the meaning of the sentences
appropriate to the arrangements
of seeds. As these represent
certain typical situations in life,
their corresponding names in
the code are often used as
idiomatic ( “deep”) expressions
for these typical situations, v.
eh-ɔɣae [ ˩ ˥ ˥ ] and ɔkãn-abe [ ˩ ˩ \ ˩ ].
The actual throwing of ogwɛga
[ ˩ \ ˩ ] is done in the following
way: “alligator-pepper” (ɛhĩ-
ɛ̃do [ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˦ ]) is chewed and spat on
the instrument, then the client
holds uk-iha [ ˥ \ ˩ ], “the mes-
senger of the oracle”, also called
uta [ ˥ ˩ ], in front of his mouth and
asks the master of the oracle (ɔka
[ ˩ ˥ ]) his question. The ɔbo then
touches all the sixteen seed-
halves, saying: w-ɔɽ̃-ɛ̃ʋ̃ɛ n-ɔxaɽe
(wɛ [ ˩ ]) [ / / ˩ ˥ / ˩ ] “do you
know the word he has said?”,
puts uk-iha [ ˥ \ ˩ ] between the
strings and throws them so that
the ɛɽoɽo [ ˥ ˥ ˥ ] and the cowries
fall at his side.
ogwi [ ˥ ˥ ] mango tree and fruit,
Irvingia gabonensis; another sort
is ogwi ebo [ ˥ ˥ ˥ ˦ ].
ogwo [ ˥ ˩ ] riot, fighting between
people of the same town, or the
same family; also igbĩn-ogwo
[ ˩ ˥ ˥ ˩ ].
ogba 1 [ ˥ ˩ ] (1) fence. (2) fenced
space, e.g. garden, yard; ogb-
oɽe [ ˥ ˥ ˥ ] “fence of outside”:
(a) front part of odĩ [ ˥ ˥ ], the
compound wall; (b) front part of
the compound yard; ogb-oleɣã
[ ˥ ˥ ˥ ˩ ] prison-yard, prison; cf.
Yor. ɔgba [ ˧ ˩ ].
ogba 2 [ ˥ ˩ ] digging-stick for
digging yams; pointed at one
end, made of the heavy uxu
