Metaphorical Transposition: Cosmography to Human

Geography

OLUWATOYIN VINCENT ADEPOJU

Comparative Literature Programme,

Department of French,
University College, London
E-mail:tokem3000@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

This essay represents an effort to contribute to an understanding of urban dynamics through making
correlations between cosmographic systems, human geography, Space Syntax and Complexity Theory.
The cosmographies explored are the Ifa system of divination that has its origins among the Yoruba of
Southern Nigeria and the Jewish Kabala.It is argued that both systems could be understood as
describing the universe in terms that could be adapted to a study of human interaction in space,
particularly in urban space. Complexity Theory study of the interaction between autonomous agents
in generating outcomes is correlated with Ifa’s emphasis on interaction between various classes of
agents in the development of unanticipated outcomes. The Kabala’s depiction of actual and potential
relationships between cosmographic zones is related to the description of dynamic relationships
between spatial zones in Space Syntax. In correlating the cosmographies and the social sciences I have
emphasized the concern with depictions of macrostructures and the manner in which dynamic
relationships between the constituent elements of these macrostructures are developed through the
activity of human agents in interaction within spatio-temporal frameworks. I have also examined the
manner in which the activities of these human agents are mediated through the technological
affordances that characterise urban space, with specific reference to the subway and, to a lesser degree,
the mobile phone.

KEYWORDS: Ifa, Kabbalah, Space Syntax, Complexity Theory.

