Divination Basket (ngombo ya cisuka)

Only women past childbearing age make divination baskets. Their transformation into powerful objects takes place at a ceremony during which a diviner “steals” the basket (leaving behind the agreed-upon payment) and is cursed by the basket maker. Acquired over time, small natural and carved objects form a microcosm. During divination, the diviner shakes the basket and makes his prophecy based on the position of those objects. A worn-out divination basket is buried as it remains dangerous. In this case, did the European identity of the collector (the danger from then on threatening an outsider and not a member of the community), the need for money, or the conversion to Christianity of its owner play a role in the departure from tradition?