AFA Divination in Anlo
AFA Divination in Anlo
AFA Divination in Anlo
AFA D IV IN A T IO N IN A N L O :
A P re lim in a ry Report 1
by O . K . N ukunya*
W h ile much has been w ritte n about the Yoruba and the
Dahomean systems n o ta b ly by Bascom and Herskovits re s p e c tiv e ly ,
ve ry lit t l e has been done on the Ewe s id e . In this paper an a tte m p t
w ill be made to describe the te c h n ic a l procedures and o th e r s a lie n t
features in the Ewe p ra c tic e .
2. C la rk e , 1939, p . 238.
ARTICLES 10.
Before com ing under European rule a t the end o f the last
c e n tu ry , the Ewe neve r liv e d under one p o litic a l a u th o r ity . They
were organised in to a num ber o f chiefdom s v a ry in g in size from a
few v illa g e s to large and p o w e rfu l kingdom s lik e A n lo and Peki
com prising several towns and v illa g e s . Despite the absence o f
p o lit ic a l u n ity the Ewe share among others a common myth o f o rig in
and h is to ry o f m ig ra tio n ; a common Ewe language spoken th ro u g h
o u t E w eland; and f in a lly the consciousness o f being one p e o p le .
to the ofa d e ity to assist in re v e a lin g the tru th . W h iie the prayer is being
re c ite d the d iv in e r shuffles c o n tin u o u s ly an in num erable am ount o f a nticies
w h ich he has em p tied on the flo o r from his d iv in g b a g . Before these
a ctio n s the c lie n t is e x p e c te d to w hisper his trou bles on a co in w h ic h ir
then p laced on the m a t, for, proper procedure demands *ha< ihe c lie n t's
in te n tio n fo r com ing to afa he kept secrei from the d iv in e r before the
kpol? is re v e a le d .
1 1
1 11
11 11
It w i l l be seen th a t in the strokes fo r lo so-guda the strokes fo r loso are on
the rig h t and guda on the le f t . This is because in eve ry c o m b in a tio n the
d iv in e r reads from rig h t to le f t . That is, i f loso were on the le ft and guda
on the rig h t we sh all have a d iffe re n t kpol? a lto g e th e r w h ic h w ill be known
1 1
I 1
n i
n n
1. Bascom, op. c i t . p . 4 3.
ARTICLES 1 9.
1 . Baba (O lu a w o ) 1. O lu a w o
2 . D zogbana 2. Dzogbana
3 . Ac[aba 3. A^taba
4 . S e lik p a w o 4. Sel ikpaw o
5 . O rd in a ry d iv in e rs 5. O rd in a ry d iv in e rs
im ita tin g a m other and com ing in to c o n ta c t w ith a fe r tile tree the
c lie n t w i l l also a c h ie v e f e r t ilit y and e v e n tu a lly become a m other.
The second c lie n t a ls o , a c c o rd in g to this b e lie f, w ill d e fe a t his
opponent a fte r b e a tin g him in the s a c r ific e .
1. Ib id .
ARTICLES 25-
REFERENCES
1. Op. c it . p . 251 .
ARTICLES 26.
i f ^ i Institute of
Development Studies