Scapulimancy
However, the second form, "pyromantic" scapulimancy, involving the heating or burning of the bone and interpretation of the results, was practiced in East Asia and North America.
[1] Rituals involving the divination of animal bones have been found on sacred sites of the Naskapi Innu and Eastern Cree peoples.
[3] The spiritual significance of the ritual is still held in high regard, although the interpretations yielded are largely unacted upon, as the practice is performed to maintain the traditions of old.
The work of academic Adrian Tanner in the field uncovered that the communities visited exclusively used porcupine scapulae in bone reading rituals.
[4] A point of difference between the use of scapulimancy between the Naskapi and Mistassini Cree is that the latter employed the use of bone reading to foresee a specific event in the future.
Scapulimancy was also mentioned in Chapter 5 of the Kojiki, the Japanese Record of Ancient Matters, in which the heavenly deities used this process of divination during a consultation by lesser gods.
This period spanned from 1250 to 1046 BC, and is historically significant due to the emperor of the time, Di Xin of Shang (King Zhou), was the chief oracle diviner.
[6] The caches excavated yielded remnants of pig, sheep, cattle and deer scapulae, all of which possessed scorch marks, indicating their use within a divinatory context.
[5] Additionally drill marks, where divots were carved into the shoulder blades, and etchings of Chinese characters were hallmarks of Shang dynasty oracle bones.
[6] These drilled holes within a specimen would be accompanied by carbonised fissures, thus the theory that the hollows were created to induce cracking when heated was postulated.
Notably, specimens found outside the region spanning the capital city of Anyang were far less intricate, with unfinished surfaces and fewer etched characters.
[5] Radiocarbon analysis of scapulae found at sites in Fuhegoumen, Inner Mongolia, have dated the remains to approximately 3322 BC, making the Mongolian people one of the earliest users of pyromantic scapulimancy.
[8] The proximity of Inner Mongolia to other regions of northern China has led to some theories speculating the spread of scapulimantic rituals across Eastern Asia.
[10] However, the manual was not leveraged by shamans as a defined list of direct outcomes, but rather aided in guiding diviner interpretations through using a shared system of belief.
[9] Diviners were held in significant social regard due to their role as spirit mediums Mongolian people one of the earliest documented users of pyromantic scapulimancy.
[citation needed] After feasts with roast lambs or kids, anyone who knew how to "read" a scapula would clean it of any remaining flesh and, lifting it up to the light, interpret the various shadowy bits showing on the transparent part of the bone.
In Renaissance magic, scapulimancy (known as "spatulamancy") was classified as one of the seven "forbidden arts", along with necromancy, geomancy, aeromancy, pyromancy, chiromancy (palmistry), and hydromancy.
[12] A Florentine manuscript dated to the 1600s is currently the most referenced source in terms of incorporating a compiled translation of Arabic works into Latin in Bibliotheca Laurenziana, a book detailing magic, summoning prayers, recipes for potent salves and divination.
[12] The text attributes the practice of scapulimancy in medieval Western European civilisations to the migration of traditions and ideas from the Arabic world, noting the influence of Muslim Spain.
[14] Zulu diviners, known as izangomas, have traditionally used bone reading in conjunction with other rituals involving herbal concoctions to communicate with spirits and those who have passed.
