What is "sandobele"

The Sandobele are members of the Sandogo, an authoritative women’s society of the Senufo people, who practice divination. The Senufo inhabit the savannas and tropical rain forests of northern Côte d'Ivoire and the nearby land in Mali and Burkina Faso. The Sandogo is responsible for sustaining positive relationships with the spirit world through divination and for protecting the purity of each kinship group. The word Sandobele originates from the Senufo language.

The Sandobele constitute only a small portion of the members of the Sandogo society. Membership in the Sandogo society is almost exclusively hereditary as only one female from each matrilineal group is initiated into the Sandogo society. All new Sandogo initiates learn the process of divination called tyeli (or tyele), but only a small number are able to perfect the complicated method and become practicing diviners. Diviners have great responsibility and are highly respected within the community because of their skills.

The Sando (singular of Sandobele) divination process constitutes one of the most important and common rituals in Senufo culture. Leaders of the community must confer with a Sando diviner before making significant choices or performing sacred ceremonies that affect the community because the action must be communicated to the spirits. People in the village consult the diviner on an everyday basis to discover what spirits or other forces are causing them grief. Often villagers feel pressure to have regular sessions with the diviners to avoid neighbors and relatives claiming that misfortunes are caused by the villager not following the diviner’s directions or not speaking with enough diviners. The Sandobele hold the authority to communicate with the spirit world which helps maintain a sense of balance with the male leaders of the society.