Divination

[AkuTurey]

I am putting this out there to see what comes back,my question doesn't imply knowing or total ignorance on the topic!....
What oracular methods,if any,did our people use(besides the trance/communication with Cemi)

[Anita Pagan]

That's really interesting.

I was taught people can and may receive a 'knowing'; information that is just there, not quite a memory, not quite a learning, but a knowing. This can be called intuition, flashes of insight or gut feelings, but I was always taught it was the Creator speaking to you.

I know a Nanticoke medicine man who told me that one of the reasons native spirituality is not like the organized christian religions is that the people didn't need a middle man- God spoke to each of us individually. The medicine people were dedicated to the Creator and healing, spiritually and/or physically, to help the people when they lost their own connection.

Another thing he taught me was that there were no "musts" when it comes to the Creator. In this case I think you don't have to "must" be verifiable by anything other than experience. How eles do you grow, learn and adapt?

Among many things, I would like further knowledge on these "shell-readings".

Taino Ti

[Miguel Sague Jr]

Tau Margarita
I have to apologize for the fact that my responses here might be a bit sporadic but oftentimes I miss these postings and responses to my messages altogether and then i discover them days or even months later.

The Taino shell readings are similar to the Yoruba cowrie system only in the fact that they both use the random castings of sea-shells. Aside from that there are fundamental differences. Without getting into the actual detail teaching of this tradition, a thing that must be done in person I will say only that it involves the use of twenty non-cowrie sea-shells, three small bi-valve halves (usually clam shells) and one cowrie (uncut). It uses a number of other ritual objects, including twenty thin wood counters. Yes, there is usually a question before the message is read and the messge is interpreted to be the answer to that question. The date of the questioner's birth has absolutely nothing to d with the reading. There is no relationship at all between the reading and the position of the stars (This contrasts sharply with the other system that I use, The Mayan Calendar seed reading, in which the date of the questioner's birth and the position of certain planets during the reading play a major part in the interpretation of the oracle).

The message of the individual shell after it has been cast and when it is inspected is derived from the direction that the pointed end (or pointer) of the shell is pointing to after it stops spinning. All the shells that are pointing to the South are counted. All the ones that are pointing to the West are counted. All the ones that are pointing North are counted. And then all the ones pointing East are counted. The number of shells pointing in each of the four directions is one of the most important deciding factor in the interpretation of the reading.

Taino Ti
Miguel Sobaoko Koromo Sague

[Miguel Sague Jr]

I feel that there is enough logical reason to believe that salvia may have been used by our Taino ancestors but I am not sure if I would go as far as to suggest that it was used for divination.
Taino Ti
Miguel