Orakel-App

Der Einzug des Smartphones in die afrokubanische Divination

Abstract

Priests of the afro-Cuban Ifá-Oracle are increasingly using smartphones in their divination sessions. One particular application allows the meanings and recommendations of all the 256 existing oracle signs to be accessed. The present article analyses this development in view of the canonization of the Ifá-oracle following its conversion from orality to literacy in Cuba, where the divination system had been introduced by Yoruba slaves in the nineteenth century. The Ifá-application will be presented and its mode of operation explained. The app will then be discussed in the context of the ‘digital diaspora (religion)’. The article aims to contribute an empirical example to the ongoing debate on the so called ‘media turn’ in anthropology and religious studies.