Cameroonian Spider Divination Art Exhibited in London

The exhibition “Tomás Saraceno In Collaboration: Web(s) of Life” at London’s Serpentine South Gallery delves into human-spider relationships. It showcases spider web installations illuminated as sculptures and includes films about Saraceno’s work in Argentina and spider diviners in Cameroon.

The Mambila term “Ŋgam dù” refers to spider divination, an esteemed form of oracle used by the Mambila people in Cameroon. Unlike other divination methods, it holds legal weight in the country’s courts. The practice has a long history in southern Cameroon.

As a social anthropologist working in the Mambila village of Somié since 1985, I’ve explored various projects, including a focus on divination in my Ph.D. in 1990. Over the years, I became an initiated diviner and contemplated the broader implications of using divination and oracles.

Ŋgam dù involves asking binary questions to large spiders living in holes in the ground. Symbols on leaf cards guide the spider’s choice, determined by linking options to a stick and a stone.

The divination process involves covering the hole, stick, stone, and cards. When the spider emerges, it moves the cards, allowing the diviner to interpret the pattern relative to the stick and stone. If cards are placed on the stick, the associated option is considered selected, and if on the stone, the opposite is true.

Intriguingly, situations arise when both options or neither are chosen, leading to further interest for diviners. In such cases, a contradictory response is interpreted as an indication that the initial question was poorly formulated. The diviner is then advised to engage with the client, reframe the problem, and pose a different question accordingly.

The process is regularly “calibrated” by posing test questions like “Am I here alone?” or “Will I drink tonight?”. Spiders that fail these tests are considered dishonest and not used for future consultations. To ensure consistency, diviners often ask the same question in parallel, using more than one spider simultaneously. The option of the stick and stone may also be reversed at times to prevent the spider from simply moving the cards in the same direction consistently.

Mambila diviners rely on these tests to validate the system’s accuracy. They also attribute wisdom to spiders, as they inhabit the ground, which is considered the “village of the dead,” a belief shared by many groups in Cameroon.

Tomás Saraceno explores the realm of spider divination alongside his work on this subject

As an anthropologist, I refrain from questioning the validity of spider divination. Instead, I focus on the more significant inquiry: “Does it provide assistance?”

Even when the advice from divination is considered but ultimately disregarded, it can still be beneficial as it helps individuals make informed decisions.

People use the results of divination as a tool to navigate difficult choices, such as selecting a marriage partner or deciding where to seek treatment for an ill child. Such decisions involve weighing conflicting factors, including costs, beliefs about witchcraft, and the reputation of traditional healers versus biomedical health centers.

I first met the Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno during his exhibit at the Venice Biennale in 2018. He found interest in a computer simulation of spider divination created by my colleague Mike Fischer. I was invited to Venice to demonstrate the simulation and discuss spider divination in front of Saraceno’s “sculptures,” which are collaborative creations with spiders displayed as art.

During our conversations, I mentioned that if he ever wanted to visit Cameroon, I would be delighted to introduce him to the diviners I worked with. In December 2019, he and his friend, the filmmaker Maxi Laina, joined me for a visit to Somié, where he collaborated with the diviner Bollo Pierre Tadios and the Mambila filmmaker Nguea Iréné.

Saraceno and Laina brought some questions from their friends, one of which was, “Who would win the 2020 US election?” This election involved Trump and Biden, and its results were later questioned by Trump. The answer they received was that there would be a new president, but the process would not be straightforward.

Saraceno found the idea of using spiders to assist in resolving human personal problems intriguing. It highlighted a different aspect of human-spider relationships. Bollo was interested in opening up the divination process to questions from outside the village, as he already has clients from other parts of Cameroon who seek his guidance. Working internationally seemed feasible.

Bollo suggested that Saraceno could make his work accessible through the internet, and Saraceno has since created a dedicated website for this purpose. Some of the initial results are displayed in the Serpentine exhibition, along with a film made by Nguea Iréné showing Bollo in action. The film will also be shown in the village later in the summer.

The exhibition “Tomás Saraceno In Collaboration: Web(s) of Life” is running at London’s Serpentine South Gallery until 10 September.

Read the original article on The Conversation.

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