The Importance of Reciprocal Gift Circulation in Maintaining Social Relations

1405 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ç

What is the basic idea of a gift? It is when one party makes something of theirs to another (Laidlaw, 2000). In many cultures, gift giving is a norm for establishing and maintaining relationships, rituals such as birthdays and Christmas (Belk & Coon, 1993). In some cases, these exchanges are of a ceremonial nature, having stylized ritual content involving items of little intrinsic value, as in the kula ring (Malinowski, 1922). Mauss (2002) states that free gifts are virtually non-existent and describe gift giving as a paradox which is employed to create a contract of obligation. This paper seeks to understand the complexity of reciprocity and the circulation of gifts in social relations, through various examples such as gift exchanges of yam, banana bundles, skirts and kula shells among the Trobriand Islanders in various contexts like familial love, marriages and even death. The social and economic implications of reciprocal gift exchanging on forming and maintaining social relationship in Trobriand Islands will also be discussed.

The Debt of Reciprocal Gift

Weiner (1988) describes caring and generosity of reciprocal gifting as an attempt to control others by establishing a debt. This act of giving expresses not only caring but also the intention to “sweeten” or “turn” the minds of the receiver (Weiner, 1988). For instance, yams are highly valued and seen as food, wealth and power, are sometimes employed as gifts (Malinowski, 1922). When a villager gives another a basket of yams, he cannot ask something in return but to wait. He hopes that he will eventually receive more than he gave. However the receiver may not be won over by the gifts, he or she may not have been persuaded to repay the debt (Weiner, 1988).

A Father’s Care...

... middle of paper ...

...nd hierarchy in the kula ring. American Anthropologist, 88(1), 108-115. doi:10.1525/aa.1986.88.1.02a00070

Laidlaw, J. (2000). A free gift makes no friends. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 6(4), 617-634. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.00036

Malinowski, B. (1922) Argonauts of the Western Pacific. London, England: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Mauss, M. (2002). The gift. London, England: Routledge.

Powell, H. A., & Mosko, M. S. (1997). Trobriand chiefs and fathers. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 3(1), 154-159. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3034370

Weiner, A. B. (1988). The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Ziegler, R. (2012). The Kula Ring of Bronislaw Malinowski: Co-evolution of an Economic and Ceremonial Exchange System. Review of European Studies, 4(1), 15. doi:10.5539/res.v4n1p15

Show More
Related

  • The Trobrianders Of Papua New Guineaia Case Study

    707 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the case of a death in the matrilineage many of the men who are not a part of the matrilineage are called upon to help out with the preparation of banana leaf bundles. Their wives are in charge of making these skirts and bundles while their husband is in charge of finding and trading for the leaves. Even the Chief must partake in this if one of his wives had a death in the matrilineage. This is a form of exchange, under normal circumstances the Chief or husband would be receiving yams from his wife’s matrilineage. Yet in the case of death is the Chief/husband is required to give back to his wife’s matrilineage.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Folkways And Mores

    234 Words  | 1 Pages

    However, both Folkways and Mores are the norms of a giving society at any giving time on just carry more punishable weight than the other, but both a created to be able to manage and maintain others in a giving

    Read More

  • The Ghost of Christmas Present

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gift-giving nowadays is no longer an act of kindness, but rather a political measure, taken to ensure one’s status with one’s acquaintances. While the general feeling of "goodwill towards men" still pervades the season, albeit filtered through television and municipal decorating projects, there is a great tension that precedes the actual Christmas holiday itself. I remember Christmases of my youth as enjoyable times, to be sure, but also as times when it was best to stay clear of my mother, who was inevitably in

    Read More

  • Who Is Mrs. Shimerda's Cultural Beliefs

    435 Words  | 1 Pages

    A third cultural belief that is repeated throughout the novel is one of the Shimerdas expectations of help from the Burdens. The Shimerdas offer their personal possessions to show friendship and loyalty to the Burdens, even if it means taking from what their family needs to live on and giving it to someone else. In America, the cultural belief is one of individual capitalism, private ownership, and self –reliance. One example of this cultural difference is when Mrs. Shimerda gives Grandmother Burden some of her dried mushrooms that she brought over from Bohemia. Grandmother criticizes the gesture of the gift not only because she does not know what the gift is, but more importantly because she cannot believe that Mrs. Shimerda would give her something when her family is so poor and does not have enough to

    Read More

  • The Argonauts by Malinowski

    1594 Words  | 4 Pages

    This quote also describes my first imergency into Malinowski’s ethnography, ‘’Argonauts of the western pacific.’’ It was uncharted waters, and I was left stranded on a beach of an unknown field with only my books to make for friends. This paper will give account of my thoughts as they appeared and evolved on several key issues through the book, concentrating on, what I deduced, to be of either paramount importance to the ‘’Malinowski experience’’ in the archipelagos of Melanesian New Guinea, or to be points of academic debate between me and the author and his work. Firstly, I will explore the position towards the ethnographer and his task in field work, giving account of Malinowski’s contribution to the field of social anthropology as well as providing some contrary opinion. Secondly, I will engage with the ‘’Primitive Economic Man’’ and Malinowski’s critic of him, leading to the depiction of the Kula and its ways, where I will look at how the author approached the system (and the structure) and how that approach had influenced his later observations and analysis. Finally I will look at the functionalists’ perspective on the local soci...

