ABSTRACT
From the Azande point of view, the bad things that happened to them were the result of witchcraft. Their first response was to identify the witch, and the final confirmation of that was the poison oracle. The next step was to confront the witch, who was often willing to recall any unintentional witchcraft by blowing water from the mouth. Meanwhile, protection was available through magic, and there was a vast range of it, for everything from curing illness to delaying sunset. To use magic required the preparation of what Evans-Pritchard calls “medicines,” some drunk, others rubbed on or sprinkled about. The medicines were concocted from herbs and needed no spells, although they might be urged to work properly just as was the poison oracle. Recipes for medicines were inherited, or purchased from reputed adepts. People had confidence in their medicines but knew they were not infallible.
