manzia
Haruspicy
Haruspicy is the Etruscan and Roman divinatory practice of interpreting the entrails of sacrificed animals, particularly the liver. The priest who practiced it was the "haruspex". It was one of the official forms of divination of the ancient Roman world, alongside the auspices (flight of birds) and the prodigies.
Etruscan tradition
The Etruscans had developed a true "science" of haruspicy, codified in the "Libri Haruspicini". A famous example is the "Liver of Piacenza" (2nd-1st century BC), a bronze model in which the liver is divided into zones associated with different deities. Roman haruspices were in many cases of Etruscan training, and the Roman senate consulted the "college of haruspices" before important decisions.
Decline
With the rise of Christianity in the 4th-5th century, haruspicy was progressively forbidden as a pagan practice. It is documented and studied today by archaeology and the history of religions as an element of Etruscan-Roman culture. It does not survive as a living practice: no contemporary society practices it.
FAQ
Is it still practiced?
No, in a ritual sense. It survives as an object of historical study and in some neopagan reconstructionist practice.
Is it different from etruscomancy?
Etruscomancy is a generic term indicating Etruscan divinatory practices. Haruspicy is the specific reading of entrails.
Did the Romans really believe in it?
It was an official practice of the Roman State. Even skeptical authors (Cicero, De divinatione) discussed its reliability but recognized its institutional role.