Framing Divination: A Mande Divination Expert and The Occult Economy

Abstract

This essay describes the skills of a sand divination expert in Mali through consideration of his expert performance. By relating the description of the expert to Goffman's sociology, it is argued that, in addition to his skilled divination techniques, an expert diviner should be capable of establishing and maintaining the frame of his performance. In the case of the expert described in this essay, it is demonstrated that this frame encompasses a unique and dynamic network of social relations, and comprises a complex set of economic and geographical factors. The historical backdrop to the expert's activities is the ‘occult economy’ (the deployment, real or imagined, of magical means for material ends). It is argued that acquiring the skills needed for managing a frame – and a team of people to support the frame – in the conditions described is a major accomplishment. Study of these skills and processes may provide valuable insight into processes of social change at the micro-level.