<P> Benge is the' Poison Oracle' used by the Azande of Central Africa, mainly in Southern Sudan, in which a decision is determined by whether or not a fowl survives being administered a poison . The outcome of the oracle can be taken as law in certain circumstances when a Zande Chief is present . The practice is increasingly rare since colonial times . </P> <P> The Azande Tribe believed that witchcraft was inherited and grew with age . To tribe members, everyday ailments or events could be explained by witchcraft . Enchantments were gender specific, meaning that a woman could only bewitch another woman and a man could only bewitch another man . If someone was ill, they would go to an oracle who would feed poison to a chicken . If the chicken died after the name of a certain tribe member was called, then that person was considered the witch . Azande believed people could be witches without knowing it, and once the tribe member learned he or she was a witch they would stop unknowingly cursing the other members of their tribe with bad thoughts . </P> <Ul> <Li> Evans - Pritchard, EEP (1976). Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande . Oxford, England: Oxford University Press . ISBN 0 - 19 - 874029 - 8 . </Li> <Li> Cryer, Frederick H. (1994). Divination in ancient Israel and its Near Eastern environment: a socio - historical investigation . Sheffield, England: JSOT Press . p. 105 . ISBN 978 - 1 - 85075 - 353 - 7 . </Li> <Li> Engelke, Matthew Eric . (2007). A problem of presence: beyond Scripture in an African church . Berkeley: University of California Press . pp. 226--228 . ISBN 978 - 0 - 520 - 24904 - 2 . </Li> <Li> Andre Singer, John Ryle (1981). Witchcraft among the Azande . Granada Television . Lay summary . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Evans - Pritchard, EEP (1976). Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande . Oxford, England: Oxford University Press . ISBN 0 - 19 - 874029 - 8 . </Li>

The azande poison oracle is an example of