Beschreibung:

Agere Ifa Yoruba divination bowl, Nigeria
Late 19th - early 20th century
Wood
H. 26 cm

Provenance :
Alfie Scheinberg Collection, New York, USA
Irwin Smiley Collection, New York, USA

Bibliography:
Orisha Yoruba, Serge Schoffel, 2019, pp. 38-39.

The complex Ifa divination system, practiced by the Yoruba, Edo, Fon of Dahomey and Ewe of Togo, "based on sixteen basic figures and 256 derivatives." (William Bascom, Ifa divination, communication between gods and Men in West Africa, p.3) included in Yoruba cosmology, the Orishas embodying the intermediaries between Olodumare, the Supreme Being, and humans.

Two gods, Orunmila and Eshu, mediate between the Orisha deities and humans. Orunmila, orisha of destiny, is called upon to know fate and manipulate higher forces in favor of humans. Eshu, messenger of the gods, presiding over chance and disorder, will provide access to Orunmila's contact.

The Ifa divinatory consultation of these two Orishas, carried out through the ritual orchestrated by the babalawo diviner - "father of secrets" - takes place via various elements, notably divinatory cups, such as this fine example.

Called Agere Ifa, this divinatory cup was used by the Yoruba to offer kola nuts as a sign of offering and hospitality, but above all as a receptacle for the 16 palm nuts used in Ifa divinatory ceremonies. The diviner consulted the god Orunmila, reading and interpreting the disposition of the seeds thrown onto the divinatory tray, enabling him to detect and interpret the message transmitted.

Presenting two female subjects with classic Yoruba iconographic features, the rounded body contours soften the kneeling posture of deference and respect. The hands delicately placed on the breasts, symbolic of fertility, suggest sensuality. The proud, noble bearing of the bust and the upright carriage of the head give both subjects an air of poise.