Revelation and Divination in Ndembu Ritual by Victor Turner

1 As I am interested in Turner’s theoretical understanding of cleromantic practices, particularly in his analysis of Ndembu ng’ombu yakusekula (basket divination), the following comments will focus narrowly upon Revelation and Divination‘s characterization of divination rather than that of revelation. Taken together, the general theme of Revelation and Divination addresses the Ndembu tribe of North-West Zambia and its practice of kusolola, “making visible,” which characterizes two separate methods of uncovering hidden phenomena: divination and revelation (15). The text itself is essentially the publication of two lengthy essays, neither of which is readily available in its original form.

Today I would like to discuss some of the theoretical work drafted by Victor Turner in Revelation and Divination in Ndembu Ritual (Cornell University Press, 1975).