The dissemination of divination in roman republican times

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pieces of a calabash, his informant Muchona explained that it could mean: Water, marriage, any part of a calabash, cup, matrilineage, the things a woman brings into a marriage, beer, cassava mush with bad medicine, grudge, a journey, collection of goods, a man’s possession, a person who has left because of a quarrel, horns with medicines, and an assemblage (Turner 1961: 58f). 70 This under-specification of the relation between sign and referent also makes the actual interpretation less fixed and more open for later reinterpretation. This is, however, not generally the case for the binary techniques that merely denote a yes or a no. Nevertheless, even these cases require further inferences that alter the meaning of the original sign (Garfinkel 1967; Zeitlyn 1990). Summing up, we can say that divination systems differ from linguistic systems in that they are more “under-coded” and the relations between signs and meaning are looser. This necessitates extra inference and more possible meanings. 71 Utility Compared to normal communication, the utility of the information produced in divination practices is usually also restricted in different ways. In practice a given divination practice will usually be restricted by the form of the response and by the subjects it can answer. The form of the answers can be either binary, discrete or rich. A binary response is an either/or answer. The discrete form works by selecting one possibility from a finite number of given possibilities and the rich form is a more elaborate form that allows for many details in the interpretation. Some divination practices are very specialized and can answer questions about a very restricted range of subjects. I will call them restrained forms. Others are more open and all purpose. These characteristics determine the utility of the divination practice. We can sketch the different possibilities in a two by three matrix (table 4.7.) Form Binary Discrete Rich Subject Restrained Mapingo Straws Astrology Open Poison oracle Ifa Palmistry Table 4.7 Utility characteristics of divination practices 70 It should be stressed that taken out of context these meanings seem unnecessarily arcane. The explanations offered by Muchona for all these meanings show clear signs of a lot of “inference” which makes them understandable. 71 Other differences could be added: whereas language has grammar, the “grammar” of divination is much more restricted. The basic conclusion is the same, that extra inference is necessary. 94
Let us consider some examples of the different combinations. An example of a restrained binary form is the mapingo oracle among the Azande. It is a technique involving manipulation of three pieces of wood. Depending on whether they stand or fall they will give a yes or no answer. Adult males only use it in choosing a site for a homestead (Evans- Pritchard 1937: 358). Consequently the subject is restrained and the form of the answer is binary. Among the Azande they have several other binary forms of divination. The most important is the poison oracle. Contrary to the mapingo oracle the range of subjects that can be posed to it is open (Evans-Pritchard 1937: 261f). These two types of divination have very different utility because one is open and the other restrained. An intermediary form is the discrete form. An everyday example is drawing straws. It is usually used to determine who should do something. A number of straws equal to the number persons in the draw are arranged in the hand. They are of different lengths, but the lengths are hidden. Whoever draws the shortest straw is selected. This is an example of a restrained discrete practice. An open discrete practice is the Ifa oracle. Here one of five different alternatives are chosen to determine which type of fortune or misfortune will come, but it is a matter of further interpretation to find the specifics (Bascom 1969: 54-57). Another example of an open discrete practice is tarot cards. Modern astrology is restricted in the subject, since it can only give information about the questioner’s life, but the form is rich since the amount of detail is potentially infinite (Munk 2007). An example of an open and rich form of divination is Japanese palmistry. In modern day Japan palmistry is the most popular form of divination, since it provides a rich basis for interpretation and the opportunity to pose any question (Suzuki 1995: 264). The utility characteristics of a divination practice are important in order to understand the success or failure of it in a given society. How often it is useful in a given population will determine the growth potential. If a given practice is hopelessly restrained in the subjects that can be addressed it probably will not be very widespread. On the other hand if exactly this specific subject is very important or arises very frequently it may become very widespread. A given practice may also produce information in a specific form, such as binary, but the need may arise frequently for more detailed information. In this case a divination practice with a rich form will have an advantage. There are many possibilities and it is not possible in 95
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The Dissemination of Divination in
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Chapter 8 - Sources to Roman Divina
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List of Figures Figure 3.1. Types o
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Acknowledgements Certain parts of t
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people. It is almost unanimously ag
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that precludes the investigation fr
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asic cognitive functions could acco
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Lienard & Feeney 2006), prayer (Bar
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“the making clear of something”
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In chapter 5 it is argued that obla
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Chapter 1 - History of divination a
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with *-eu appears in two forms. One
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involving the Korinthian Polyidos.