Acknowledgements clear and his networking to make sure I got

I want to express my gratitude to Dr.
John Pollard, the director of the European
Modelling Symposium 2006, Prof. Timothy
Mathews and Dr. Tania Tribe, my supervisors
at UCL and SOAS, Mr. Joseph Ohomina, my
teacher in the divinatory system of Ifa in
Benin-City, Nigeria, Prof.Lynn Innes,
Drs.Leon Schlamm, Angela Voss at the
University of Kent, Dr.Ademola da Silva at the
University of Ibadan, and Amanda Williams of
Exurban Noir Workshop at UBICOMP2006.
These figures have contributed in
different ways to helping me realise the effort
represented by this paper. Prof. Mathews most
directly by his enthusiastic endorsement of the
paper and working out suggestions for vital
revisions. Dr.Pollard by his ready appreciation
of the earlier draft which was not particularly
help with reworking it. Amanda Williams was
the first person to express appreciation for the
paper when I sent it to the workshop which she
is co-organising and where it was eventually
rejected perhaps on account of the same flaws
the Modelling Symposium assessors observed.
Dr.Tribe and Prof.Mathews have
consistently supported and guided my
explorations in correlating diverse field of
enquiry. The selflessly given ideas of my Ifa
teacher, Mr.Ohomina, are central to all my
work on Ifa, of which this is one.My teachers
at the University of Kent and the University of
Ibadan gave me the first opportunity to
develop in an academic context the ideas that
emerge in this paper.
This work represents a stage in the
actualisation of a dream that I have nurtured
for decades. The paper is still relatively crude,
however. I am still working on the suggestions
made by those who have read the work.
This essay is an exercise in
metaphorical transposition. It involves the
transposition of frameworks from
cosmographic to geographical systems. The
frameworks employed adapt two
cosmographies from two different cultures to
the interpretation of patterns in human and
physical geography. This transposition is
directed at facilitating an understanding of the
variables demonstrated by these geographical
relationships. The possibility of adapting ideas
from such domains of knowledge with very
different gaols and cognitive strategies as
cosmography and geography emerges from the
fact that they both deal with the creation and
perception of patterns as these are realized
through conceptions of space. Cosmography
deals with cosmographic space. This form of
space consists in an understanding of the non-
physical structure of the universe as intelligible
in terms of pattern. Geography deals with
physical space and its relationship to human
culture.
These patterns developed in
cosmography and geography are organized in
terms of general conceptions that provide
graphic representations of macrostructures.
These structures could be perceived at the
level of ultimate abstraction, as with
cosmography which deals with the underlying
non-physical structure of the universe. In
dealing with non-physical structures,
cosmography is different from cosmology
which deals with the underlying physical
structures of the universe, such as the laws of
astrophysics.
The development of macrostructures
as an effort that relates cosmography and
geography could be developed in geography at
the level of concretely grounded abstractions
based on the observation of relationships
between human and spatial factors. In doing
this, geography demonstrates relationships
with other social sciences such as sociology,
economics, anthropology and architecture,
with the social and spatial organization of
human society.
These interdisciplinary strands in the
social sciences and their demonstration of the
development of macro-interpretive structures
in understanding human society is exemplified
by the discipline of Space Syntax which
unifies these social science in the development
and application of what Hillier describes as a
macro-theory of the city1.
This paper argues that cosmographic
and geographical ideas can be correlated in the
development of such macro-theory in relation
to interaction between people in space and
time. The analysis developed in this paper
demonstrates relationships with structuralism
in that it examines the manner in which
choices between options and the management
of the outcomes of these choices constitutes
patterns of activity in the human navigation of
space, particularly in the city. The analysis
relates to space syntax in that it integrates the
activity and rationale for action of the human
subject as well as the factors that affect this
rationale in the study of the manner in which
space and human activity are mutually
constitutive.
In relation to the study of patterns that
emerge in human in spatial formations which
we relate to structuralism and space syntax, I
examine the interaction of human agents by
adapting conception of complex adaptive units.
In doing this, I describe human agents and
their relationship with space in terms of
mutually implicated agents which act upon
each other, with varying degrees of
intentionality by the humans.
Relationships between Cosmographic Space
and Urban Space
The cosmographies I explore are
those of the Ifa system which has its origin
with the Yoruba of southern Nigeria and that
of the Kabalah, an aspect of Jewish mysticism.
The central idea we adopt from the correlation
of these cosmographies is the notion that the
universe may be understood as a dynamic
network of actual and potential connections
between beings and phenomena. This
potentiality is realised through the
actualisation of possibilities in particular times
and places. This conception provides a model
for our exploration of relationships between
spatial and temporal dynamics in the cities of
Lagos and London.
My primary focus in relation to the
