Belomancy

Belomancy,alsobolomancy,is the ancient art ofdivinationby use ofarrows.The word is built uponAncient Greek:βέλος,romanized:belos,lit. 'arrow, dart', andμαντεία,manteia,'divination'. Belomancy was anciently practiced at least byBabylonians,Greeks,ArabsandScythians.

The arrows were typically marked withoccultsymbols and had to have feathers for every method. In one method, different possible answers to a given question were written and tied to each arrow. For example, three arrows would be marked with the phrases,God orders it me,God forbids it me,and the third would be blank. The arrow that flew the furthest indicated the answer. Another method involves the same thing, but without shooting the arrows. They would simply be shuffled in thequiver,worn preferably on the back, and the first arrow to be drawn indicated the answer. If a blank arrow was drawn, they would redraw.

Usage throughout history

This was an ancient practice, and probably mentioned in theBook of Ezekiel21:21, shown below in the original Hebrew, and translated to English in theNew American Standard Bible,

כִּי-עָמַד מֶלֶךְ-בָּבֶל אֶל-אֵם הַדֶּרֶךְ, בְּרֹאשׁ שְׁנֵי הַדְּרָכִים--לִקְסָם-קָסֶם: קִלְקַל בַּחִצִּים שָׁאַל בַּתְּרָפִים, רָאָה בַּכָּבֵד.

"For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination;he shakes the arrows,he consults theteraphim,helooks at the liver."

Jeromeagrees with this understanding of the verse, and observes that the practice was frequent among theAssyriansandBabylonians.Something like it is also mentioned inHosea4:12, although a staff or rod is used instead of arrows, which isrhabdomancyrather than belomancy.Grotius,as well as Jerome, confounds the two together, and shows that it prevailed much among theMagi,Chaldeans,andScythians,from which it passed to theSlavonians,and then to the Germans, whomTacitusobserves to make use of it.

Pre-Islam Arabia

Belomancy is also attested inpre-Islamic Arab religion.In hisBook of Idols,early Muslim historianIbn al-Kalbimentions that there were seven divination arrows in front of the statue ofHubalin theKaaba.

Belomancy is condemned in the Qur’an as a “work ofSatan”inal-Ma'idah,the 5thSuraof the Qu'ran:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا ٱلْخَمْرُ وَٱلْمَيْسِرُ وَٱلْأَنصَابُ وَٱلْأَزْلَـٰمُ رِجْسٌۭ مِّنْ عَمَلِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ فَٱجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ٩٠

O believers, intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions are all evil of Satan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful.

— Qur'an 5:90-91

See also

• Salat al-Istikharah

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chambers, Ephraim,ed. (1728)."Belomancy".Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences(1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. p. 96.Retrieved2 May2022.