ABSTRACT
I n this paper I shall be concerned wi th the use the Tonga of Zambia make of one particular type of stranger: the impartial stranger, of the same social universe, who shares a common set of values wi th the Tonga. The alien diviner or witchflnder is precisely this, an alien whose behavior is predictable because i t is based on standards accepted by the patron community, and whose findings are therefore intelligible and ac ceptable. An alien diviner, however, is useful only in internal difficulties. I f other aliens, wi th radically differing values and interpretations are also
involved as protagonists and judges of the action, the stranger status of the diviner or witchfinder becomes irrelevant.
