African Art, Oracle Gbékré Sè, Baulè

This unique container is called "Gbékré sé" and it’s used for divination practices with mice.
The term gbekre originally means, indeed, "mouse" in Baoulé.

This magical container was used to discover the past, understand the present and predict the future.
By removing the lid, it us revealed that inside the container there is a double bottom with a communicating hole, the only access to the lower part.

It was used by a soothsayer or seer, who inserted several wooden sticks into the first compartment, which were moved by the mouse or mice in the lower compartment.

The seer made the mice come out of the hole giving precise shots to the contents and the latter, moving out, moved the sticks changing their original position.

The seer later interprets the position of the sticks giving answers to the questions received from the people who asked for his help.