[MUSIC] Hi, in this video we will delve into the world of Divination. Divination supports itself on the belief in divine omniscience and, throughout history, human beings have developed several methodologies to receive knowledge from the gods. Arguably, divinatory techniques may be considered a different phenomenon from what usually falls into the category of magical resources. But, in many cases, the performance of these techniques requires the expression of fixed formulae and the following of a set of rituals, a characteristic shared by most magical procedures. Now, I would like to introduce you to a technique known in the West as Geomancy. The word geomancy from the Greek geo-, Earth, and manteia, divination, is the name the practice received from the first translators of the Arabic manuals, where it was most usually named '<i>ilm al-raml</i>', sand science, in reference to the use of sand as the surface whereon castings have been traditionally performed. These translations took place in the 12th century, in Spain, and they extensively promoted the use of geomancy in Europe, especially during Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In what follows, you will learn the basic procedures of this sortilege in order to identify the features that distinguish this popular technique. For the castings, 16 figures are employed. As you can see, each of these figures is built with four lines of dots, and, in each line, one or two dots may be found. The number of the figures, 16, is the result of all the possible combinations of two values, odd and even, grouped in four. Now, from the simple introduction to the figures, you may begin to notice some mathematical implications of this divinatory technique. Indeed, the whole procedure attests to principles derived from arithmetic, or number theory, and algebra. This is the reason why Geomancy has become a matter of interest for scholars from the field of Mathematical Anthropology, as you can see in the following selected bibliography. The geomantic figures are given a name and a meaning. Predictions can be made taking into consideration the value of only one figure obtained by random means. But, usually, the practice exhibits a more sophisticated procedure that involves the construction of a chart made of 15 or 16 positions in which figures are placed. I would like to introduce you to the steps of the procedure, for they illustrate the complexity and technical nature of the system, a key aspect to understand how each divinatory practice is embedded in the broad intellectual atmosphere it belongs to. As we have just mentioned, Geomancy had a strong arithmetical input, and it becomes especially clear in the laws that rule the construction of the chart: In the first place, following a randomised process, four figures are obtained. One of the most traditional ways to get them is to draw four rows of dots for each of them without counting. Once this is done, the dots are discarded in pairs, leaving only either one or two dots at the end of every row. The remaining dots are placed underneath each other, obtaining a figure. This operation is repeated four times in order to obtain the four figures that will fill the first positions of the chart, known as '<i>mothers</i>'. The reason for this name is that these four figures are responsible for the rest, because of two laws of derivation operating. The first one is called 'transposition', and it produces the figures that will fill the next four positions, known as '<i>daughters</i>'. It consists of shifting the dots from a horizontal position to a vertical one by using the top lines of dots, or '<i>heads</i>', from the four mothers to make the first of the daughters and, down to the bottom, every line is taken to build the rest of daughters. The second law of derivation, the 'addition', is applied to obtain the figures for the remaining positions. Addition consists in adding two figures to produce a third one. The dots in each line are counted, and if the total numbers is odd it corresponds to one dot, and if it is even to two. In this way, the chart is completed and ready to be interpreted. At this point, Geomancy exhibits a closed relationship with Astrology. The positions in the chart are named <i>houses</i>, a concept borrowed from Astrology, just as some of the principles governing the chart. The houses may be related to a particular planet, colour, social role, number and element, properties that have to be considered along with the characteristics of the figure located therein. Given the vast amount of information to bear in mind for interpreting a chart, written manuals are useful, if not necessary. The production of handbooks was considerably big already in the Middle Ages, in view of the number of copies preserved. They are the best source to know about the history of this technique. As for indirect sources, they should be taken cautiously, because the names by which it is known are sometimes applied to other practices that also involve the use of sand or the ground, such as lithomancy, psammomancy, or feng shui. Some of these manuals are interesting also from the standpoint of social and economic history, because often they include the questions most usually asked. On the basis of the examples preserved, it is assumed, as we mentioned earlier, that Geomancy entered Europe after the translation from Arabic handbooks that took place in the 12th century. And given that there is no evidence of being practiced elsewhere before, it is generally understood that the origins of this divinatory technique, are to be traced back to Arab lands. This idea is consistent with the legendary tales of its genesis and transmission found in several Arabic sources. The tales are intended to explain the divine nature of the science by providing a chain of transmitters, usually headed by the Archangel Gabriel, (Jibril in Arabic). Master of Knowledge, Gabriel gave the prophet Idris the chance to learn and transmit it to humans. The angel and the prophet had to meet several times until the apprentice mastered the technique. Then, Idris taught it to an Indian sage named Tumtum al-Hindi. The legacy of this wise man was unknown until the arrival of Khalaf al-Barbari "the Elder", a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad. Khalaf al-Barbari had studied it in India for 120 years, and then wrote a book, which he bestowed upon his disciple Nasr al-Din al-Barbari "the Young" before dying in year 13 of the Hegira at the age of a 186 years. The list usually ends with the most famous geomancer of all times, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Zanati, following his master Abu Sa'id al-Tarabulusi. In other cases, the mythical transmitters are substituted with other ones of equivalent role. For instance, Idris can be assimilated to Hermes Trismegistos, Thoth, the prophet Daniel, and Enoch; whereas instead of Tumtum al-Hindi, we could find Ptolemy. Furthermore, in some cases, it is possible to find Sem, Cham, the Sibyll, Pythagoras, Abraham, Moses, or Christ. But the practice of Geomancy is not exclusive to the Arab lands and Europe, nor to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Divination by means of these geomantic figures experienced a tremendous expansion in time and space. Soon, it travelled to the southernmost parts of Africa, and as far as Madagascar. There, it became a very popular and ritualized practice after integrating local cults and beliefs. Then, from the Western African Coast, where it was known as Ifa or Fa, it reached the Caribbean as a result of the slave trade. It also moved towards the East, with a special impact in Iran and Pakistan. In all these places Geomancy is still performed today. [MUSIC]