    Read More

  • Life Without Chiefs By Marvin Harris Analysis

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Life without Chiefs Marvin Harris demonstrates human evolution from egalitarian existence to present day capitalist structure. He states that for 98% of human existence, our ancestors lived in small foraging communities (Harris, 2009). Where everyone knew each other and people gave things knowing when they needed something those same people would reciprocate. They lived in an egalitarian society where everyone is equal and had the same rights and opportunities. An interesting aspect of our ancestors was they didn’t say “thank you” to the giver, and it wasn’t because they didn’t appreciate it, but that same person who was the giver one day could be the receiver the next. To them “saying ‘thank you’ is very rude. It suggest, first that one has calculated the amount of a gift, and second, that one did not expect the donor to be so generous” (Harris, 274). And again the reason they do this is because everyone is equal, no matter who provides the goods it is evenly distributed so that no one is superior or think they that authority over the band. Harris gives an example from our previo...

    Read More

  • The Trobriand Islands

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the Trobriand society, marriage and courting are quite different from cultures in the Western world. According to Malinowski, the rituals consists of Trobriand children experimenting with their sexuality with their future spouse. At the age of infancy, the Trobrianders believe that “the relation of suckling to its mother…” is the first introduction to bodily contact and desire by nutrition” (Malinowski, 1985:245). Around seven years of age, “erotic games” are presented to the children in form of fondling and caressing (Malinowski 1985). And by the age of eleven to thirteen, the youth are already pursuing sexual partners engaging in casual affairs before they are ready to settle down. Marriage is among the most important aspects of a clan. As Weiner described, this [act of mating] must occur between two, distinguished clans. Thus creating a new relationship of great importance. However, Lepani discusses how “Trobriand women are free to exercise autonomy in choosing their sexual and marital partners” (2015:54). When a couple has decided for marriage, an announcement is given outside of the groom’s household. According to Malinowski, the ceremony will occur later on that day and the bride’s mother will bring cooked yams to seal the marriage between the new couple. In addition, the groom will present a longer skirt, in order to replace the shorter one on his bride to signify that her sexual freedom is

    Read More

  • Globalization and Anthropology

    398 Words  | 1 Pages

    Schneider asks, does this practice rob peoples of their culture, or simply generate a new kind of survival market culture? In seeking “to recognize and question Eurocentric imaginings of the world,” the discipline of anthropology complicates the right of tourists to judge the commodities of indigenous communities, as it questions the right of a global economy that forces peoples to produce such commodities to survive (Schneider 83).

    Read More

  • The American Museum Of Natural History: Anthropology

    1858 Words  | 4 Pages

    the story in the Phillip Whitten and David E. K. Hunter anthropology book of No

    Read More

  • Matthew 25:14-30: Two Wise, One Foolish

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    We live in a culture where people are expected to give to others gifts of gratitude and expressions of love. Sometimes these gifts are accepted for what they are worth and other times they are not. We use that which others give us based on several factors. Among them are whether we perceive the gift as valuable, whether we can practically use the gift, or whether the gift is given earnestly and for the right reasons. Because of this there is not one explanation why certain attitudes about gifts exist. We should, however, understand that it is not for us to realize why a gift is given, but rather that someone thinks enough of us to give a gift in the first place. It is certain that if gifts are not accepted and used in a prudent and expeditious manner, then the gifts that are received will deteriorate or whither completely away.

    Read More

  • Reciprocity In All Its Forms

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    One form is generalized reciprocity, which is the giving of goods without expectation of a return of equal value at any definite future time. Generalized reciprocity occurs mainly between individuals who are emotionally attached to one another and have a responsibility to help one another on the basis of need. In the United States, parents who provide their children with shelter, food, vehicles, college educations, and interest-free loans are practicing generalized reciprocity. Giving without the expectation of a quick and equivalent return should also occur between certain other kinds of social relations, such as wives and husbands, siblings, and sometimes close friends. Among certain groups of people more goods are exchanged using this form than any other. For example, most members of small hunting and gathering groups are expected to share food and be generous with their possessions. Generalized reciprocity happens in all human populations and is the dominant mode of exchange in very small groups in which all or most members are relatives.

    Read More

  • The Virtue of Generosity by Aristotle

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.

    Read More

  • The History of Hominid Evolution

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. Stanford, Craig. Allen, John S. Anton, Susan C. Exploring Biological Anthropology second edition. Pearson Education, Inc. 2008. Pages 238-420.

    Read More

  • Social Exchange Theory

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jennifer Unger & C. Anderson Johnson, “Explaining Exercise Behavior and Satisfaction with Social Exchange Theory,” Perceptual and Motor Skills 81 (1995): 603-608.

    Read More

  • Religion Reaction Essay: “Body Ritual Among The Nacirmea”

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reaction essay is based upon Horace Miner’s article “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” published in Wiley-Blackwell’s, in conjunction with the American Anthropological Association, journal American Anthropologist. The essay will consist of two sections: an article summary and a reaction discussion.

    Read More

More about The Importance of Reciprocal Gift Circulation in Maintaining Social Relations

Open Document