Scapulimancy
Scapulimancy (also spelled scapulomancy and scapulamancy, also termed omoplatoscopy or speal bone reading) is the practice of
Historically, scapulimancy has taken two major forms. In the first, "apyromantic", the scapula of an animal was simply examined after its slaughter. This form was widespread in
Americas
The belief amongst the Mistassini
Naskapi Innu
The Naskapi inhabited the region spanning the
Principally, scapulimancy was used to aid in the hunting of
Methods used to prepare the animal remains included removing all flesh from the bone by scraping, boiling and air drying the scapula by hanging up in the wind to dry.[3] The animal from which the bone was from was also ritually significant.[3] Caribou were preferred by the Innu people, as they were the main and most desirable species to be hunted. Divination would only be used where there was a shortage of food or a crisis.[3] The process involved holding the cleaned shoulder blade over hot coals, heating and scorching the bone. The wide plane of the blade corresponded to the hunting grounds used at the time, and the cracks and scorch spots which resulted from the process were used to guide Innu hunters to spots to best find caribou deer to hunt.[3]
The practitioners of scapulimancy and the Naskapi held reverence and respect towards the bone reading
In the modern day, these rituals are not practiced as often, although the knowledge has been passed down through
Mistassini Cree
Unlike that of the Naskapi Innu, the Mistassini Cree practiced multiple forms of scapulimancy. The work of academic Adrian Tanner in the field uncovered that the communities visited exclusively used porcupine scapulae in bone reading rituals.[3]
Caribou in particular were seen as spiritually powerful creatures and were revered in many native Northern populations. Consequently, the reverence towards the animal's spirit was carried to any remains of the hunted creature.[4] This power could only be tuned by a shaman with sufficient experience and spiritual power. With the death of an elder shaman, caribou remains were not used in rituals. The size of the scapula correlated to the power stored within, and as such caribou scapulae were individually hung in trees, separated from the other remains used in bone reading.[4] Historically, these larger scapulae were used in only the direst of circumstances by diviners and could see multiple readings performed if the situation worsened.[4]
A point of difference between the use of scapulimancy between the Naskapi and Mistassini Cree is that the latter employed the use of bone reading to foresee a specific event in the future.[3] Additionally, snowshoes were occasionally used as a frame for the scapulae before the cleaning and flaming of the bone commenced. This was symbolic of a journey that hunters were to embark on in the near future, imbuing energy into the scapulae.[3] After the burning ceremony, the charred scapula was given to a child who would take it to each to each tepee, calling upon all members of the group forward.[3] This would allow all to interpret the scapulae and draw their own conclusions before the diviner was called. Interpretations of the bone were often consistent between individuals, but the diviner's judgement was more highly respected.[4] The inedible parts of animals, mainly the bones, also possesses the spirit of the animal. Hunters would communicate with the remains, talking to the scapula after the ceremony. They would ask the spirit to leave the medium and fly around the land of spirits and return to tell them what they saw.[4]
East Asia
In the context of the
Scapulimancy was also mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Kojiki, the Japanese Record of Ancient Matters, in which the heavenly deities used this process of divination during a consultation by lesser gods.
China
These drilled holes within a specimen would be accompanied by carbonised fissures, thus the theory that the hollows were created to induce cracking when heated was postulated.[6] Importantly, the royal court diviners were not the exclusive divination entity within the mid to late Shang period. Inscriptions carved into specimen's detail associated to King Zhou who were under the employ of local nobility.[6] These diviners served the lower echelons of society, providing prognostication for agricultural and health purposes.[5] Differences between the divining specimens used by the royal court and associated diviners included more elaborate aesthetic detail, where the edge of the scapula was polished, drilled hollows were symmetrically paired, and attendant chisel marks were etched.[5] Associate diviners attending to the public interpreted much simpler oracle bones.
