Nggàm Explained

Nggàm (pronounced as /[ŋgam]/) is a type of divination found among many groups in western Cameroon. Among the best documented is its practice by the Mambila people of Cameroon and Nigeria, in which the actions of spiders or crabs are interpreted by the diviner. ^{[1] [2]} The form used by the neighbouring Yamba people was described by Gebauer in 1964^[3] based on experience in Mbem going back to before 1939, and more recently by Hermann Gufler (1996^[4] and 2003).^[5] Good documentation of Nggam has been also published for the Bekpak (Bafia) people by Dugast^[6] and for Bamileke people by Pradeles de Latour.^[7] The crab form has been studied in north Cameroon by Walter van Beek (2013,^[8] 2015^[9]).

The comparative linguistics of spider divination in Cameroon was surveyed by Blench and Zeitlyn in 1989/1990.^[10]

In 2021, Argentinian artist Tomás Saraceno developed a durational community project as part of the Berliner Festspiele’s Immersion programme. Described as “a web portal by, with and for the spider diviners of Somié, Cameroon”,^[11] the project invites audiences to learn about the practice.

See also

• African divination

External links

• Mambila spider divination
• Nggàm dù - Spider divination with Somié, Cameroon

Notes and References

1. Zeitlyn, David. 1987. Mambila Divination. Cambridge Anthropology 12 (1):21-51. NB: this also appeared as a chapter in Zeitlyn's PhD which is online: Mambila Traditional Religion, and in a revised form in: Zeitlyn, David. 1994. Sua in Somié. Mambila Traditional Religion. Vol. 41, Collectanea Instituti Anthropos. Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag
2. David Zeitlyn. 2020. Mambila Divination: Framing Questions, Constructing Answers (Routledge Studies in Anthropology) London: Routledge.
3. Book: Gebauer, Paul, 1900-1977.. Spider divination in the Cameroons.. 1964. Milwaukee Public Museum. 86224082.
4. Gufler. Hermann. 1996. Yamba Spider Divination. Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford . 26. 43–67.
5. Book: Gufler, Hermann.. Affliction and moral order : conversations in Yambaland. 2003. Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing. 1-902671-35-X. 727799043.
6. Book: Dugast, Idelette.. Monographie de la tribu des Ndiki : Banen du Cameroun.. 1959. 300142935.
7. Book: Pradelles De Latour, Charles-Henry.. Le Crâne qui parle : Deuxième édition de Ethnopsychanalyse en pays bamiléké. 1997 . 978-2-908855-24-1. 1026578297.
8. Book: Beek, Walter E. A. van, Ed. Peek, Philip M., Ed.. Reviewing reality dynamics of African divination. Lit. 2013. 978-3-643-90335-8. 884486522.
9. Book: van Beek, Walter E. A.. The Forge and the Funeral. 2015-11-01. Michigan State University Press. 10.14321/j.ctt17mcrtb. 978-1-60917-453-8.
10. Blench, Roger, and David Zeitlyn. 1989/1990. A Web of Words. SUGIA (Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika) 10/11:171-186
11. Web site: Festspiele. Berliner. Tomás Saraceno: Nggàm dù - Immersion. 2022-01-21. www.berlinerfestspiele.de. en.