Afa (Divination): the Mouth-piece of the Unseen

Among the Igbo people of Nigeria, afa (divination) had been useful in all spheres of their lives. Unfortunately, with the advent of Christianity and subsequent conversion of some Igbo people, it was seen as unchristian. This had contributed to many problems facing the Igbo culture. Now, to protect this ugly development, the author embarked on the research, to find out the truth in afa, the system of operation, how it affected the lives of the Igbo people viz political, social, economic, religious, and moral lives. In afa two or more people are involved, they are the professional and the client(s). The professional is the dibia afa (diviner). The diviner normally does his work of divination with certain instruments depending on his methodology. This was to say that there are many methods of divination. These are ugiri (beads) method, water method, palm reading method, cola nut method, etc. These were studied. It was found that divination is a call, not all comers affair and false diviners give rise to false interpretation of afa messages. Becoming a diviner after confirmation of one's call, one has to undergo training and initiation proper. These days diviners abound in christiandom