Key Info

- Equivalent of sorcery

- Only acquired through learning and practice, available to men, and used to help or harm

Brief Bio

According to Douglas Falen (African Science 2018) in regards to a preliminary definition of àzě and bǒ. "The author uses E.E. Evans-Pritchard’s framework for understanding the difference between “sorcery” and “witchcraft” as a model for distinguishing between àzě and bǒ: àzě is like witchcraft in that Beninese sometimes describe it as involuntary, possessed by women, and used to harm others. Bǒ can be understood as the analog of sorcery in that it is a skill learned—not passed on—by men who may use it to harm or help. This framework is at best a heuristic device because, as Falen goes on to acknowledge in later chapters, understandings and practices of both àzě and bǒ are diverse and contingent, depending on the person, time, and place."