1946.6.83.120

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] 28/3/2017]

Long description

Leaf, used for divination ceremonies. The leaf is decorated with two semicircular slits near to the flat edge. Beneath this are two triangles in the centre of the leaf. For the associated wooden folder and leaves see records 1946.6.83 .1 - .160. [ASh [OPS move] 29/3/2017]

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, Process Incised, Process Openwork

Dimensions

Depth: max 1 mm, Width: max 62 mm, Length: max 75 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1946.6.83.120 Other numbers: 121

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