Nggam () is a type of
divination found among many groups in western
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...
. Among the best documented is its practice by the
Mambila people of Cameroon and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...
, in which the actions of
spider
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...
s or
crabs are interpreted by the diviner. The form used by the neighbouring
Yamba people Yamba may refer to:
* Yamba, New South Wales, a port town in Australia
* Yamba, South Australia
Yamba is a locality in the eastern Riverland of South Australia. It is the last place in South Australia on the Sturt Highway before crossing into V ...
was described by Gebauer in 1964 based on experience in Mbem going back to before 1939, and more recently by Hermann Gufler (1996 and 2003). Good documentation of Nggam has been also published for the Bekpak (
Bafia
Bafia () is a Cameroonian town and commune in the Centre Province region. It is the capital of the Mbam-et-Inoubou department. It lies north of the country's capital Yaoundé. Bafia has approximately 55,700 inhabitants, making it the third ...
) people by Dugast and for
Bamileke people by Pradeles de Latour. The crab form has been studied in north Cameroon by Walter van Beek (2013, 2015).
The comparative linguistics of spider divination in Cameroon was surveyed by Blench and Zeitlyn in 1989/1990.
[Blench, Roger, and David Zeitlyn. 1989/1990. A Web of Words. SUGIA (Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika) 10/11:171-186]
In 2021, Argentinian
Tomás Saraceno artist developed a durational community project as part of the
Berliner Festspiele
The Berliner Festspiele ( German for Berlin Festivals) are a series of festivals, art exhibitions, and other cultural events organized all year long by a common organization in Berlin. Events are held at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, a pre- ...
’s Immersion programme. Described as “a web portal by, with and for the spider diviners of Somié, Cameroon”,
the project invites audiences to learn about the practice.
See also
*
African divination
African divination is divination practiced by cultures of Africa.
Divination is an attempt to form, and possess, an understanding of reality in the present and additionally, to predict events and reality of a future time.
Cultures of Africa ...
References
External links
Mambila spider divinationNggàm dù - Spider divination with Somié, Cameroon
Divination
{{Nigeria-stub