SHAGAI
What is Shagai (Mongolian Ankle-Bone Dice)?
Shagai is a traditional Mongolian form of omen divination in which four anklebones from sheep or goats are thrown together, and the combination of faces that lands is read for an answer to a question. It is said to be one of the oldest dice-based forms of divination in human history, and it remains popular today through nomadic daily life and the summer festival of Naadam.
Overview
- System
- Omen Reading (reads from a chance combination of faces)
- Origin
- Mongolia
- What You Need
- Four anklebones (random numbers in the digital version)
- Best For
- Life direction, work, and either-or decisions
- Time Frame
- Today / the near future
Origins & History
Shagai is a traditional divination practice and game played in Mongolia using the anklebones of sheep or goats. Each anklebone has four distinct faces, which are likened respectively to a horse, a camel, a sheep, and a goat. Bone-based divination of this kind is said to be one of humanity’s oldest prototypes of the dice, and it has long been popular throughout Central Asia.
In Mongolia, games and divination using shagai remain especially popular around the time of the traditional summer festival Naadam. The method of throwing four anklebones together and reading an answer from the combination of faces that land has been passed down across generations within households and nomadic life.
How It Works
- 01Decide on a single question you want to ask.
- 02Throw the four anklebones (random numbers in the digital version) together.
- 03Check the combination of the four faces that land (horse, camel, sheep, or goat).
- 04Receive an answer from the interpretive text corresponding to that combination.
What It Reveals
Shagai is well suited to casually seeking an answer to everyday questions, such as choosing between two options or checking today’s or the near future’s fortune. However, because it centers on a simple judgment based on the combination of faces landed, it is not a form of divination for closely reading complicated relationships or long-term life planning.
Related Methods
References
- Wikipedia: Shagai (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shagai)