Chapter II — The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events

Witchcraft (mangu) is conceived as ever-present; Azande expect to meet it daily.
Penetrates every sphere:
- Agriculture, fishing, hunting
- Domestic relations (marriage harmony, child-care)
- District politics, court life
- Law, morals, etiquette, religion, technology, language
Functions as a “natural philosophy” that links misfortune to human agency; supplies a predictable, stereotyped response pattern.
Comparable to how Westerners cite “blight,” “influenza,” or “bad season.”

Default explanation for failure unless:
- Strong evidence (and oracular confirmation) indicates sorcery or another evil agent; or
- Clear incompetence, taboo breach, or moral violation explains the event.
Provides moral tone: transforms random harm into intentional aggression → evokes anger rather than awe.
Azande distinguish between how things happen (empirical chain) and why they harm a particular person at a particular moment (witchcraft).

Boy stubs toe on stump → infection festers → attributes to witchcraft because:
- He was normally vigilant; stump “always there,” yet this time unseen.
- Wound failed to heal as “cuts normally do.”
Beer-brewer burns hut roof while checking pots at night → witchcraft blamed for unlucky spark.
Master wood-carver’s bowl or stool splits despite proper wood & technique → cites jealous neighbours’ witchcraft.
Expert potter’s vessel cracks during firing despite ideal clay & ritual abstinence → “It is broken—there is witchcraft.”
Granary collapse illustration:
- All know termites weaken supports.
- All know people sit beneath granaries for shade.
- Witchcraft explains coincidence of weakened structure falling precisely when particular people shelter there.

Plurality of causes accepted:
- \text{Total Harm} = \text{Natural Cause (First Spear)} + \text{Witchcraft (Second Spear)}
Hunting precedent: first spearer and umbaga (second spearer) share kill.
- Elephant goring: elephant = first spear, witchcraft = second spear.
- Battlefield death: enemy spear = first, witchcraft = second.
Witchcraft supplies missing link where two independent causal chains intersect in harmful coincidence.

Moral & legal breaches where personal responsibility paramount:
- Lying, theft, adultery, disloyalty, murder by weapon → “Witchcraft does not make a person do X.”
Cases where social authority has already assigned guilt:
- Execution ordered by king; vengeance killings sanctioned by oracle → witchcraft explanation excluded (treasonous to suggest otherwise).
Taboo infractions supply primary cause:
- Premature parental intercourse → child sickness/death.
- Incest → leprosy.
- Violation of ritual abstinence before magic or oracle consultation → ritual failure.
- Yet, if death ensues, witchcraft can still join as “second spear,” yielding three causal layers: illness, taboo breach, witchcraft.
Obvious incompetence or accident:
- Child smashes pot, woman burns porridge, novice craftsman’s flaws → blamed on carelessness or inexperience.

Serious bodily harm (burns, falls into pits, mass death in hunting fire).
Unexplained rapid illness not clearly sorcery-related.
Old age deaths: publicly “old age,” privately (among kin) “witchcraft.”
Adultery indirectly causing spouse’s hunting/war death: witchcraft participates alongside moral breach.

Azande lack abstract categories “natural law” / “supernatural.”
Nevertheless recognize difference between sensory-observable processes and hidden mystical agency:
- Witchcraft normally invisible; known through dreams, oracle verdicts, or consequences.
- People profess partial ignorance: “Perhaps an elder or witch-doctor knows more.”
- Knowledge experiential & action-oriented; feelings > formal doctrine.
Evans-Pritchard notes interlocutors’ hesitation, suggesting intellectual weakness of concept yet behavioral strength.

Witchcraft supplements empirical causation; does not deny termites, sparks, germs, physics.
Chain shortening: when socially relevant, witchcraft named and secondary causes ignored.
Comparable to Western suppression of scientific determinism in courtrooms (moral accountability overrides).
Use of oracles, persuasion, and vengeance reflects practical application rather than theoretical analysis.

Minor, irreversible losses → usually no witch hunt; lament only.
Incipient or ongoing harm → urgent oracle consultation to identify witch; goal: persuade withdrawal, apply protective magic.
Death cases → possibility of vengeance/compensation; witch identification critical.
System maintains social equilibrium by:
- Providing channel for anger.
- Reinforcing norms (taboos, moral duties).
- Regulating retaliation through oracle procedures rather than random violence.

Demonstrates how a holistic belief system can be both rational (internally coherent) and empirically grounded yet fundamentally different from Western epistemology.
Highlights importance of social context in selecting which among multiple recognized causes is foregrounded.
Shows coexistence of empirical knowledge (termites, technique, contagion) with mystical causation without perceived contradiction.
Exemplifies broader anthropological theme: categories of “natural/supernatural” are cultural constructs; analytical separation may not mirror native taxonomy.