UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Estmando a nessesidade: os oraculos de Ifa e a verdade em Havana

Holbraad, M; (2003) Estmando a nessesidade: os oraculos de Ifa e a verdade em Havana. Mana , 9 (2) 39 - 77. 10.1590/S0104-93132003000200002. Green open access

[thumbnail of Holbraad_Estimando_Mana_2003.pdf]
Preview
PDF
Holbraad_Estimando_Mana_2003.pdf

Download (144kB)

Abstract

O objeto deste artigo é o conceito de verdade tal como se articula no oráculo de Ifá cubano; seu objetivo é ilustrar a fecundidade de um "método ontográfico" que procure mapear as premissas ontológicas do discurso nativo por meio da produção de conceitos que, não sendo os conceitos nativos eles mesmos, constituam equivalentes aproximados destes. Enfatizando a afirmação dos praticantes de que o Ifá é infalível, propõe-se que os vereditos divinatórios devem ser entendidos como verdades necessárias, isto é, como enunciados que não poderiam não ser verdadeiros. Em seguida, mostrando que, do ponto de vista das concepções comuns de verdade, a necessidade modal dos oráculos só pode parecer um absurdo dogmático, procura-se avançar uma conceitualização alternativa que concorde com as convicções dos informantes, examinando um complexo de conceitos e práticas associados ao oráculo a fim de avaliar as premissas que garantem a verdade e sua emergência na prática do Ifá. / This article analyzes the concept of truth as employed by Ifá oracles in Cuba; its aim is to illustrate the fertility of an 'ontographic method' dedicated to mapping the ontological premises of native discourse through the production of concepts which, while not the native concepts themselves, comprise close equivalents to them. Emphasizing practitioners claims that the Ifá is infallible, it is proposed that divinatory verdicts should be understood as necessary truths, that is, as statements which cannot not be true. Then, after showing that from the viewpoint of common place conceptions of truth, the modal necessity of oracles can only appear a dogmatic absurdity, I propose an alternative conceptualization which agrees with the convictions of informants. This involves examining a complex of concepts and practices linked to the oracle in order to evaluate the premises which ensure truth and its emergence in Ifá practice.

Type: Article
Title: Estmando a nessesidade: os oraculos de Ifa e a verdade em Havana
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1590/S0104-93132003000200002
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0104-93132003000200002
Language: Portuguese
Additional information: This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that that reuse is restricted to non-commercial purposes, i.e. research or educational use, and the original work is properly cited. If you alter, transform, or build upon this article, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.
Keywords: Oracles, Truth, Ifa, Ontology, Ontography, Cognition
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Anthropology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/37375
Downloads since deposit
118Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item