Divining chains
- Museum number:
- 5-16014
- Permalink:
- ark:/21549/hm21050016014
- Alternate number:
- [TBD-MTB, 10/2/2009] (previous number (Bascom’s number))
- Accession number:
- Acc.4692
- Description:
- Divining "chain"; 8 'opele' seed pods; brass (?) button; 3 British West Africa halfpenny coins; bone button; multi-colored glass beads of varying size, strung together on cordage with free hanging strands on both ends; "chain" 106 cm long; free hanging strands both 7 cm long.
- Donor:
- Berta Bascom
- Collection place:
- Nigeria
- Verbatim coll. place:
- Africa; Nigeria; Yoruba
- Culture or time period:
- Yoruba
- Collector:
- Berta Bascom and William Russell Bascom
- Collection date:
- unknown
- Materials:
- Bone (material), Glass (material), and Metal
- Object type:
- ethnography
- Function:
- 5.1 Religion and Divination: Objects and garb associated with practices reflecting submission, devotion, obedience, and service to supernatural agencies
- Accession date:
- December 5, 1997
- Context of use:
- Used as an alternative to palm nuts in Ifa divination; usually made by diviner for his own use or use by students. Cf. Ifa Divination by William Bascom, pp. 29-31. Cf. 5-10842 and 10844 for other examples
- Department:
- Africa (except Ancient Egypt)
- Dimensions:
- chain— length 106 centimeters and free hanging strands— length 7 centimeters
- Images:
-
- Legacy documentation:
-