The Poison Oracle

The poison oracle is the thing that holds my most disbelief about Azande magic. The Poison Oracle is the Azande belief specialist who the people go to if they believe that they are being bewitched or if they believe that one of their kin has been killed via magic. (Because in that case, they are expected to exact vengeance magic) When an oracle is called upon to discern whether or not someone is guilty (you cannot simply ask them who used magic, you have to be specific), they get a chick (fowl) and feed it a natural poison mixture from a leafy vine grown several days journey from the village. Then the questioner will ask specific, yes-no statements. Such as, “if so-and-so kill so-and-so by magic, let the chicken die?” or “If hunting in this part of the bush creates more game for so-and-so to hunt, let the chicken live?” Of course, this process is done twice to make sure that the poison is not discriminately causing the bird to die because of too potent mixtures, but if the oracle says one way or the other, the Azande take it as proof.

Now, Evens has made a convincing argument in his study Anthropology as Ethics: Nondualism and the Conduct of Sacrifice that there are two contradictions in their belief of the oracle. That one: the questions are usually very vague unless about someone’s identity. (“will the season be good” instead of “will I catch such-and-such tomorrow”) and when the poison does turn out to be too potent, they will look for explanations for it, but ones that are neither quickly nor easily tested. (Someone might have harvested the vine incorrectly or someone might not have observed a taboo to the ritual)

However, he does make the point that above all, these oracles solve disputes in the village. They are solved by the oracle with little fuss and no blood feuds. So that may be their practical purpose that makes sense to the village regardless of whether or not one believes in witchcraft. Witchcraft is blamed for misfortune and the poison oracle works to solve these misfortunes, thus they usually get solved with either little fuss or at least a rational (Azande culture) explanation.



Evans-Pritchard, E.E. Witchcraft Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Clarendon P: Oxford. Print.

Evens, T.M.S. Anthropology as Ethics: Nondualism and the Conduct of Sacrifice. Berghahn Books: New York. 2008. pp. 200-213.

Chase, Oscar G. "The Lesson of the Azande". Law, Culture, and Ritual: Disputing Systems in Cross-Cultural Context. NYU Press: New York. 2005. pp. 15-29.