Making a Place in the World: How Gift

In my Writing
20 class, we discussed how
various attitudes
towards wealth
accumulation
and consumption
influenced a culture’s definition
of what constitutes a successful, good life. Not only
did we discuss many important issues
such as wealth management, but we
also approached intriguing dilemmas
from multiple positions exploring
whether money can buy happiness (and
under which circumstances), the forces
driving people to constantly gather
more wealth than they need for a comfortable lifestyle, and the consequences
that overconsumption due to zealously
emulating “lifestyles of the rich and
famous” has on middle and lower class
Americans. While I found all topics to
be interesting, I was particularly captivated by the comparison of our opinions
of wealth in Western culture when compared to accepted practices in other
parts of the world. For the Trobrianders
of Papua New Guinea, wealth is
not measured in terms of
money and assets;
instead, an assortment
of seemingly inexpensive items, such as
shells, stone axes, and
yams, are greatly valued
for their roles as “gifts.”
These are not gifts in the traditional
respect though—for Trobrianders, each
gift is given with the expectancy of
obligatory reciprocation, and Trobriand
social standing is directly proportional
to one’s gift giving capabilities. Unlike
in the Western world, where social class
is determined by the amount of wealth
one possesses, in Trobriand culture it is
determined by how much wealth one
gives away. Through engaging classes
with my peers and professor, I was able
to gain a better understanding of societies in other parts of the world, and
further develop an appreciation for the
differences that make us unique.
14
Making a Place in the World: How
Gift Exchanges Influence Identity
Shilpa Sachdeva
Writing 20 (Fall 2008): Why Have Wealth?
Professor Fred Klaits
“To refuse to give...just as to refuse to accept is tantamount to declaring war; it is to
reject the bond of alliance and commonality. Also, one gives because one is compelled to
do so, because the recipient possesses some kind of right of property over anything that
belongs to the donor” (Mauss 1990: 13).
T
his portrayal of the gift giving culture, which is accepted by inhabitants
of the Trobriand islands, seems to be contrary to the Western ways, but
it raises a valid issue. Do we, in Western society, give gifts because we
expect gifts or favors in return? Or is a gift given out of compassion
and generosity to the extent that non-reciprocation would not negatively affect the relationship between the giver and receiver? Regardless of which is
true, as Westerners we have minimalized the matter due to social norms, and
consider it a major faux pas to admit that there will be consequences if a gift
is accepted but none is later given in return. In contrast, the
Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea use gift giving as a
means to create a relationship of superiority of the giver
over the receiver, which is perpetually reversed back
and forth due to their open acceptance of continuous reciprocation. Before understanding the
basis for this continuous reciprocation, however, we must gain a basic knowledge of
Trobriand culture.
After spending years living
among the natives on the Trobriand
Islands, anthropologist Annette
Weiner learned that the Trobrianders
of Papua New Guinea live in a complex matrilineal-based society, and
members give one another “gifts,”
in order to subtly influence the gifts,
goods, or services they will receive from
others. In matrilineal societies, lineage is traced through maternal ancestors;
Trobrianders believed that “because a fetus is formed from a combination of its mother’s blood and ancestral spirit it acquires its mother’s matrilineal identity” (Weiner
1988: 54). The infant is named after a deceased
member of the mother’s clan, thus making the
matrilineal association more evident. Matrilineal connections influence multiple aspects of
Trobriand life; men grow yams for their sisters
and their daughters, yet they receive yams from
their wife’s brothers and father. Trobrianders
“gift” one another the yams, though they are
really expecting something, such as valuables,
in return. The quality and amount of yams presented influence the type and quality of valuable received.
Returning to the acceptance of continuous
reciprocation, two items in particular, yams
and stone axes, exemplify this relationship of
superiority and inferiority between a gift giver
and receiver. They illustrate how Trobriand men
“try to control others while managing their
own self images, autonomies, and political destinies,” an act that is a major driving force in
establishing their individual social identities
(Weiner 1988: 160). In the eyes of Trobriand
society, a man’s access to resources is vital in
allowing him to draw on the services of others,
expand his network of trading partners, increase his rank, and inevitably further his
access to more resources, thus influencing his
generosity as well as his wealth. These connections are critical in Trobriand communities,
where one’s place in society is tied to the giving
and receiving of gifts, yet they reflect the importance of objects of value in creating one’s social
identity. The process of gift giving establishes a
Trobriander’s place in the world, thus creating
his social identity based on “who one [he] is
... and where one [he] belongs”— or in other
words “who one is politically and where one
belongs ancestrally” (Weiner 1988: 135). Gift
exchanges implicating “who one is” (such as an
exchange of a hard valuables, like stone axes)
convey messages distinguishing one as an individual, whereas gift exchanges reflecting “where
one belongs” (such as an exchange of soft valuables, like yams) illustrate where one belongs in
relation to his relatives. Both the sense of individuality as well as the sense of belonging are
derived from gift exchanges, which serve as the
keystone to Trobriand society.
