Description

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Among the Ngas, Mupun and Mwaghavul, divination is an important agent of mediation between the spirit and human realms. This study examines Pa divination among these three little-known Chadic-speaking ethnic groups on the Jos Plateau in central Nigeria. It is a phenomenological and anthropological work which focuses on the role of pebbles and deities as main symbols. In addition, it provides an analysis of general classifications of divination, with special emphasis on divination with sixteen basic figures to which Pa belongs. In a comparative study of Pa patterns, the author discusses the mythology, taxonomy, theology and ritual framework of this system. He develops a phenomenology of Pa and places it within the wider perspective of African divination systems. Among other things, the study provides insights into the role of binary opposition modes, oracular speech, gender relations, colour symbolism, animal imageries and hermeneutics in divination.

About the Author

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The Author: Umar Danfulani, Ph.D. (Uppsala), is a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Jos in Nigeria. His major research interests are indigenous African religions and African Christianity. He has written several articles and essays, particularly on religion and divination among Chadic-speakers on the Jos Plateau and on the history of the Church of Christ in Nigeria.