Dan Oracle

Dan Oracle reenacts the nomadic history of the Mahin people, a Yoruba nomadic society of hunters who developed Vodun as a transcendental weapon, shaping the balance between the visible and invisible worlds. Migrating from Yoruba lands to the central-northern region of Benin, they founded kingdoms shortly before the rise of the transatlantic slave trade and later became part of the populations forced across the ocean.

Evoking the primordial waters of Dan as a guide to a broader history, the installation centres on Zakpta, the Vodun of Savalu, through a powerful triad of colours: red, white, and black. As in the three pillars of life in the Kabbalah, they represent:

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• Jasper (Red) – Power

• Chalcedony (White) – Purification

• Obsidian (Black) – Protection

 

From Benin to Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Brazil, and across the Afro-Atlantic world, these transcendental technologies evolved and gave rise to new spiritual and cultural forms, from musical lineages such as Ska, Blues, and Jazz to complex Afro-Brazilian rituals such as Cosme and Damião, Bumba Meu Boi, and Terecô.

This oracle invites each participant to cast cowrie shells across the three pillars. The number of open shells (1–12) corresponds to a zodiac constellation, each linked to one of the 12 Human Tarot cards. Each card connects to a natural element and its ritual site in London:

 

Fire and Water – Firepit (Southeast London)

Cosme & Damião + Bumba Meu Boi – The New Ancestors
by Ta’wa (BR) and K Brito (BR)

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Opening ceremony by Simone Amorim

Earth and Wind – Brixton Village (Southwest London)

 

Earth and Air – Brixton Village (Southwest London)

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Mourning and Rebirth: The Making of the Now
by TRIBE (NIG) and Angie Aniwura (NIG)

 

Opening ceremony by the Ifadiwura Temple

Beyond a history of survival, Dan Oracle is a living technology, mapping how African Indigenous knowledge continues to move, adapt, and transform.

 

 

 

Dan Oracle
by Ana Beatriz Almeida

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Executive Producer: Lison Sabrina Musset

 

Blacksmith: Kevin Boys

 

Creative Assistant: Janis Savicks

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Audience Moderator: Joy Dilla

Images: Shai Andrade, Marcus Vinicius

Design and Video: Xuniro

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Special thanks to:
Brixton Village (especially Daiana Nabagereka), Firepit, Javiera Limari and the entire Cubitt team, Iyanifa Omobolanle, Simone Amorim, Camille Ostermann, Cezar Almeida, and Kleiton Bassi.