#shell divination

Theologically speaking, Obi is actually the name of an orisha, the most beautiful creation God ever made. He was perfect in every way and sparkling white in color, but he was arrogant, and because of this, God cursed him by giving him a rough and dark exterior, and so he became the Kola nut, which has a dark shell but is white inside. His fall from grace is replayed every time a Kola nut falls from a tree.

In the New World, where Kola nuts do not grow, it became the practice to substitute broken pieces of Coconut shell for Kola nuts, because a Coconut is also dark on the outside with a white interior. Obi is not often thought of as bone reading, but to many diviners, a mollusk's shell is its “bone” just as much as Kola nut's shell or a Coconut's shell or a Turtle's shell is, so as time passed, obi divination incorporated the use of four Cowrie shells with their tops cut off.

In recent years, especially among non-traditional diviners who think of obi as a reading system more than a Yoruban spiritual practice, any four flat items, including coins, Ox bone dominoes, or carved Yak bone amulets — in short, any four identical binary objects with the two sides differentially marked — have been used under the name of obi.

In traditional Yoruba divination, a prayer is spoken over the obi before use. Among other things it says, “May obi remove death, may obi remove sickness ... I honor the land, and the land speaks.” If you are a newcomer to obi who is coming from outside any Nigerian or Cuban system of belief, it is a good idea to take a moment to hold the items in your hand, pray over your “yes” or “no” question in your own way, and then gently toss the items onto your casting surface.

To understand your answer — that is, to learn how obi works — you first need to learn how the binary values are traditionally assigned to the items that are thrown or cast.

Cowrie shells are read as falling with the natural opening side or the cut side up or down; some obi readers refer to the “mouths” being up or down. Coconut shell pieces with adhering white edible flesh are read as falling with the “white” inside up or the “dark” outside up. Nontraditional flat items such as coins, marked bone disks, or tiles, are read as falling with the heads or tails side up; if you use four Ox bone and Ebony wood dominoes, for instance, the marked bone fronts are heads or “white” and the unmarked wooden backs are tails or “dark.”

The four pieces are cast in one throw. There are five possible outcomes. You will first need to memorize them by appearance:

• Alafia: 4 open Cowries; 4 white Coconuts; 4 heads.

• Etawa: 3 open and 1 closed Cowries; 3 white and 1 dark Coconut; 3 heads and 1 tails.

• Ejife: 2 open and 2 closed Cowries; 2 white and 2 dark Coconuts; 2 heads and 2 tails.

• Okana Sode: 1 open and 3 closed Cowries; 1 white and 3 dark Coconuts; 1 heads and 3 tails.

• Oyeku: 4 closed Cowries; 4 dark Coconuts; 4 tails.

You will next want to memorize the meanings attached to each of the five patterns, which are called the five “letters.”

• Alafia: Blessings! “yes” to whatever you asked about — and you may get even more than you requested, or what you want will come about sooner than you hoped it would. If two “white” sides of the Coconut shells touch, the reading is “Alafia with Ire,” a great blessing. A second toss may be used to confirm this answer.

• Etawa: “Maybe.” You will probably get what you asked for, but you will have to work hard for it or you will have to accept some delays before the results materialize. Make offerings to the spirits. This is an incomplete sign, so Etawa always requires that a second toss be made to clarify the reading, and the outcome of this second toss will greatly modify the divinatory results.

• Ejife: “Yes,” but because the dark and light sides are in equal balance, you are cautioned not to ask any further questions on this particular subject. If two “white” sides of the Coconut shells touch, this is called “Ire,” and it is considered to be a particular blessing.

• Okana Sode: A simple “No.” What you asked about is not going to come to pass or what you wished for will not happen. However, even though darkness is greater than light, you may ask another question so that you can be answered in greater detail.

• Oyeku: This is a very strong “No.” There are negative spiritual implications as well, and you may need to undertake some serious spiritual cleansing in order to clear away the dark conditions or dead spirits that surround you or this issue in your life. In addition, Oyeku may mean that the spirits of the Ancestors or of the dead have something to say. You may ask again, if you wish, in order to gain further insights into the question at hand.

Regarding the second toss required if the first throw is Etawa, Dr. E., a priest in the Lukumi tradition and a member of the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers, explains:

“Different people interpret a first toss of Etawa in different ways. One way to see it is that obi is still thinking about the question; another way to describe it is that the divination needs further clarification.