The type of valuable exchanged not only
provides clues about a Trobriander’s place in
the world, but it also speaks volumes about the
relationship being cultivated between the giver
and the receiver. Yams and stone axes are items
of value in the Trobriand culture, though yams
are soft valuables whereas stone axes are hard
valuables. This difference is key in dictating the
circumstances under which they are given and
received. In the case of soft valuables“. . . age
does not increase their value; it only makes
them decayed and dirty. Thus their value is seriously circumscribed by the limits of time, just
as in economic terms their accumulation is
restrained...” (Mauss 1990: 164). Soft valuables must be exchanged on a consistent basis
in order to build and nurture the relationships
between various matrilineages. In contrast, hard
valuables, which can only be obtained by exchanges with faraway traders or dangerous voyages to distant areas, last for generations. Hard
valuables represent the connections and personal fame a man
has earned in his lifetime by highlighting his ability to procure the
objects, a feat which demonstrates
his political and social standing among
his village. By gifting hard and soft
valuables to other members
of the community, the
giver is essentially
secure knowing
he will receive
something of
equal value in
return. This is
attributed to
their cultural views, which
maintain that “the unreciprocated gift makes the person who has accepted
it inferior, particularly when it has been accepted with no thought of returning it” (Mauss
1990: 65).
Yams, a staple in the Trobriand diet, are a
fundamental part of their society, because they
unify members of different clans by establishing
lasting relationships between individuals and
are used to express allegiance and political support to a chief or matrilineage. Yams are only
good for five months after being harvested, a
stipulation deeming them a form of soft valuables. This prevents a mass hoarding of yams to
be a consistent representation of wealth or social standing within the community, because a
man who provides the most yams one season
will not have the highest reputation in years to
come unless he continues to labor and consistently harvests high yields in the future. The
connection of a man’s reputation to his yam
harvest is easily explained, since “men work
arduously to grow yams. Their labor however,
is not for themselves but for others” (Weiner
1988:81), and, “it is this complex network of
men making gardens for their sisters and
daughters and at the same time receiving harvested yams from their wives’ brothers and
Matrilineal connections
influence multiple
aspects of Trobriand
life; men grow yams for
their sisters and their
daughters, yet they
receive yams from their
wife’s brothers and
father.
These connections are
critical in Trobriand
communities, where
one’s place in society is
tied to the giving and
receiving of gifts, yet
they reflect the importance of objects of
value in creating one’s
social identity.
15
16
Yam house in Kitava, Trobriand
Islands, Papua New Guinea.
BRAD SCHRAM, ARROYO GRANDE, CA
The more yams a chief possesses, the greater his
support is from those that he rules. This speaks
volumes about his personal accomplishments as a
leader as well as favorable qualities he possesses,
and beneficial connections he has established.
In this sense, the end result of a yam competition bolsters one’s individual sense of
who he is in society.
fathers that forms the basis of all important kin rela- those around him, he must entice them with hard valutionships between women and men” (Weiner 1988:92). ables, such as stone axe blades. An example of comYam gardens are made for the women of the village, munity support affecting yam exchanges is shown by
and a woman’s husband is responsible for providing the case of the disagreement between John, a well
yams to his wife’s sister and her husband. A woman established Trobriander with radical economic develgets yams in this way as well, and after her first year opment schemes, versus two relatively newer chiefs of
of marriage her father will start an additional garden Omarakana — Vanoi and Waibadi — who disagreed
for his daughter. As her brothers come of age, they with John’s proposed ideas. Weiner writes:
also begin providing yams to their sister. The gift of
“In the first years ... Chiefs Waibadi and Vanoi reyams is not a gift of generosity; instead, it is a gift
ceived very few yams. By not growing yams for
with a calculated return. In exchange for the yams,
the chiefs’ wives’ yam gardens, they [the villagers]
the husband of the family receiving the yam is expectshowed their opposition. Omarakana’s yam houses
ed to reward the donor for his labor with pork.
