- 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 near to the tip of the leaf and two parallel lines of rectangular slits near to the flat end. In between these two shapes is a curved line made up of seven triangles. For the associated wooden folder and leaves see records 1946.6.83 .1 - .160. [ASh [OPS move] 27/3/2017]
- Date / Period
- Date made: Before 1946
- Date collected
- By 1946
- Acquisition information
- Donated: 1946
- Materials and processes
- Material Plant Leaf, Process Incised, Process Openwork
- Dimensions
- Depth: max 1 mm, Width: max 63 mm, Length: max 74 mm
- Object numbers
- Accession number: 1946.6.83.21 Other numbers: 21
- 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