The Yoruba believe that people's destinies and the roles they will play in society are given to them at birth. These destinies are revealed through divination rites. The rites are performed by Ifa priests, babalawo, who have "inherited the spiritual duties of Orunmila" (Drewal, Pemberton, and Abiodun, 109). Using a divination tapper, divination tray, and palm nuts, the priest determines what the child's future will be like and what sacrifices must be made to please the gods (Ibid, 111). Thus, pregnant women have a great stake in appealing to the gods for a child who will be healthy and successful. The parents are then obligated to bring the child up in this manner and see that he or she fulfills his or her role in order to please the gods and ensure that only positive things will happen to their family. Many divination rites are also done in order to find out what sacrifices must be made to compensate for something bad that has been done.

The agere Ifa is used as a type of shrine for the sixteen sacred palm nuts that symbolize the god, Orunmila, who is believed to control creation and the destiny of every human. Thus, the divination cup serves as a temple to Orunmila. The story of Orunmila is as follows: "Orunmila had once lived on earth and aided mankind with his infinite wisdom. But as a result of an offense committed by one of his sons, the old god left the world of men and returned to the realm of the gods. Disorder and despair spread across the earth. Finally, the children of Orunmila journeyed to heaven and found their father sitting in the top of a palm tree. He refused their petitions to return with them or even to come down from his lofty perch. But he did give them the sixteen sacred palm nuts, ikin, of Ifa, with which they might communicate with him and, thereby, bring a measure of order and happiness into their lives" (Fagg and Pemberton, 100). This story of how Orunmila caused disorder in the world explains the Yoruba people's desire and attempts to achieve order in their lives, as is expressed through divination rites, art, and societal structure.

The kneeling position is typically a symbol of reverence and humility. The woman in this sculpture is kneeling in reverence to Orunmila, which is significant because Orunmila has control over creation and thus, a woman's ability to bear children. In the carving, the kneeling woman with the child on her back symbolizes the success of a divination session. She shows respectful attention and her gratitude to Orunmila for blessing her with a child by being on her knees and having a serious facial expression (Drewal, Pemberton, and Abiodun, 112). The Yoruba believe that when worshipped properly, the gods will be kind. More importantly, the kneeling position is also the position of childbirth for the Yoruba people (Ibid, 111). It is the best way to show respect for a deity, particularly the deity of creation, because childbirth is considered the most sacred virtue of womanhood (Ibid, 111). Motherhood is a particularly powerful virtue because of its implications for the continuity of society.

Stability, an important concept in Yoruba art, is represented in form through the figure's posture, as is the case with the woman on this divination cup. The woman's balanced posture with both knees evenly touching the ground,  the bilateral symmetry of the disposition of the figure, her strong vertical torso and frontal focus all symbolize balance and order. Balance and order are important because of the Yoruba belief that if there is stability, the community will be prosperous. Women are often represented as stabilizing forces because of the Yoruba belief in the female's ability to "honor, sooth, and cool the gods in order to coerce them to favor man" (Drewal, Pemberton, and Abiodun, 111). As has already been mentioned, women are also able to bridge the spiritual and visible worlds through childbirth and can "stabilize effects on the family and positive values within the community" through child rearing (Corbin, 171-173).