stood empty, in stark contrast to the huge amounts
However, this system of giving and receiving joins
of yams that filled the yam houses of chiefs who
matrilineages by making them dependent on one
were on the side of John. (Weiner 1988: 105).
another. If a man does not provide a sufficient quality Though at first glance, this activity appears to showof pork to his wife’s brother, his own family might case a chief’s political prowess (a quality illustrating
suffer due to the resulting inferior yams he will “who he is”), but the reality of the situation is that it
inevitably receive in the future.
also illustrates the support he has of multiple surYam production is also important for demonstrat- rounding matrilineages, due to the fact that they
ing a man’s support from his matrilineage, which is an ultimately provide him with the yams. This in turn
important aspect in his pursuit of gaining political connects him with them — as he now owes them valupower. For Trobriand chiefs, yams
ables in return for their allegiance
allow the hamlet leader to “show Yam exchanges, while they can
— revealing his place in the commuwho he is by spreading his fame
nity as a whole, or in other words,
among many villages”—a feat easily be mediated out of self interest,
the place in which he belongs.
accomplished by the organization
In these ways, the exchange of
eventually build relationships
of a yam competition, essentially
yams “takes on many meanings in
flaunting his popularity, and indithe lives of Trobrianders, but their
between members of a clan
rectly, his superiority, to chiefs of
ability to function as a symbol of
neighboring villages (Weiner 1988: and work to expand and bring
who one is and where he belongs
111). Once a chief announces the
rests in the way yams express the
date of a yam competition, male together matrilineages.
basic dynamics of what it means to
members of his matrilineage agree
reach out to others” (Weiner 1988:
to plant additional yams in their gardens for the 160). Yam exchanges, while they can be mediated out
cause, and sometimes, males from other matrilineages of self interest, eventually build relationships between
contribute as well. The more yams a chief possesses, members of a clan and work to expand and bring
the greater his support is from those that he rules. together matrilineages. “If one gives things and reThis speaks volumes about his personal accomplish- turns them, it is because one is giving and returning
ments as a leader as well as favorable qualities he pos- respects ... yet it is also because one is giving oneself,
sesses, and beneficial connections he has established. and if one gives oneself, it is because one owes oneIn this sense, the end result of a yam competition bol- self — ones’s person and one’s goods — to others.”
sters one’s individual sense of who he is in society. (Mauss 1990: 46). For example, a man devotes his
Word spreads across villages about the winner and his time, effort, and labor to those in other matrilineages
triumph, thus increasing his fame and reputation as whom he presents with yams — a sacrifice rewarded
being a more powerful leader than a less successful by his own acceptance of meat from them, which he
chief of a neighboring area.
can exchange or sell to obtain a different type of
However, though yam competitions inevitably women’s valuables for his wife, which attest to her
reflect a chief’s personal accomplishments, they could social rank and class status, therefore strengthening
not be made possible without the support of his kin. the standing of her matrilineage. Author Talmy Givón
In this way, collecting the yams for the competition summarizes this process in the following manner:
indicate the chief’s place among his matrilineage.
Interestingly, as Weiner makes clear... men who
Major supporters in ensuring the success of this event
receive yams in the name of their wives — as is
are often members of his own matrilineage as well as
always the case in these presentations — are obligclose kin and village supporters, who all agree to
ated to expend some of their own wealth, e.g.,
pigs, valuables, Western trade goods, to obtain for
plant additional yams for his undertaking. However,
their wives women’s wealth — banana leaf bundles
in order for the chief to have such vast support from
17
For even though the
impression you make is
important, it is the
impression you leave that
often matters more, thus
explaining why gifts are
often given with an
unspoken obligation for
reciprocation, or with the
intent of making the giver
appear more favorable to
the receiver.
and grass skirts. This women’s wealth is
distributed at the women’s mortuary ceremony. This purchase for his wife of women’s wealth is in fact the other half of the
exchange for the yams received from his
brother in law (Givón 2002: 311).
Therefore, yams represent the unassailability
of matrilineal identity.
