The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination: How to Cast the Diloggún, the Oracle of the Orishas

This is the first book to provide complete information on how to cast the Diloggún, including instructions for opening, reading, and closing the oracle, as well as everything necessary for giving a comprehensive reading.

The Afro-Cuban faith, known to outsiders as Santeria and to adherents as Las Reglas de Ocha de Los Lucumi, is not a static religion but is a living conduit of energy for connecting the spirit world to our own. It has roots in Africa, most specifically with the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria, but came to the New World with the slave trade where it has evolved in response to the surrounding culture. For adherents of Lucumi the Diloggun is the most important focus of worship: the sacred shells reveal the forces at play in an adherent's life and these forces are redefined and placated by the orisha priest, who makes direct contact with the spirit world in an effort to help the adherent evolve. At the heart of New World orisha worship, the Diloggun is both an oracle and a guide on the long road to personal transformation.

While many books have been published about Santeria, The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination is the first to provide complete information on how to cast the Diloggun, including instructions for opening, reading, and closing the oracle, as well as everything necessary for giving a comprehensive reading. With a detailed discussion about why each prayer is offered and insight into the metaphysical core of the religion, this book will bring those seeking the wisdom of the Diloggun closer to the living orishas than they have ever been.

OCHA'NI LELE has been immersed in the underground culture of orisha worship since 1989. By 1995 he had received several initiations in both Santeria and the Congo faith Palo Mayombe. This year he made Ocha and was crowned a priest of Oya. He lives in Florida.

Since the 1993 Supreme Court decision that vindicated their right to practice animal sacrifice, practitioners of Santer!aDor Lucum!, an Afro-Cuban religion based on ancient Yoruban practicesDhave come out into the open. Lele's book is the most thorough print version to date of the orally transmitted oracles as they are currently practiced by American babalawos (priests) and santeros (practitioners). Joseph Murphy's Santería: An African Religion in America (1988) and Luis Manuel Núñez's Santería: A Practical Guide to Afro-Caribbean Magic (Spring Publns., 1995) provide the necessary introduction to the traditions covered here. Lele gives traditional readings for each casting of the cowrie shells used for divination. He lists the associated proverbs, the spirits that speak, and the message, prohibitions, and subreadings for each configuration of the shells. Missing are the traditional stories associated with the various oracle readings: these are promised in a future volume. A glossary and appendixes giving examples of readings enhance the book's usefulness for practitioners, scholars, and the curious alike. Recommended for academic and public libraries. --Steve Young, Montclair State Univ., NJ 

Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

". . . a complete resource and guide for anyone wishing to learn how to cast the Diloggun." (The Chicago Firefly, February 2002 )

"A richly detailed account of AfroCuban divination. I have had the opportunity to read a number of chapters of this book in its prerelease form and have been thoroughly impressed not only by the detail which the author provides but the extent of his knowledge which this work demonstrates. This is an arcane and highly complex system of divination based on methods and traditions brought to the new world and maintained in Cuba over generations by slaves and their decendants. This title, written by a priest of the Yoruban derived Orisha religion of Cuba commonly known as Santeria, covers not only the fundamentals of how to cast the diloggun or seashell divination, but offers many insights to the finer points of interpretation and application. It is a must for anyone interested in this topic, especially for those unable to avail themselves of the literature currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, or Yoruba on this complex topic." (Eoghan Ballard, University of Pennsylvania )

"Lele's book is the most thorough print version to date of the orally transmitted oracles as they are currently practiced by American babalawos (priests) and santeros (practitioners). Recommended for academic and public libraries." (Steve Young, Montclair State Univ., N.J., Library Journal )

". . . one of the best, clearest, explanations of that divinatory system I have ever been exposed to. If you are very interested in learning about the diloggun system of divination, this book will provide you with an excellent start on the path." (Mike Gleason, Witchgrove, March 2007 )