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Writer's pictureKirsten Weiss

New Addition to the Paranormal Museum!

--By Maddie Kosloski of the San Benedetto Paranormal Museum

Top down view of the lid of the Yoruba divination bowl. A hardwood bowl with carvings of totem animals.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Maddie Kosloski at the San Benedetto Paranormal Musem

The San Benedetto Paranormal Museum Announces its Newest Work: A Yoruba Divination Bowl, the central piece of its newest exhibit.


The San Benedetto Paranormal Museum in February will present a significant collection of paranormal objects from around Africa. About twenty-five objects from the museum’s own holdings will be on view in the gallery, including Ethiopian magic scrolls, thunderstones, and a Yoruba divination bowl.


Bequeathed to the museum in December, 2022, the divination bowl is from Nigeria, circa 1920. Its lid is decorated with totem animals sacred to the Ifa religion.


Divination bowls were essential for rituals to divine the fortune of the querant. Divination was used to access the Orisha (or spirit) of wisdom, divinity, and prophecy

. A trained priest, the babalawo, would tap rhythmically on a tray to invoke the presence of the Orisha, Orunmila. A divination bowl such as this example would be used to contain sixteen sacred palm nuts, used to divine the querant's future and prevent misfortune by reading the patterns they form.


About the San Benedetto Paranormal Museum:


The museum is located at 2022 Main Street in San Benedetto, California. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM.

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