ABSTRACT

Analysis of the logs of more than 600 divination sessions reveals the main concerns that Mambila clients bring to divination. Illness is the main one, followed by trouble in families or uncertainty about a possible marriage. Ritual organization is the third commonest type of enquiry: who should officiate? Rarely mentioned but implicit in many questions about illness are worries about witchcraft. Other types of problem seem never to be asked, such as decisions about farming.