Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande by E. E. Evans-Pritchard

Author:E. E. Evans-Pritchard
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780198740292
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 1976-06-24T04:00:00+00:00

viii

Any man who is invited by the owner of the oracle poison may attend the seance, but he will be expected to keep clear of the oracle if he has had relations with his wife or eaten any of thè prohibited foods within the last few days. It is imperative that the man who actually prepares the poison shall have observed these taboos, and for this reason the owner of the poison, referred to in this account as the owner, generally asks a boy or man who is under taboos of mourning to operate the oracle, since there can be no doubt that he has kept the taboos, because they are the same for mourning as for oracles. Such a man is always employed when, as in a case of sudden sickness, it is necessary to consult the oracle without warning so that there is no time for a man to prepare himself by observation of taboos. I shall refer to the man or boy who actually prepares the poison and administers it to fowls as the operator. When I speak of the questioner I refer to the man who sits opposite to the oracle and addresses it and calls upon it for judgements. As he sits a few feet from the oracle he ought also to have observed all the taboos. It is possible for a man to be owner, operator, and questioner at the same time by conducting the consultation of the oracle by himself, but this rarely, if ever, occurs. Usually there is no difficulty in obtaining the services of an operator since a man knows which of his neighbours are observing the taboos associated with death and vengeance. One of his companions who has not eaten tabooed food or had sexual relations with women for a day or two before the consultation acts as questioner. If a man is unclean he can address the oracle from a distance. It is better to take these precautions because contact of an unclean person with the oracle is certain to destroy its potency, and even the dose proximity of an unclean person may have this result.

"The taboos which have invariably to be kept by persons who come into contact with oracle poison are on:

Sexual relations with women.

Eating elephant's flesh.

Eating fish.

Eating mboyo vegetable (Hibiscus esculentus).

Eating morombida vegetable ( Corchorus tridens).

Smoking hemp.

Some men avoid eating animals of a light colour, and such would seem to be the rule imposed on those who come into contact with a prince's oracles. Elephant's flesh and fish are forbidden on account of the powerful smell emitted by a man who has eaten them. I think that it is their slimy nature that has brought mboyo and morombida under a ritual ban. They are glutinous, and when the edible parts are plucked they do not break of f cleanly but are attached to the stem by glutinous fibres which have to be drawn out. When cooked they form a sticky mess which can be stretched like toffee.

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