In Gbaya, the notion of the clinging of a tongue to the roof of one’s mouth is emphasized in Psalm 137:6 with ɓak-ɓak, an ideophone that means to be tied or held very tightly.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
See also skin shriveled on bones.