Leaf, used for divination ceremonies. For the associated wooden folder and leaves see records 1946.6.83 .1

Collection type: Object
Description: Leaf, used for divination ceremonies. For the associated wooden folder and leaves see records 1946.6.83 .1 - .160 [ASh [OPS move] 27/3/2017]
Long description: Leaf, used for divination ceremonies. The leaf is incised with the cut out decoration of two parallel triangles on one side of the leaf with six slits cut in the surface of the leaf through which a feather has then been threaded through. For the associated wooden folder and leaves see records 1946.6.83 .1 - .160 [ASh [OPS move] 27/3/2017]
Geographical reference: Cameroon
Africa > Central Africa > Cameroon; Bamenda
Cultural groups: Wiya; Luiya
Person: Field collector Mervyn David Waldegrave Jeffreys; PRM source Mervyn David Waldegrave Jeffreys
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1946
Date collected: By 1946
Acquisition information: Donated: 1946
Materials and processes: Material Plant Leaf, Material Bird Feather, Process Incised, Process Openwork
Dimensions: Depth: max 1 mm, Width: max 61 mm, Length: max 72 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1946.6.83.18 Other numbers: 18
Research and responses: Additional references provided by David Zeitlyn: Gufler, H. 1999. Witchcraft Beliefs among the Yamba (Cameroon). Anthropos 94, 181-98; Gufler, H. 1996. Yamba Spider Divination. Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford (JASO) 26, 43-67. [AP 24/9/2001]
Ambatch is a type of leguminous shrub found through many parts of Africa, including the Sudan; it to between 4 and 6 metres high and grows in river shallows, producing a very light, spongy wood that was often used for rafts and parry shields. Its botanical name is Aeschynomene sp. [source: http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/B1AB.HTM; RTS 10/1/2005].

Search terms: Specimen, Divination Religion, Plant, Divination Accessory

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