|
|
|
|
|
|
|
one of the consultations recorded, the client initially said little, remarking: "You are the one to speak to us; we have come so that you tell us." The diviner corrected this misapprehension, saying, "Don't you know that I speak to you and you also speak to me. I don't speak while you sit silent like one who can't talk. . . . Even if you go to a lamuli, he will ask you and you also answer." There had to be a dialogue, and the dialogue always included a metalevel of communication upon which information was sought and given concerning the quality of the other messages: is this true? am I right? do you believe it? shall we continue in this direction? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The diviner whose consultation was presented above used the rhetorical device that the agents appearing in the divination might be lying. They presented claims which had to be assessed and either accepted or rejected. The word omusango, which also means a court case, was often used. In another consultation, the client explicitly compared the seance to a legal proceeding, challenging the potential agents of misfortune to appear in the divination: "This a a court, come and we argue, he himself [referring to the diviner, perhaps] is the one to judge." It is clear in the grandfather's consultation that the diviner sought evidence, reminding the client of norms and expectations regarding relations with other people and spirits. But the client also weighed and judged, and decided which arguments had merit. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thus one of the central mechanisms for establishing certainty was the phenomenon which Park called resistance. He explained that resistance to a client's proposals is inherent in chancelike mechanisms (such as the unpredictable effect of poison upon fowls or, in Bunyole, the number which determines the passage to be read from the Arabic book) and also in the professional independence of the diviner, who cannot simply label as truth every idea a client comes up with (Park 1967:238). The structure of Nyole divination provided a double resistance. The diviner resisted the client's proposals and opinions. And the client resisted some of the diviner's suggestions by denying their relevance or likelihood. The analogy of a court proceeding emphasizes the process of argument and counterargument; but unlike litigation, divination had to achieve consensus. The parties had ultimately to agree upon a conclusion. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A client once told me that in order to get the truth from a divination, one had to accuse the diviner of lying. The extent to which consulters actually resisted the proposals put forward by diviners seemed to depend upon their age and experience. The grandfather in the case above refused the diagnosis of cursing by his daughter-in-law's paternal uncle; but later, he returned to "the man in the coat" and seemed to accept the possibility. In the same way, he first rejected the idea of little spirits, but then allowed the diviner to convince him. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is striking is that even when the consulter was less resistant, he always maintained a degree of autonomy. The diviner solicited and respected the client's opinion; he had to convince him; he could not just tell him what was the matter. The importance of the client's agreement to the diagnosis was clearly illustrated by the records kept in Lunyole by a gourd rattle diviner. He was asked to record basic information about number, provenance, and gender of his clients, the type of problems and what the divination revealed about the cause and treatment. No |
|
|
|
|
|