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The 15 th edition of the Encyclopae
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Chapter 2 - A History of Modern Div
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and games of chance a secondary dev
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causes. This is also the case conce
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Evans-Pritchard also uses a lot of
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through casting the decision “upo
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transformed and new relations are g
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Somewhat between the great currents
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Page 45 and 46: the function of divination. Special
Page 47 and 48: Chapter 3 - Definition and typology
Page 49 and 50: means signs obtained from the gods
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Page 53 and 54: Chapter 4 - Impetrative Divination
Page 55 and 56: ontogenetic histories. Some feeling
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Page 61 and 62: Before making blood-brotherhood Bef
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Page 65 and 66: Figure 4.2. Intentional action It i
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Page 71 and 72: education. 43 These problems requir
Page 73 and 74: Credibility 4,5 4 3,5 3 2,5 2 1,5 1
Page 75 and 76: Clairvoyant, and Astrologist. There
Page 77 and 78: Materials A booklet similar to the
Page 79 and 80: Summary The thesis of this chapter
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Page 83 and 84: Let us presently consider how hyper
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Page 93: humans communicate by producing sig
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Page 107 and 108: her life”. 85 In the example the
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Page 111 and 112: answer. In oblative divination the
Page 113 and 114: Figure 6.1. brings together the obs
Page 115 and 116: questions on how much disease there
Page 117 and 118: While many good and detailed models
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Page 121 and 122: Chapter 7 - Research history on Rom
Page 123 and 124: assumption is that divination, espe
Page 125 and 126: It can be seen that Latte's as well
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Page 129 and 130: vastly different views on what legi
Page 131 and 132: & Scheid 1994; Linder & Scheid 1993
Page 133 and 134: the observation. If the fear thesis
Page 135 and 136: Based on the evidence available to
Page 137 and 138: linear regression analysis was made
Page 139 and 140: criticism of it. His antiquarian cu
Page 141 and 142: Post-republican writers Verrius Fla
Page 143 and 144: M. Servius Honoratus Marius Servius
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The only full description we have o
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called interpretes Iovi, interprete
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All places where auspices should be
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anyhow. There is therefore no reaso
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The credibility value of the greate
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according to Cicero, the point is t
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Utility and Credibility value The a
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History Since it is mentioned in th
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Technique Let us consider public so
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Private sortition Private sortition
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shuffled the lots and drew one 149
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Extispicy is a form of divination w
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public use of extispicy are perform
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(North 1990). In Etruria these indi
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Sibylline books The Sibylline Books
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The word vates can probably be trac
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counterintuitive agent. In all the
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Howevere, there are practices in wh
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Technique Descriptives Credibility
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History Let us see how these observ
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Summary To summarize the conclusion
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as specified in equation 3, but it
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Dissemination Private sortition Pub
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“may the gods avert (bad) omens
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excelled every race and every natio
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calf ran away and spattered many of
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the cultural model of omens, identi
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very widespread 196 and along with
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Although there is great imprecision
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1,2 1 0,4 0,2 0 Omen words in Greek
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e distinguished: nuntiatio, relatio
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ating whether a prodigy involved a
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Year BCE 218-190 189-162 160-132 13
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distinction between public and priv
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140,00 120,00 100,00 80,00 60,00 40
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two seem to have been used in the c
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8) Sacrificia vetusta occultaque mi
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The actual interpretations we hear
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this type among the prodigia, where
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consideration here the cultural mod
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encounter of people using it to a g
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action. It was argued that these re
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investigate the dissemination of di
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practices that did not survive were
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divination. At the same time the op
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Appendix 1 The Kurabi among the Mwa
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Appendix 2 The Guzul In Central Aus
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Appendix 4 Roman Words Omen Prodigi
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Theocritus 21261 1.88 1.88 0 0 0.32
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Moon fell down Capua Goats got wool
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Note: *this is possibly not a separ
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Temple of Ceres struck by lightning
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Sheep with two heads born Suessa Pi
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12 year old hermaphrodite discovere
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Cows were talking Campania Bronze c
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*This prodigy may be the same as th
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156 Storm destroys sacred places on
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* Since the Graecostasis was right
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An owl was seen on the Capitol Roma
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* Rasmussen counts as two (Rasmusse
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Sun formed a disc like a shield at
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Two calfs were found in the entrail
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Fire in the sky Note: While this pr
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Tornado ripped of roofs Bridge coll
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Doors to the temple of Fortuna open
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Appendix 6 Examples of counterintui
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Bibliography Primary Sources 220 La
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Secondary sources Abbink, J. 1993:
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Bering, J. M. and Johnson, D. P. 20
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Callaway, H. 1970: The Religious Sy
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Dumezil, G. 1970: Archaic Roman Rel
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Guillaumont, F. 1984: Philosophe et
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Koenig, M. A., Clement, F., and Har
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Luterbacher, F. 1967: Der Prodigien
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Patton, L. L. 2000: "The Magic in M
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Schilling, R. 1979: "A propos des "
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Taylor, L. R. 1949: Party Politics
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Woodward, J. 2000: "Explanation and
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Oprindeligt blev divination forklar
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menneskelig perception eller ræson
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I kapitel 6 sammenlignes observatio
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Den sidste ligning udtrykker, at sa
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The dissemination of divination in roman republican times

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