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ifá: geomancy patterns generated with palm nuts, opele, cowrie shells, etc. that refer to Ifa divination texts; a collection of Odu Ifa verses; iridology: by eye color (Greek īris [īrid-], 'iris' + -logiā, ' study ') isopsephy: by numbers and letters (Greek īsos, ' equal ' + psephos, ' pebble ')
Cowrie-shell divination refers to several distinct forms of divination using cowrie shells that are part of the rituals and religious beliefs of certain religions. Though best-documented in West Africa as well as in Afro-American religions, such as Regla de Ocha, Candomblé, and Umbanda, [1] [2] [3] cowrie-shell divination has also been recorded in India, East Africa, and other regions.
To do so, they fix a cowrie shell to one end of an abacá stem pole and link the other end to the roof as a hinge, pushing on the pole to apply pressure on the fibre with the shell. [6] The fibers, which are very thin, are carefully stripped from the stalk with the use of a mounted blade, and then sun-dried. [1] [2]
Monetaria moneta, common name the money cowrie, is a species of small sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [1]This species is called "money cowrie" because the shells were historically widely used in many Pacific and Indian Ocean countries as shell money before coinage was in common usage.
Their patterns are believed to protect and to increase the fertility of their wearers and it has been proposed that some might imitate cowrie shells. Triangular-shaped and spherical beads were worn as hair ornaments and traditional assemblages could be composed of two complementary sets of three triangulars each, one blue, one red and one ...
The Yoruba diviner might use sixteen cowrie-shells instead of the Ifa oracle, [32] or sixteen palm nuts. [20] According to the Yoruba tribe, men and women are both allowed to practice the sixteen cowrie method, but only men are allowed to practice the Ifa method.
1742 drawing of shells of the money cowrie, Monetaria moneta Cowrie shells The shells of cowries are usually smooth and shiny and more or less egg-shaped. The round side of the shell is called the Dorsal Face, whereas the flat under side is called the Ventral Face, which shows a long, narrow, slit-like opening (), which is often toothed at the edges.
Monetaria caputserpentis, common name the serpent's-head cowry or snakehead cowry, is a species of cowry, a sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. [ 1 ] Distribution