On the contrary, stone axe blades are a
form of hard valuables. A man inherits a stone
axe blade from his mother’s brother, or occasionally from his father. As stone axe blades are
passed “from one man to another, the names of
its owner become associated with the object
and this history adds to its value” (Weiner
1988: 87). The original value in the stone axe
blades is derived from the fact that the stone
used to construct these weapons is brought
from a faraway quarry, and then polished to
perfection by specialists. Stone axe blades are
particularly useful for negotiating marriages,
as they are an integral part of the groom’s presentation to relatives of his fiancé, and they are
also used as a form of compensation payment
after a death. Furthermore, they are “essential
as payments for the use of land, to buy seed
yams from other men, and to pay experts who
practice important kinds of magic...” (Weiner
1988:87).
Stone axe blades, which are found in varying lengths, invoke a range of emotions from
Trobrianders when presented to one another.
For instance, possessing a blade of the largest
size, measuring from the hand to the shoulder,
is rare, “but these stones carry the most fear
when they are presented to someone because
they are used as payment for sorcery...” (Weiner
1988: 87). Trobrianders use sorcery to explain
the unknown, and believe the ability to perform magic is a rare skill possessed by few
members of the community. As a way to direct
feelings of ill-will or desires for revenge, a
Trobriander might pay a sorcerer with valuables to cast a spell, often resulting in sickness
or death, on a member of the village. On a less
morbid note, stone blades can also be used in
marriages as a pact between the newly united
families, binding the bride’s kinsmen with an
obligation to take care of her husband. In the
case of a divorce, “the original valuables are
not returned, and the bond between all the parties associated with the marriage exchanges is
broken” (Weiner 1988: 87).
These examples demonstrate that “objects
in Trobriand culture are more than economic
in giving and more than sociological in content” (Weiner 1988: 165). These objects stand
for something much more valuable than their
equivalent worth in terms of money—they represent relationships amongst the Trobrianders
with one another, while at the same time indicating the personal social status of sole individuals. Temporarily owning valuables gives a man
prestige and is a sign of his social and material
wealth defining his contribution to his matrilineage. However, at the same time, the process
of giving valuables is highly respected as well.
Not only does giving bring fame to the giver,
but it also illustrates the strength and competence of the matrilineage to which he belongs.
In the case of soft valuables such as yams, men
were remembered for the quality and quantity
of the yams they had given, both of which were
crucial in determining the type of pork they
were to receive as the obligatory reciprocation.
In the case of hard valuables, such as stone axe
blades, the history of the valuable is of paramount importance, building a system in which
past owners of axes were remembered and renowned. Thus, the act of giving a stone axe to
others allows them to exalt in the glory of
owning such a valuable, while at the same time
praise the giver as they tell others the history of
the object and how it was obtained. “Two essen-
Thus, the act of giving a
stone axe to others allows
them to exalt in the glory
of owning such a valuable,
while at the same time
praise the giver as they
tell others the history of
the object and how it was
obtained.
18
tial elements ... can be distinguished here: the
honor, prestige, and mana [authority] conferred by wealth, and the absolute obligation
to reciprocate these gifts under pain of losing
that mana,” Mauss writes, “the talisman and
source of wealth that is authority itself” (Mauss
1990: 8). In this way, a man gains prosperity
and class, both of which are integral in establishing his social identity.
Trobrianders use principles of reciprocity to
enhance their social identity; though our society is considerably revolutionized, in a sense,
we do as well. How we perceive one another influences our social interactions, but our perception is largely dependent on the relationships
we have formed with one another. For even
though the impression you make is important,
it is the impression you leave that often matters
more, thus explaining why gifts are often given
with an unspoken obligation for reciprocation,
or with the intent of making the giver appear
more favorable to the receiver. These nuances
are more subtle than they are in Trobriand culture, allowing us to mask our true motives
under a false blanket of selfless generosity.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my classmates for
their valuable insights during the discussion sessions regarding the ways, culture,
and social organization of the Trobrianders
of Papua New Guinea.
Works Cited
Givón, Talmy
2002 Bio-linguistics: The Santa Barbara
Lectures. Oregon: John Benjamins Publishing
Company.
Malinowski, Bronislaw
1922 Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An
Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in
the Archipelagos of Melanesian New Guinea.
London: Routledge.
Mauss, Marcel
1990 [1925] The Gift: The Form and Reason for
Exchange in Archaic Societies. New York: W.W.
Norton.
© STEVE ESTVANIK | DREAMSTIME.COM
Weiner, Annette
1988 The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea.
Belmont, California: Thompson Wadsworth.
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