Les Figures du Fa : un système de médiation symbolique visuelle
Abstract
This article examines the figures of Fa as a system of visual symbolic mediation within a predominantly oral tradition of knowledge transmission. Produced temporarily during divinatory consultations and subsequently erased, these figures are materially ephemeral while remaining stable as conventional configurations. Their continuity rests on an organized repertoire of figures, their names, the procedures through which they are produced, and the competence of the bokɔnɔ who recognize and interpret them. The 256 dù provide access to a vast corpus of narratives, proverbs, songs, and prescriptions transmitted primarily through oral tradition. The figures are neither a graphic transcription of this corpus nor writing in the strict sense; rather, they function as reference points that organize access to knowledge and its actualization in particular situations. The case of Fa thus shows that visual mediation can contribute to the stabilization and transmission of knowledge without depending on the material permanence of its support Keywords: Fa; dù; visual symbolic mediation; orality; knowledge transmission; semiotics; bokɔnɔ; divination.
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BibTeX
@misc{aplogan2026figures,
title = {{Les Figures du Fa : un système de médiation symbolique visuelle}},
author = {Parfait Blaise Aplogan},
howpublished = {HAL},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05743124v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Les Figures du Fa : un système de médiation symbolique visuelle
AU - Parfait Blaise Aplogan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/08
PB - HAL
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05743124v1
AB - This article examines the figures of Fa as a system of visual symbolic mediation within a predominantly oral tradition of knowledge transmission. Produced temporarily during divinatory consultations and subsequently erased, these figures are materially ephemeral while remaining stable as conventional configurations. Their continuity rests on an organized repertoire of figures, their names, the procedures through which they are produced, and the competence of the bokɔnɔ who recognize and interpret them. The 256 dù provide access to a vast corpus of narratives, proverbs, songs, and prescriptions transmitted primarily through oral tradition. The figures are neither a graphic transcription of this corpus nor writing in the strict sense; rather, they function as reference points that organize access to knowledge and its actualization in particular situations. The case of Fa thus shows that visual mediation can contribute to the stabilization and transmission of knowledge without depending on the material permanence of its support Keywords: Fa; dù; visual symbolic mediation; orality; knowledge transmission; semiotics; bokɔnɔ; divination.
ER -