Society and Change in Bali Nyonga: Critical Perspectives

3. Performance Aesthetics, Structure and Language of Bali Nyonga Divination Systems

37 Chapter Three Performance Aesthetics, Structure and Language of Bali Nyonga Divination Systems Babila Mutia & Bejemiah Mecaly Introduction This research set out to study the performance aesthetics, structure, and language of Bali Nyonga divination systems. The primary objective of the research has been to demonstrate that the language used in Bali Nyonga divination sessions and the divination rituals themselves constitute an integral aspect of the people’s socio-cultural, psychological, and cosmological existence. The scope of the research was limited to divination performances conducted exclusively in Mungaka (the Bali Nyonga language). Hence, the study excluded nonMungaka language diviners. The study’s primary focus was on private (as opposed to public) divination like the Lela17 and Voma cult divination which “takes place either in the open space in the middle of a town or village” (see Shaw 1991) or in a ritual setting, like the Lela communal ritual/divination which takes place at a stream at the outskirts of the village. Beliefs and Cosmology The Bali Nyonga cosmology (like other African cosmologies) comprises three distinct spheres - the spiritual world, the world of the ancestors, and the world of the living. The spiritual sphere is made up 1 The Lela and Voma divination in Bali Nyonga are controlled by secret societies that keep the craft and practice of their divination secret. As Shaw (1991) indicates, “The distinction between public and private divination forms part of a set of contrasts between openness to and secrecy from social scrutiny whose meanings are variable and multivalent … what is hidden from the community is highly valued, since the most powerful and effective knowledge is secret (for instance, that controlled by the secret societies, by chief and by ritual and occupational specialist ….) 38 of Ñikob (the supreme deity) and BaÑikob (the lesser spirits or deities). Ñikob inhabits a place called Ninden, which is somewhere in the sky. It is in Ninden that He is believed to watch and rule over all creation. As controller of the universe, Ñikob is the all-knowing and all-powerful divine being to whom everybody looks up to in moments of adverse fortunes. Although Ñikob has these attributes, He is not worshipped because He does not have a shrine or any other place of worship. Next to Ñikob are BaÑikob, the minor deities or spirits. Some of these spirits are associated with thunder, lightning, night, mountains, forests, rivers, and waterfalls. The Bali Nyonga interpretation of the universe, based on their ancestral beliefs and practices, is not far removed from Busia’s (1991:191) revelation of the Ashanti cosmology: To the Ashanti the universe is full of spirits. There is the Great Spirit, the Supreme Being, who created all things, and who manifests his power through a pantheon of gods; below these are lesser spirits which animate trees, animals, or charms; and there are the everpresent spirits of the ancestors (nsamanfo) whose contact with the life of man on the earth brings the world of the spirits so close to the land of the living. The Bali Nyonga spiritual cosmos, like the Ashanti universe, is proliferated by the spirits of people who are recently dead but come back wandering about in search of a home. Although these spirits do not have concrete shapes or features, they usually take on human forms when they appear to the living. Bali Nyonga ancestors, known as Kusi, are, to borrow Mbiti’s words, “the living dead” (Mbiti 1969) who are never left out in any activity at the family or community. The living dead—who are venerated, departed members of the family or community like Fons, family heads, and elderly family members are considered as ancestors. It is in this regard that Kayode (1984) explains that: The ancestral spirits are of course spirits of the dead. Their habit is essentially local and they hover around where the living ancestors dwell: houses, compounds, and family places. They are considered the general link between human beings and the supernatural world…. they expect a share of the respected affection due to older members 39 of the family and to some extent, partake in the material prosperity of the family. (19) Ancestors are contacted through dreams, visions, and divination sessions. This is why, more often than not, whenever a misfortune befalls someone, he/she contacts a diviner at once. Ancestors, thus, retain a strong hold over the living in Bali Nyonga. Mbiti is of the view that...