On page 26 of The Gift, Mauss mentions gift-giving customs among the Kiriwina people. He talks about yotile, a return gift that is supposed to be given after a person receives vaga, or an opening gift: “It is obligatory; it is expected, and it must be equivalent to the first gift. Occasionally it may be seized by force or by surprise."
He also talks about the potential consequences of giving insufficient return gifts: "For a yotile that is an insufficient return gift, revenge may be taken by magic, or at the very least by insult and a display of resentment."
This made me wonder: Do such return gifts count as gifts at all? If they are taken by surprise or force, they are not truly gifts given from one person to another in the traditional sense. If they are given only out of fear of some kind of punishment, be it by "magic" or by social repercussions, then the true spirit of gift-giving is not present in the exchange.
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Malinoski himself raises questions of this sort. Mauss replies that he has misunderstood the idea of gift from the point of view of an idealized notion of gift as pure benevolence, with no expected consequences. In the real world, Mauss thinks, gifts can be at once genuine gifts, and at the same time generate expectations and duties -- of acceptance, return, gratitude, appreciation, paying forward, etc. This does not make them any less gifts.
ReplyDeleteI recently gave an old bicycle to a friend. I ask and expect nothing of him in exchange -- but that he use it well, care for it, share it appropriately as I have done, tell me from time to time about the adventures he has on it, continue to be an energetic and thoughtful person (perhaps inspired by my generosity), and continue to work at being my friend. That's all.