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what I call Atuot philosophy is a phenomenon reflected in a diverse variety of rituals centered on the problem of divining one or another source of misfortune. |
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There is an Atuot proverb that can be glossed as "everyone has something in his heart." This points to two divergent themes. On one hand the Atuot are agreed, as most peoples seem to be, that there is an order of sociability and reciprocity that everyone ought to observe and respect. On the other hand there is at the same time a shared opinion that "what is mine" may interfere with "what is yours," even though this opinion may be understood and interpreted by different people toward different ends. It is in the context of divination that these differences are publicly acknowledged. And that is the point of this essay: the experience of divination results in a philosophy; the latter is the result of the former. Beattie made the same point: "In a general sense, most people act out their rituals first, and philosophise about them afterwards" (1980:30). |
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In the myth about the man who died from the thrust of a spear, his people were living in a camp by the riverside, fishing. Nearby lived "the powers," who were engaged in the same activity. This man became jealous of the powers and the catches of fish they had accumulated. When the powers had gone off to fish one morning, he stole some of the fish they had left behind. When they returned, one power protested this injustice and went "up to God," complaining that "people have now become very strong and are stealing our fish." God replied, "I will close their eyes." When the man died suddenly, his people said among themselves, "What is it that is killing us that we cannot see?'' (Burton 1981:79). God in his paternal role (as Atuot sometimes view him) also sought to protect the interests of human beings when he saw them mourning the death of one of their fellows. He selected one man among the many who were blind and gave him the ability to "see" powers. And thus originated the first tiet, or diviner. |
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Commonly a person may consider becoming a diviner after he or she has been possessed by a malignant power and later regained health. It is usually men rather than women who choose to do so. (By far the majority of tiet I knew personally or learned of were men; women may become tiet but always call upon a man to assist in the rite of sacrifice.) The decision is entirely personal, and clearly the majority of formerly possessed individuals do not choose to become practitioners. Those who do first serve in an informal manner as apprentices under the supervision of a person who has already established a reputation for knowing the ways of powers and for dealing with them effectively. |
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The apprentice's assumption of knowledge about the jao is marked by a ritual performed in his hut by his teacher. This ritual entails the sacrifice of a goat, the flesh of which is said to be favored by these powers. The younger man, holding the goat close to his chest as though suckling it, sits on the lap of the teacher, who sings to the accompaniment of his rattle. The animal is then immolated, and its carcass is severed from head to tail. Half goes to each man to be consumed the same evening. The initiate then remains inside his hut for a short period; six days is a figure often cited. |
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This sacrificial rite is essential, the Atuot explain, for the man to gain the ability |
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