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Kinetic Oracles |
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 atalogue
numbers 17 through 21 are kinetic devices designed
to provide revelations through various forms of physical manipulation. A
mechanism inside the double chamber of the Baule oracle known as gbekre
records the movements of mice, which are subsequently interpreted as clues
to a client's situation. Among the divination instruments developed by Pende
diviners and sculptors earlier in this century, njinda, a wild and unsettling
otherworldly apparition, responded to inquiries by leaning from side to
side, whereas the flexible accordion-like form of galukoji sprang upward
in reaction to the pronouncement of the name of a guilty party. Across central
Africa, answers to questions posed by diviners are indicated through the
movements of handheld devices known as friction oracles. Sculptors carve
these instruments in the form of a variety of figurative or zoomorphic representations
that allude to beings endowed with especially acute sensory powers. |
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17. Mouse Oracle (Gbekre) Baule, Côte d'Ivoire Wood, terracotta, leather, beads, metal, cord; H. 26 cm (10 1/4 in.) ca. 1900 Marceau Rivière Collection, Paris |
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18. Njinda Divination Figure (Ngombo) Eastern Pende, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood, shells, horn, cloth, beads; H. 102.3 cm (40 1/4 in.) 20th century The University of Iowa Museum of Art, The Stanley Collection X1986.505 |
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19. Galukoji Divination Instrument (Ngombo) Pende, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood, bamboo, feathers, fiber, beads, arbrus seeds, camwood powder; 39.4 x 96.5 cm (15 1/2 x 38 in.) 20th century The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Mrs. Ruth Trunzo, 1976 1976.410.1 |
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20. Friction Oracle: Janus (Katatora) Songye, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood; H. 14 cm (5 1/2 in.) 19th–20th century Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, The Barry D. Maurer (Class of 1959) Collection of African Art, purchased with Amherst College Discretionary Funds and Funds from H. Axel Schupf (Class of 1957) AC1999.1 |
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21. Friction Oracle: Janus-Headed Animal (Itombwa) Kuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo Wood; L. 26 cm (10 1/4 in.) 19th century Museum der Kulturen, Basel III 5654 |
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