English | English For the Azande the most efficacious form of divination is the poison-oracle. Scrapings from the red root fibres of an unspecified plant are dissolved in water and administered to young chicken. If the first animal dies, the answer to the question asked is affirmative; to test the answer, the question must be repeated that way that the answer is confirmed by the surviving of the second chicken. If the first chicken is spared, the answer to the question is negative; to confirm the answer the answer the second animal has to die. If both animals should live or both die, the oracle is not valid and must be consulted again. |