Dimensions of oracle-speech in the Near Eastern, Mediterranean, and African contexts: a contribution towards African orality

[摘要] English: Divination is receiving ever more attention in the media. Communities, groups of peopleand individuals are asking questions, voice opinions, and make judgements on thefunction of this important branch of African life and philosophy. The thesis attempts toaddress this issue. Relating African divination to the rich and universal tradition ofdivination and oracle, it argues that this important part of African life be brought to theforefront for purposes of research and scholarship. This generally marginalised part ofAfrican life and culture, should be accorded its rightful place in academia. To this end, theresearcher gives an account of his own life history as it was informed by divination anddivination oracles. He further provides data on African divination oracles drawn fromsample interviews with diviners. In this context, 'the data is comparatively interpreted interms of existing oral theories and scholarship on Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterraneandivination and oracle. The thrust of the thesis is that it aims to both provide some insightinto divination as practiced by African people and to bring this previously marginalizeddiscourse and its practices into the centre of debate and scholarship.

[发布机构] University of the Free State