“After Etawa, if the second toss is Alafia, Etawa, or Ejife, then the answer is 'Yes,' in various permutations.

“Etawa followed by Alafia means 'Peace after obstacles.'

“Etawa twice in a row means 'Yes,' but it also carries the further idea of 'Don't ask what you already know.'

“Etawa followed by Ejife means, 'Absolutely; you will be able to conquer this.'

“If the second toss after Etawa is either Okana Sode or Oyeku, the answer is going to be some form of 'No.'

“If Okana Sode follows Etawa, the answer is simply, 'No.'

“If Oyeku follows Etawa, the answer is, 'No, and the dead are asking to speak.”

Dr. E. also adds the following advice, “Traditional diviners always keep a gourd or a bowl of water next to them while casting. When Okana Sode or Oyeku fall, they will moisten their fingers in this water and then use their fingers to moisten the backs of the face-down shells and place them face-up before picking them up to cast them again.”

In February, 2012, Lukianos, also an initiate in a Lukumi tradition and a member of the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers, was a guest on the Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Hour Radio Show. We discussed some of the ways in which obi can move a binary reading beyond simple “yes” or “no” outcomes:

I asked, “In the chat room someone wrote, 'Does Obi ever change the question when you're asking it?' and, Lukianos, you posted, 'Obi does indeed have a perspective of its own, but usually when it changes the subject, it means I'm asking the wrong question.'

“Explain what you mean by that. what does 'Obi changes the subject mean, and what is 'asking the wrong question?'

'Lukianos replied, “So, there are two general instances where Obi 'changes the subject.'

“The first instance is when you have Oyeku come up. This is four mouths down. There are several different reasons Oyeku can come up.

“One: 'That question is closed. We're not going any farther with that.'

“Two: 'The dead or some other spiritual entity wishes to speak.' In this case, Oyeku marks a break, something to sort of get your attention and allow you to ask, 'Who is it who wishes to speak now?'

“Three: 'The obi need to be refreshed.' Because we're working with a system that comes out of West Africa, the notion is of cool cleansing water, so the idea is, when something gets overly hot or overly worked up, then in order to regain clarity, you have to cool it down, which is why I keep my obi shells in a cool bowl of water between tosses.

“But more often than not, what I mean when I say that obi 'changes the subject' is that I've asked a series of questions that I think make sense, based on what I understand of the situation, but I'll get answers that don ft make sense in terms of how they're paired. So I'll look at that and I'll think to myself, (Okay, let's assume, given the questions I asked and the answers I got, that all of these things are correct. What would have to be the case in order for that to be true?' And that convinces me to change the model that I'm using in asking the questions.

“So 'asking the wrong question' means that what I'm assuming may not actually be the case. It may not actually represent the situation. And then it's up to me as a reader to rethink it, step back, and then ask questions to clarify and figure out what I'm not understanding about the situation.”

I responded, “Yeah, that is key. That's really important, because the inclination of the newcomer is to doubt the system of divination. But if you step back and say, 'How did I ask the question that allowed this to come up?'often you'll see it. And that's when YOU are really learning divination, when you trust the divination system;whatever system it is.”

Lukianos agreed, “Yes, it's not about reading the signs in the divination; it's about asking the right question in the first place. Honestly, learning how to ask the right question is far more difficult than learning how to read the oracle itself.”

Let's summarize what Lukianos and Dr. E. just taught us about obi:

• Etawa requires a second casting. The outcome of the second throw modifies the meaning of Etawa.

• Oyeku, in addition to, “No!” can also signify the dead. This letter may point to the Ancestors or other discarnate spirits. Take a moment to pause, then ask who it is who wishes to speak, employing the “yes” or “no” system of obi to ascertain the name.

• Obi may require cooling down between questions. Keeping your shells in a clear glass bowl of water will calm and refresh them, as will moistening the “dark” sides of the shells that have come up when Okana Sode or Oyeku fall.

• If the answers don't make sense, re-examine the question. This is especially important when you are asking a question on behalf of a client who may not have told you much about the situation. Try reframing the client's narrative in order to uncover a more relevant question.

It is a misleading truism among diviners unfamiliar with obi to say that, because it is a binary system, it will only answer “yes” or “no” questions. As you can now see, there is a lot more to the obi shells than “yes” or “no.” With finesse and further training, you will be able to use obi to get at the deeper picture of any situation. Keep in mind that as with Chinese oracle bone reading divinations, the key to expanding a simple system's power is to ask carefully framed variations on the question.