YAMBA TWIN RITUAL

Studies on the western Grassfields of Cameroon in the past have paid l ittle attention to domestic life cycle rituals and rituals as a whole. Most studies have been descriptions of institutions an how they funct ion. By neglecting rituals salient features of a tribal society are mi ssed out. Describing the Yamba twin ritual, the author tries to show h ow elaborate people's ideas of the person can be. The paper has three main parts. Part one summarizes the few references to twins in the lit erature of the western Grassfields. Part two describes the different e pisodes of the Yamba twin ritual and gives the exegesis obtained from ritual specialists, twin parents, and laymen. Part three examines some discrepancies between expressed Yamba notions of twinship and what is enacted in the ritual.