spatial and temporal dynamics of urban space
is its intelligibility using the image of the city
as consisting in social and spatial networks
that are intelligible at horizontal and vertical
levels. Horizontality here consists in spatial
mobility. Verticality involves class mobility.
1
Bill Hilllier, “The Common Language of
Space”.
 This conception is developed through
an adaptation of the Kabalistic metaphor of the
cosmos as an interconnected network of
centres. We also develop this central idea
about urban space in relation to the Ifa
system’s visualisation of patterns of being as
achieving actualisation through a ceremonies, are represented in spiritual
transformative process. Through this process
the potentiality embodied by the patterns of
being becomes actual through interaction with
other forms of being. This interaction is
understood as emerging at various levels of
explicitness and awareness.
This paper explores aspects of urban
dynamics adapting the conceptions of both
cosmographies. This exploration is developed
in relation to flows of power in time and space,
as well as the temporal, spatial and social links
that dramatize these connections.
Ifa in Relation to City Space
Ifa is a divinatory system that operates as the
central endogenous knowledge system of the
Yoruba people. It operates according to a
hermeneutic that involves the interpretation of
the oracle’s responses to its client’s query in
terms of the patterns assumed by the
divinatory instruments. These patterns are
known as the Odu. The patterns are then
correlated with texts which represent the
meanings of the patterns. In terms of the
distinctive metaphysics of the system these
patterns are not interpreted simply as symbolic
of textual forms but as entities in themselves.
The emergence of particular configuration of
patterns in relation to the client’s query is
understood to represent a dialogue between the
geomantic patterns and the ori inu or inner
head of the client, referring to a subconscious
identity of the client that predates their birth,
will outlive their death and embodies the
totality of the client’s possibilities
My particular interest in Ifa in this essay is in
the notion of possibilities of self actualisation
as embodied in conceptions of interaction
between conscious and subconscious aspects
of personality and between these and semiotic
forms as represented by the Odu. Ohomina’s
characterisation of the Odu as semiotic forms
which map the totality of being and its
possibilities represents the central point of our
correlation:
The Odu are the names of spirits whose
origin we do not know. We understand
only a small fraction of their
significance… They are the spiritual
names of all phenomena, whether
abstract or concrete: plants, animals,
human beings, the elements and all
kinds of situations. Abstractions such
as love, hate, truth and falsehood;
concrete forms such as rain, water,
land air and the stars; and situations
such as celebrations, conflict and
terms by the various Odu
My fascination here is with the notion of an
effort to organise the totality of actualities and
possibilities of being in terms of a semiotic
system. My interest here is not in the question
of the literal validity of the claims being made.
It relates more to the possibilities of
transposition of these ideas into forms that can
be used without having to identify with the
ontological claims being made.
Kabala and Urban Space
This framework is the cosmography
of the Jewish Kabbala.
Kabalistic Cosmography: Ten Interrelated
Planes
The Kabala describes the cosmos as
organised in terms of ten interrelated centres.
The focus of this paper is on the adaptation of
ideas of conjunction and disjunction between
these centres to further an understanding of
relationships between spatial and social
factors. We examine, particularly, the
phenomenon of class mobility understood in
both a vertical and a horizontal sense.
Conjunction and Disjunction between
Planes
In the Kabala,all aspects of existence
are understood to be configured into a unity.
This unity is not often accessible to human
consciousness but may be realized through
cognitive disciplines. It is a unity that is extant
in reality but exists for human consciousness
essentially as a potentiality rather than an
actuality. The task of the mystical dimension
of Kabala is the realisation of this unity.
Disjunction between Planes
A different perspective within this
tradition which I intend to draw upon is the
notion that the universe is actually not unified.
This conception holds that the distinction
between the various centres of being emerged
from a primal rupture at the beginning of
creation that has led to the amalgamation
between the positive and the negative
characteristics of existence. The task of
disentangling these aspects of being is what
constitutes the task of the Kabalist. The
Kabalist, therefore, participates actively in the
reconstruction of the cosmos so as to actuate
its potential unity.
Actualisation of Potential in Relation to the
Idea of Mobile Possibility
In relation to notions of unity and
rupture in the metaphysical structure of the
cosmos,I intend to use here the notion that the
amalgamation between the divine and the
material, the positive and the negative, good
and evil, and the consequent difficulty of
distinguishing between them, is expressed in
the Kabala in the exile of the feminine
dimension of the divine presence from the
divine realm. The task of assisting this
feminine presence, the Shekinah, to return
from exile to its home constitutes one of the
tasks of the Kabalists, correlative with the
reconstruction of cosmic unity. I am interested
in the ideas associated with the Shekinah for
their relevance to ideas of motion and
temporality; to the emergence of ideas
generally; and the contexts of spatial and
temporal mobility in which they occur.
