E. E. Evans-Pritchard

The function of anthropology is to make the familiar strange and the strange familiar.

Primitive peoples are not primitive in their thinking; they think differently.

Religion is not a matter of belief but of experience and ritual.

The Sanusi of Cyrenaica are a people whose history is intertwined with their faith.

In studying kinship, we must understand the native's own categories.

The ghost of the deceased is a bridge between the living and the divine.

Anthropologists must suspend disbelief to understand other cultures.

The comparative method in anthropology reveals the unity in human diversity.

Fieldwork is the heart of anthropology; without it, we are mere theorists.

I have learned more from the Azande than from any book.

The Nuer taught me that authority is not power but consensus.

In anthropology, the observer must become part of the observed.

Witchcraft beliefs are not irrational; they are rational within their context.

Life's meaning is found in the rituals we share with others.

Politics among primitives is as complex as in Europe.

The study of man requires humility before the diversity of human experience.

Oracles are the Azande's way of navigating uncertainty.

Kinship is not biology but social construction.

I regret not spending more time with the people I studied.

Anthropology bridges the gap between cultures.