Diloggun are consecrated cowrie shells used for divination in the Santeria and Palo faiths. The Dilogun are considered to be a part of the Orishas, their "voice," and are kept on the altar with the otanes. The shells, which usually number eighteen (Eleggua has twenty one), are used in a complex system of divination that is similar in many ways to the I Ching. The shells are read according to how many land face (mouths) up during a reading; all of the possible outcomes are called Odu. The Diloggun is consulted to discover the will of the Orishas- what sacrifices, or ebbo, they desire, guidance and advice, etc.

Related Resources:

• Afro-Carribean syncretic religions
  Santeria, Vodoun, and more at Alternative Religions.
• The Seven African powers
  In the Yoruban tradition that is parent to the Lukumi and Palo faiths, the Orishas are emissaries of God, ruling the forces of nature and the fortunes of mankind. The Seven African powers are the primary deities of this tradition.