the actual quote from pkf, farewell to reason, pp74:
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'let the reader consider any argument that would utterly demolish all zande claims for thepower of [their] oracle[s]', writes e.e. evans pritchard, reporting a case i mentioned in the introduction. 'if it were translated into zande modes of thought it would serve to support their entire structure of belief. for their mystical notions are eminently coherent, being interrelated by a network of logical ties and are so ordered that they never too crudely contradict sensory experience but, instead, experience seems to justify them'. result: zande practices are 'rational' because supportable by argument. they also work. 'i may remark', writes evans-pritchard on this point, 'that i found this [i.e., consulting oracles for day-to-day decisions] as satisfactory a way of running my home and affairs as any other i know of'.
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--ravi