Quartering

Quartering (zunagai, lit. 'four-continuous') is the cosmological concept in the Corps that underlies the shape of the world. Under Quartering, the body is a metonym for the universe; it is the framework for the division of the body and the cosmos into four segments across two axes, vertical (up-down) and horizontal (left-right). In the body, the chest and internal organs are central, where the ibu (spirit) resides.

These can in turn be mapped onto physical and conceptual spaces, guiding Omban understandings of gender, space, and time, as follows:

Vertical	Horizontal
Up-Down	Right-Left
North-South	East-West
Order-Chaos	Life-Death
Past-Future	Becoming-Ending
Voice	Hand
Male	Female

The quartering structure is reflected in temples (whose entrances reflect the cardinal ordering of their respective priesthoods), the layout of many communities, and the structure of numerous other ritual practices. The Hulti do not adhere to this partition.