spirit). While the Ngombo inhabits them, they are able to interact with the invisible world to possess the knowledge of the past, present and future. They use the combination of tupele to create a specific meaning and apply guidance to the subject seeking divination. Diviners have five purposes: discover the cause of sickness, death or any evil, interpret omens and dreams, give advice on personal problems, dispense medicine and charms, and bring rain, hold it back, or find who is guilty of withholding rain. Each kupele has its own meaning or symbolism based on what it is made of and what it resembles, but the meanings of tupele can vary based on the context in which the diviner is performing the ritual. The people who create tupele for the tahi are called songi. They are responsible for carving anthropomorphic wooden figures that represent specific spirits, people, actions, or emotions.

Iconographic Meaning

Within the basket are streaks of white and red pigment, and both colours are heavily associated with Chokwe divination. For the Ovimbundu, the wooden thread spool, which resembles a stool (omangu), indicates an important person. The short piece of horn (omela wohutililo) means the "mouth of prayer" or "supplication." The cowrie shell (ombando) means the patient is ill and the spirit causing the diseases "wishes a divining basket", and preparations needs to begin for the initiation of a new diviner. During the process of divination, if the white side of the cowrie shell comes up, it means the spirit does not agree with the statement made by the diviner; if the dark side comes up, the spirit agrees. The vegetable pod (olusietca) means that the patient being divined is a woman who cannot give birth because there is a pod inside her. This illness is cured at a place where paths cross, through extensive massage treatments, and the removal of the pod. The cocoon covered with sticks (okatetaviti) and hoof are all related to the making of a spirit house (etambo), to be inhabited by an ancestral spirit, usually a paternal relative of the patient. The wood with wax coating (elau lipatko) represents a charm for gaining wealth and possessions. When this piece comes up in the basket, the diviner realizes the person consulting them is interested in knowing whether the spirit favours them procuring a real charm. The water worn stone (oseko) signifies the patient is suffering from small, constant pains. This is cured with massage treatment and removing a stone from the patient. The ball of wax with the hollow centre (uteke) means "night".