The dissemination of divination in roman republican times

producer. In this case we see that the questioner, operator and interpreter are three different
persons. The questioner could be a group or even an entire city state.
Among the Azande they used what Evans-Pritchard called a termite oracle (Evans-
Pritchard 1937: 352-357). If someone had a question, he would go to a termite mound, utter
his question and insert two twigs into the mound. Next morning the questioner would go to
the termite mound and see whether the termites had eaten one or both of the twigs. This is the
sign. Depending on how the question was phrased it would be interpreted as a yes or no. Here
we have a case where the technique employs an animal (insects) and where the questioner,
operator and interpreter are the same person.
Another famous divination system is the Ifa system of the Yoruba in West Africa.
Consultation begins with a questioner coming with a question to a diviner, a Babalawo. He
performs a technique where he grabs 16 palm nuts with his right hand from his left hand.
Because of the size of the palm nuts either one or two palm nuts will remain in his left hand.
If one is left two marks are made in the powder on his divining tray, if two remain one mark
is made. This is done eight times. The marks are made under each other in two rows of four.
This yields a figure which is the sign. To this sign is attached a number of verses, which the
Babalawo has memorized. He recites these verses to the questioner, who is then left to
interpret its meaning (Bascom 1969). Here the questioner and interpreter are the same, while
the operator is different. The technique employs ordinary physical objects in the production
of the sign.
The last example is also from the Azande. The most famous oracle, the poison oracle, is
used by men who have a question usually about some problem involving a possible witch.
The questioner tells the question to an older man, who phrases it with great oratorical skill.
While he is reciting the question a young boy is administering poison to a chick. The death or
survival of the chick is the sign of this divination practice. It is interpreted by the questioner
or in cooperation with the others present (Evans-Pritchard 1937: 294-299). Here we see that
the operator is composed of two persons, one asking the question and another administering
poison. The technique here employs an animal. We can also notice that interpretation can be
done by several persons in concert.
If we turn to oblative divination we can also consider a number of examples (see table 3.3.)
Prodigies in the Roman republic are examples of oblative divination that we shall consider in
more detail later. They were especially attention demanding occurrences, such as monstrous
51