Notably, specimens found outside the region spanning the capital city of Anyang were far less intricate, with unfinished surfaces and fewer etched characters.[5]
Mongolia
Scapulimancy practices in the Mongolian Plateau have been documented by researchers with reference to divination manuals.[7] These diviners would refer to these manuals to guide their interpretation of the animal remains, often to facilitate them acting as a bridge between the spirit worlds.[10] However, the manual was not leveraged by shamans as a defined list of direct outcomes, but rather aided in guiding diviner interpretations through using a shared system of belief.[7]
Preparation methods involved a scorching ceremony, where the animal scapulae were washed, then placed onto a fire where incantations were chanted.[10] This process purified the bone, making it suitable for interpretation by the shaman.[9] The formation of cracks on different planes of the scapulae correlated to outcomes outlined in the sacred manuals.[9] Other signs which would guide shamans was the colour of the scapula, such as a yellowing, or a bone-white colour.[9] Diviner's reputations would depend on their ability to decipher the signs presented to them. The role of the divining shamans remedial, where negative readings of one's fate would see a suggested ritual which could be performed to help temper the spirits.[9] Diviners were held in significant social regard due to their role as spirit mediums Mongolian people one of the earliest documented users of pyromantic scapulimancy.[7]
Europe
Scapulimancy is also a method of divination among
In Renaissance magic, scapulimancy (known as "spatulamancy") was classified as one of the seven "forbidden arts", along with necromancy, geomancy, aeromancy, pyromancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and hydromancy.[11]
Middle East
Arabic world
Existing literature regarding
The text attributes the practice of scapulimancy in medieval Western European civilisations to the migration of traditions and ideas from the Arabic world, noting the influence of Muslim Spain.
Harvesting the scapulae from live animals involved decapitating the animal with a sword, without it seeing the weapon being swung, after which the animal was boiled until the flesh separated from the bones.[14] The scapulae were extracted and wrapped in linen cloth and placed beneath the pillow of the diviner before they slept. The reading could only be performed the following day after this procedure had taken place.[14]
Reading of the scapula was divided into two sections: the inside blade and the external features.[14] The internal plane of the scapula has a prominent spine running through and was used for interpreting familial issues regarding fertility and prosperity.[14] The external border of the scapula was used when questions regarding political or public events were being asked of the diviner.[14]
Africa
South Africa
See also
Part of a series on |
Artes Prohibitae |
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- Hippomancy – Ancient divination method through horses.
- Plastromancy– Pieces of ox scapula or turtle plastron used for pyromancy in Shang China
- Slinneanachd
- Sternomancy – Type of divination
- Divination bones – Bones used for divination
References
- ^ S2CID 59457476.
- ^ a b c Speck, Frank G. 2935. Naskapi, the Savage Hunters of the Labrador Peninsula. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press
- ^ JSTOR 40316003.
- ^ OL 17804021W.
- ^ JSTOR 43686907.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-05455-4.
- ^ .
- S2CID 62795316.
This is one of several examples of late Neolithic scapulimancy from China's Northern Zone.
- ^ JSTOR 41926634.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-43210-9.
- ^ Johannes Hartlieb (Munich, 1456) The Book of All Forbidden Arts; quoted in Láng, p. 124.
- ^ S2CID 190265302.
- JSTOR 3734990.
- ^ .
- S2CID 57566250.
- ^ S2CID 53137024.
Sources
- Keightley, David N. (1978). Sources of Shang History: The Oracle-Bone Inscriptions of Bronze Age China. University of California Press, Berkeley. Large format hardcover, ISBN 0-520-05455-5is still in print.
- Andrée, R. (1906) Scapulimantia. In Anthropological Papers in Honour of Franz Boas, edited by Berthold Laufer, pp. 143–165.
- Eisenberger, Elmar Jakob (1938). Das Wahrsagen aus dem Schulterblatt. Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie 35, pp. 49–116.
- Philippi, Donald L. (1968). Kojiki. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo. p. 52.