One to four mice once lived within this lovely vessel. Inside, the space is divided into upper and lower chambers connected by a hole. The mice lived in the lower chamber. During a consultation, a diviner placed food in the upper chamber on a tortoise shell place to which ten rods were attached. When a mouse came up for the food, it would displace the rods leaving a pattern that the specialist could interpret. Mice are used for spiritual consultation because their natural proximity to the earth suggests intimacy with the asye usu, earth spirits, and ancestors who enable them to foretell events. The two wild spirit masks, bo nun amuin, adorning the exterior of the vessel may allude to spiritual power, as well. Field photo: Photo by Susan Vogel, Ongobo, Aitu region, 1994.