Transposition in Terms of Space, Time and
Their Interrelationships
The Kabalistic metaphor is operative
in notions of the distinction and the
relationship between differing cosmographic
zones. These zones are metaphysical; but the
manner in which metaphysical space is
mapped and navigated, both in the metaphoric
and the physical sense, could provide a guide
in navigating of the spatial and temporal maps
we are exploring.
The central relationships we develop between
Kabalistic cosmography and human and
physical geography in the city operate at two
interrelated levels. The first level consists in
distinctions between neighbourhoods in terms
of economic class and its relationship to social
class. It also involves the relationship between
jobs within the same establishment by
members of different social classes. These
levels of relationship emerge in terms of
spatial exclusion in residential
neighbourhoods; in links between spatial
location and social class. They emerge in work
spaces in terms of a dialectic OF spatial and
social inclusion and exclusion, where people
of different classes occupy the same physical
space but operate in terms of different social
spaces. We also develop horizontal
relationships realized through spatial mobility
in relation to time as it operates in terms of the
rhythms observed by different social classes
We interpret the Kabalistic conception of the
possibilities of correlating cosmographic zones
through human action in terms of the
possibilities of correlating spatial zones at their
various levels of social signification in relation
to time. We interpret the practice of
constructing conjunctions between
cosmographic zones in terms of the building of
bridges between both zones of inclusion and
exclusion in the city. This can be interpreted
through the presence of physical bridges,
represented by communications technology,
particularly the cell phone. Such bridging
operations can also be embodied by human
consciousness as it strives to close gaps
between space and class or to move, in vertical
terms, between spatial and temporal zones and
their associated class values.
Conjunction between Spatial Zones
I am adapting the idea of cosmic unity
in order to develop ideas of potential unity
between spatial locations in relation to their
class values. I examine, in particular, the
notion that a particular centre of being situated
midway between the various centres acts as A
link between them. In Kabalistic terminology
that centre is known as Tiphareth. I am
developing the idea of a link between
metaphysical centres into the idea of a link
between spatial centres in relation to their
social values. And I interpret that link in terms
of bridges, both physical concrete bridges, and
bridges as representative of functions
performed by technological objects,
particularly objects of navigation in physical
space, cyberspace and in the space constituted
by air waves, particularly mobile phones.
Tiphareth is often understood in terms of the
transformation of consciousness that enables a
grasp of the unity of being, a grasp achieved
through the transformation of the self. I
interpret this central point, therefore, in terms
of both material forms as well of points in time
where this change of understanding may
emerge.
I interpret the conception of the
cosmos as essentially disjunctive in terms of
the understanding of social space and even
social time as being disjunctive and the notion
of the coexistence of positive and negative
elements of existence as suggestive of the idea
that within this disjunctiveness, parallel points
cross without converging but they may be
made to converge through the kind of
transformative process suggested by the ideas
related to Tiphareth. We develop this idea in
relation to reinterpretations of human
possibility in relation to class and the spatio-
temoral contexts within which these
transformations take place.
Correlative Questions as Guide to
Transposition of Epistemes
Central research questions that guide
the transposition of epistemes at play in this
research, therefore, are represented by the
following:
What are the navigational forms through which
people move across space and how do the use
of these forms demonstrate class distinctions
and conjunctions?
How do these relate to the navigational means,
metaphorically speaking, through which
people move across class boundaries?”
What is the relationship between these forms
of mobility in terms of conjunctions between
space and time?
Can we see bridges as agents of such
mobilities? Bridges understood in both a literal
and a metaphorical sense? May technological
forms constitute one of such bridges?
Cell phones: The Cell as Splinter and as
Connector
“Call me on my cell” Peter calls out to his
estranged wife in the film Bringing Down the
House, thereby correlating, analogically and
unintentionally, the ideas of the cell, the
splinter, as suggested not only in the
technology on which his phone works and its
incidental relationship to his domestic
disjunction, with the notion of connection, of
linking the disparate realized through the
ubiquity and the connective power of the
mobile phone.
Along a similar axis of correlation, the mobile
phone unites and yet evokes the separation of
agents who exemplify and dramatize networks
of empowerment and disempowerment in
various locations at various points on the
globe, exemplified in this paper by Lagos and
London.
A Meeting on the Subway
I adapt a story told me by a Nigerian woman as
a means of adapting these various possibilities
of using metaphysical space a as guide to
interpreting social space, in terms of its
physical and temporal constructions.
This story correlates elements of
spatial and temporal configurations of
consciousness that I associate with links
between various social and temporal spaces in
