page_title: Azande witchcraft
section_title: Role of oracles
hierarchical_section_title: Azande witchcraft / Role of oracles
caption_attribution_description: English: "A man (identified as Windis or Zori, a subject of Gami, a commoner Governor) sitting on the ground within a homestead, his foot resting on the tail of an iwa (rubbing-board) oracle."
context_page_description: Witchcraft among the Zande people of North Central Africa is evil magic used to inflict harm on an individual and is the cause of all unusual or terrible events that take place. The belief in witchcraft is present in every aspect of Zande society. They believe it is a power that can only be passed on from a parent to their child. To the Azande, a witch uses witchcraft when he has hatred towards another person. Witchcraft can also manipulate nature to bring harm upon the victim of the witch. Oracles and witch doctors determine whether someone is guilty of using witchcraft on another villager. More magic is then created to avenge the victim and punish the one who committed the transgression.
context_section_description: Oracles are tasked with finding those responsible of using witchcraft on an individual, and with predicting future tragedies. If someone believes witchcraft is being used to cause misfortune upon one of their relatives, they may seek the wisdom of the oracles to see if that is the case. Different methods are used by oracles to determine whether someone is using witchcraft to bring disaster upon an individual.
  The Azande consult the oracles about many different types of things that they need information on. In pre-European times the Zande chiefs consulted the oracles about different types of military decisions that they needed to make. The Azande use three different types of oracles. The most powerful oracle is the “benge” poison oracle, which is used solely by men. The decisions of the oracle are always accepted and no one questions it. This ritual that goes along with the use of the oracle utilizes a chicken and that is administered a special poison and then asked questions to. The answer to the question lies in the fate of the chicken whether it dies or lives after it is administered the poison for a set amount of time.
  One such method to find out if witchcraft is being used is the so-called poison oracle; this uses a vegetable poison called benge, which is fed to a chicken. Whether the bird survives determines the answer. There are specific situations where a second fowl is fed the same poison to confirm the results of the first test. In order for the first test to be accepted as solid evidence, the results of the second test must be opposite of the first.
  An example of an instance that the “benge” oracle may be used in is can be seen in the ethnographic video Witchcraft Among the Azande by anthropologist John Ryle. In order to find out why his wife is sick a husband consults the “benge” oracle to find the witch who is the one that is making his wife sick. He asks this question to the benge oracle and then feed the poison to the chicken if it dies then the witch he asked the question about is guilty.  The chicken in this case died and he then asked another chicken if he should divorce the second wife since she is the one causing the illness. But the oracle decides that would be pointless and that the other wife must spit water sincerely in order to purify herself so that the first wife gets well again.
  The “benge” oracle can also be used in adultery cases to help decide if the people on trial are guilty. This can be seen in the ethnographic video Witchcraft Among the Azande when they have a case of adultery in the village. The adultery case has to go before the “benge” oracle to see if the women should get to live or die and if she is guilty or telling the truth. The chief has to consult the “benge” oracle and the chicken should only die if the two undressed and had sex and the chicken died proving that adultery had taken place. This will then be taken to the court and shown to the judge to prove that the two had lied and were actually a part of adultery.
  Another group of oracles that the Zande can seek is the termite oracle. The termite oracle is more readily available to all. Women, men, and children are all allowed to consult this oracle. When a question is presented before these oracles, they take a branch from two trees. One branch is called the dakpa, another kpoyo. The oracle takes these branches and sticks them into a termite mound and waits overnight to see which branch the termites eat, which dictates the answer. The termite oracle is not as popular as the poison oracle, because it is more time-consuming. This is less elaborate and costly then the benge oracle. An example of an instance in which the termite oracle can be used in the ethnographic video Witchcraft Among the Azande when a woman in the village is sick and her husband wants to know whether or not she is going to live or die.
  The least expensive but also least reliable oracle is the rubbing-board oracle.  The rubbing board oracle is described in Culture Sketches as “a device resembling a Ouija board, made of two small pieces of wood easily carried
caption: Zande man with rubbing board oracle
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