Divination Process and the Spider
On the neck of each birds perches a spider, associated with divine knowledge and the divination process itself. Because it lives underground, the earth spider is viewed as a vital link between this world and that of the ancestors. Like a spider, the king in his palace is thought of as the locus of sacred and cosmological knowledge. The spider is considered a hero, as well as a trickster, but above all a messenger between heaven , earth, and the spiritual world of the ancestors. Known under various names, it plays a mystical, cunning, outrageous, and witty role in African folklore.
The crocodile, riding on the beak of each of the hornbills, are metaphors for courage and a long and successful life