terms of their class values.
Her experience took place in a
subway station in London, possibly, London
Bridge Station.
She was working as a cleaner in an
office in the City, the square mile that
constitutes the financial and business centre of
London. She says that she had to leave home
very early in the mornings before dawn in
order to be on time at the offices where she
had to do her cleaning jobs. She would then
have to make sure she had completed her jobs
and left the offices before the workers who
worked in those offices came to work.
She says a particular phenomenon
came to strike her the more she witnessed it at
the subway station. This consisted in the
disjunctions she observed at a point in space
and time. She says that when she and many
other workers in menial jobs, most of whom
were Africans, were on their way from the
posh offices where they had worked before
daybreak, looking like the lowly paid workers
they were, she would see, the workers in those
offices where they had been cleaning on their
way to work. So, while, they, the cleaners were
leaving the offices, the white collar workers
would be heading to the same offices. The
contrast in appearance between the two groups
of people, working at different times, and at a
different category of jobs in the same offices,
struck her. The differences in sartorial style
and facial expressions were painfully marked
for her. She eventually resolved that she would
quit those jobs where she was compelled to
work unpleasant hours, to dress shabbily, to
live a life that underutilized her capacities, and
get a job that would enable her to reverse all
those factors and also work as a white collar
worker in those offices or others like them
where she used to clean and dress in the
dignified style of those people she used to
see going to work while she was leaving
work.
She gained an education in interview
management through attending a course on self
presentation at interviews, restructured her
style of dressing and eventually began to get
the kind of jobs she wanted.
This story suggests questions about
convergences of space and time in relation to
changes/transformations in consciousness. It
was the woman’s observation of class
differences, inspired by spatio-temporal
conjunctions and disjunctions between classes
that triggered her resolve to change her social
class. The Kabalistic centre of Tiphareth which
links all the other cosmographic centres
through existential correlations is represented
here by the spatial and temporal conjunctions
between classes. Its embodiment of the
possibility of correlating diverse zones of
being through a cognitive realization of
underlying unity is represented here by the
transformative experience which enables the
woman to transform her circumstances.
One could adapt to an interpretation
of the social dynamics dramatized through this
narrative observe in this situation what
Mitleton-Kelly’s ideas which correlate
Complexity Theory as it has developed in the
pure and applied sciences to the social sciences
in her study of complex social systems. She
describes complexity as “the intricate inter-
relationships that arise from the interaction of
agents, which are able to adapt in and evolve
with a changing environment”. I have argued
in this essay that cosmographic frameworks
could facilitate a development of explanatory
frameworks of how people interact, even if
these modes of interaction are not explicit to
all participants in the interactive process, as is
demonstrated by the narrative of the lady on
the subway in her silent interaction with other
passengers on the train. I describe the social
networks dramatised by her encounters on the
subway as representative of what Mitleton-
Kelly describes as a larger social ecosystem. I
describe her perception and response to these
networks as expressive of what Mitleton-Kelly
describes as modes of relating and
development within social ecosystems. To
adapt Mitleton-Kelly further “The intricate
inter-relationships of elements within a
complex system” give rise to multiple chains
of unanticipated outcomes as represented by
the response of the lady to her observations in
the subway.
interaction leads to outcomes that are
unanticipated.
Theoretical and speculative study of the
outcomes of human interaction in space, in
relation to empirical observations, however,
could lead to increasing understating of the
probabilities that emerge in relation to such
spatial contexts. The study of possible
outcomes as they emerge from human
interaction with the specific characteristics of
space in urban environments is the domain of
Space Syntax. I have tried to demonstrate in
this paper that such concrete conceptions could
be advanced through a correlation of
cosmographic, geographical and complexity
theory and application.
This essay contributes, therefore, to
what Hillier describes as a macro-theory of the
city, where the interaction of the subsystems
that constitute the city are studied and ideas
developed to demonstrate the outcomes that
emerge from these interactions. I conclude
with a quote from Mitleton-Kelly that sums up
some of the ideas I develop about change in
relation to social networks as these occur in
terms of spatio-temporal contexts:
“Change happens in the context of …intricate
intertwining at all scales. We become aware of
change only when a different pattern becomes
discernible. But before change at a macro level
can be seen, it is taking place at many micro-
levels simultaneously. Hence micro-agent
change leads to macro system evolution.”

I understand the entire social network

represented by the lady in the story, her fellow
passengers and the method of transportation
they employ as well as the locations to which
they travel to work, as representing what
Mitleton-Kelly describes as agents whose