Spiders in and out of Court, or, ‘the long legs of the law: styles of spider divination in their sociological contexts

Abstract

AbstractBoth Banen and Mambila in Cameroon use spiders in divination. The intellectual practice of the divinatory technique is related to the different sociological contexts of divination. Relative freedom of interpretation and the posing of questions overnight among the Banen correlate with its political unimportance. Conversely among the Mambila the interpretation of the diviner is rule-bound, and many simple questions may be asked in quick succession. The results provide important evidence in the chief's court. Social context and intellectual content are each constrained but underdetermined by the other.