The Sunday Mail
Leroy Dzenga
SEASHELL divination or kukanda hakata, as is known in Shona, is an age-old method of seeing.
Not only does it see beyond mortal eyes but it is also a method of interpretation as well.
Life sometimes has questions academics, scientists and mere mortals fail to answer.
It is in such instances where the ethereal world – the world of the ancestors – is consulted.
The death of traditional custodians has led to concerns over the dearth of traditional knowledge systems.
It presents an existential threat to the indigenous method of divination, which is the indigenous connection between the living and their spirituality.
Michael Chikomo, a biochemist with strong traditional persuasion, recently wrote a book on seashell divination.
Titled “Seashell divination: Concepts, Symbolism and Interpretation”, the book is a product of 17 years of observation, interviews, research and inquiry into undocumented indigenous knowledge.
Chikomo makes it clear that while an understanding of the tablets, seashells and other artifacts does not make one a practitioner, there is still need for the anointing or gift to be present.
The book says there are different seashells for different uses.
Some of these solve the most common issues like the marriage seashell, extended family seashell and the sickness seashell, among others.
Their shape and composition is used for interpretation.
For instance, Chikomo writes that the extended family seashell takes the form of shelter.
Explaining the relevance of form, he says: “Inasmuch as the family unit is central to people, the need for shelter is another critical aspect of human life. In seashell divination, the symbol does not singularly refer to a place of refuge from vagaries of nature. The term encompasses the general wellbeing of an extended family or community.”
The broad categories of divination takes three forms.
There is diagnostic divination, which he describes as the diviner attempting to identify the root causes of the issues that would have prompted families to consult.
After diagnosis, there has to be treatment, where the diviner consults the ancestors on how best to deal with issues that would have been identified.
After the treatment comes the review divination, where the remedy is put to test.
According to the book, very few diviners can do all three.
In fact, it says finding someone who can diagnose, treat and review is rare.
“In ancient times, review divination, as diagnostic divination, demanded that at least one be consulted before a single outcome was arrived at.
“Review divination can be performed on its own without the first two stages in cases where, after diagnostic divination and treatment procedure, a person may decide they would like their review done by a diviner different from those involved in the two stages,” said Chikomo.
The book also touches on the evolution of divination.
Although most seashells actually come from seas and water bodies, they are not blind to changes in time and context.
There is what is called hybrid seashell divination, which involves the usually known seashells and other objects.
In some instances, like in identity shells, coins are used as they act as symbols of identity.
Supposing one would be trying to locate a lost father and coins from different countries are thrown in unison with the shells, the ones that fall closer to be seashell under observation would point to the location at the material time.
However, not everyone can use seashells to invocate and communicate with the spiritual world.
There is a special category known as mashave that Chikomo says is reserved for practitioners who will be operating under specific instruction.
Unlike midzimu, which is a familial ancestral line, mashave do not operate on the basis of relation but functionality.
The book says the word mashave draws its etymology from the word kushava, which means searching for and gathering wealth.
Edited by veteran historian Pathisa Nyathi, the book offers a glimpse into a world that invites debate and contention.
“Divination in this book brings out the interlink between the spiritual and material worlds, showing a disturbed balance between the two as understood within an African context.
“However, that is not to say divination may not be undertaken for non-African peoples. Divination in particular has a broad-based interpretive frame that encompasses a wide spectrum of economic, social, cultural and spiritual phenomena,” wrote Nyathi.
Chikomo’s work is a brave attempt at immortalising knowledge that is at risk of extinction.
But it critically needs to be translated into indigenous languages so that some nuances that may have been lost in translation are retained.
