Wooden divination board
- Made:
- 1880-1920 in Democratic Republic of Congo
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Buy this image as a print
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License
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum
Itombwa (carved wooden divination board) in the form of a stylized animal with carrying pot, flat rubbing surface without rubbing block, Kuba people, Democratic Republic of Congo, 1880-1920.
A wooden divination board, known as an itombwa. It is carved in the form of an animal and was used by diviners of the Kuba people to answer questions about an illness. The flat back is covered in oil and water and rubbed with the wooden block. When the diviner mentions something important to the patient the block sticks – even when the itombwa is turned upside down.
Details
- Category:
- Ethnography and Folk Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A657310
- Measurements:
-
overall: 113 mm x 272 mm x 60 mm, 0.212 kg
- type:
- divination board
- credit:
- Loan, Wellcome Trust
