Divination Pieces

The smallest of carvings are the divination pieces used by diviners, in Igbo called dibia. In the Pidgin language, the use of these devices is referred to as juju. In the Caribbean area it has survived and morphed to Voodoo. These divination pieces come in a remarkable variety of shapes, and most of them have names, representing spirits and their functions.

I will attempt to describe some of them and their purpose, as pictured in the field photos below. The best discussion of these I have found is in the book Igbo Arts- Community and Cosmos, by Herbert M. Cole and Chike C. Aniakor, pp 72-74, which I recommend. Many pieces are pictured there. From 1965 to 1966, I collected several pieces identical to those shown on the pages of Cole's book. In the Gallery above, dozens of divination pieces are presented on pages 13-19, including small ikengas. In the individual pictures there, the Detailed Documentation window can be entered to see whatever provenance I was able to obtain for each piece at the time.

One day, with PCV teacher Bill Surtleff of Okigwe, we visited Chief Aligwekwe in the village of Etiti on the Umahia Road. There we met a dibia, or diviner, who had many things hanging in the ceiling of his hut. The following is an exact transcription from my field notes journal, including flaws.

Agbazu = herbal home has 1. ikenga with manilla wired on its back, 2. nkita-agwu (I made a sketch of it. It is the amazing animal figure shown in the photos.) 3. okpara-agwu, symbol of the firstborn son (God's son) 4. ndinyome-agwu, or ndoni-agwu. 5. tall four figured piece: two vultures and two figures, ezumezu = all complete.

6. A 12" figure bound in cowries (a type of small white shell) ovu ngwugwu = god which confiscates the property of the dead. All of these were carved by one man named Njoku. 7. ukwu-agwu ( a semi-circular standing arch) "A person who often receives a wound on his leg, or stumbles, or stubs his toe often, comes to appease it." My notes indicate that Njoku lives nearby, and his son is named Njoku. 8. A small five-eyed pot unu, made in Umunumo village near Osu. It has four spouts on the side, "pour palm wine in there, and whatever (you) say afterward comes true and is often used at times of war to ensure success.

Shurtleff photographed a stool mpata ozo with a large ekwe drum called locally mbaatu, a union of three. We saw a carved head okposi "for when an old man dies, this needs to be appeased. "Symbol of the oldest gods. The funeral is a merriment of gifts to appease it." 9. Ekpo mask, naturalistic, all black, said to come from Uzuakoli named ogba-mgbada a type of animal.

Moving on to another location nearby at the compound of Obilikpa, he had an ikenga, and an nkiti-agwu, a small figure like I have many of.

I made a sketch of of ozo-agwu. Used at the ceremony of ozo, and "as each man takes his title, he gets one, and it protects him from accidents and trouble." It is a small cylinder in shape, tapering from the ends to a narrow center where a band, like a bracelet, is carved.

We also saw a crude bird on wire legs. "Somebody who does not behave properly loses his senses"(has mental or other psychological troubles). "This is taken to such a man's house, and a ceremony is done in a private place to cure him. Then, the dibia returns it to his (own) house with him. The person can have one made for himself as well, to add to his own ceremonial pieces."

Also seen : nne-agwu, four figures in a line (side by side) "is the mother of the Agwu. In addition, we saw ikenga-agwu and two okpara-ogwu, the heavily stylized animal figure. "One must wear this around his neck when throwing a curse at someone which has imaginatively drawn from the brass anklets, or such. Uta is the pulling up of the curse from the legs. The curse makes a person hurt in the neck. When people get a sore neck, they believe it is done by this."

We saw agwu-nkwu hanging like a large chess piece with many necklaces. Ovu-ngwugwu has two faces, cowries hung around from necklaces of dead people, "appropriates a small piece of their property and then it tells cause of death." Okwa bowl, put pepe(pepper) in it. There was a small elephant tusk horn, odu, to call gods. "Good gods will gather, bad gods will scatter." He says, "there is no men around here who carve ekpo or other masks. Is done elsewhere. Njoku does none."

Pictured here is the dibia, the diviner, at Etiti village. He brought his items out for us to photograph. Notice that, for the picture, he has placed chalk around his eyes as part of his custom. He holds the small elephant tusk horn. He proudly set out a framed certificate. I wish I had gotten a closer look at it to learn what it said. We were able to identify most of his pieces he displayed above. Here are several pictures taken that day.

Most spectacular to me was the nkita-agwu, the low, long animal figure with the looping tail. This is one of the most unusual and fascinating figures I ever saw in Igboland. Other examples can be found in this area. The first is from Etiti. The second was photographed at Shurtleff's. The third are similar animal pieces from a variety of villages.

It was relatively easy to find individual divination pieces in local markets if you knew how to look. Finding individual pieces was one thing, but finding sets was another. We were lucky to find several sets, plus we photographed some in the field. The dibia/diviners would give us the names of pieces but were very reticent to say much about how they were used, or the associated incantations, as that was their professional and private domain.

From the village of Ikeduru, we were able to collect and photograph these several pieces.

These other divination pieces were collected in Umunumo village, in the same area.

From the photos, one can see that I found a number of these tiny figures, rendered in a great variety of styles. Many can be seen in the photo Gallery, pages 13-19.

This is a simple shrine about to get a new palm frond roof. It was located in Inyi in a clearing not far from carver Aka Gworo's compound. It is an example of a shrine with no carved statues but only shallow pots set into a mound of dirt to receive gifts of appeasement. The second picture shows a simple shrine nestled in the roots of a giant tree located near the compound of the dibia in Umueme-Inyi. The pots are there to receive small sacrifices and gifts of appeasement. The third picture shows a giant fallen tree blocking the road. The man sitting there was blind, but, none-the-less, the keeper of the ikoro.