Cowrie-shell reading
Divination by throwing cowrie shells, practised in West Africa and in Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban religions.
Also: diloggun, jogo de buzios, buzios, cowrie divination
Cowrie shells, which were also money across Africa and Asia, are used for divination in several traditions. In Santeria, a santero or santera throws sixteen shells, called diloggun, and reads the number that lands mouth-up, each linked to stories and to orisha. In Candomblé and Umbanda in Brazil the practice is the jogo de buzios, and a reader consults the orixas on behalf of a client. Both draw on Yoruba divination and are part of living religions, so the readers are trained and initiated, and some details are kept within the community. A reading may lead to advice and to offerings. Visitors who want a consultation should look for a respected temple, not a tourist stall.