Diversity and Difference in Economic Activities
People and their things
How to study different economic systems and not be ethnocentric
•Despite globalization, which has extended market relations to many societies,
there are still differences in the ways that economic institutions are organized.
•Because of these differences, anthropologists do not typically focus on markets
and market behaviour, e.g. supply and demand and do not take these categories
as being universal.
•Rather, they analyse how societies, produce, exchange and consume goods
and services.
–Production: the varied ways in which goods and services are acquired, made or
produced.
–Exchange: the varied ways in which goods and services and distributed from
one group or individual to another group or individual.
–Consumption: the culturally specific ways in which goods are used.
forms of exchange
•Reciprocity: the social obligation to give, receive and to repay in an equal or
greater amount.
•Redistribution: the amassing of goods at a central storage point, for distribution
at a later date. Associated with ancient city states.
•Market exchange: relation is between individual buyers and sellers, money is
used, demand and supply determine the distribution of goods and services.
fiestas in Nuyooteco: an example of reciprocity
•24 patron saints in the village; all honoured by fiestas (feasts).
•Each fiesta is put on by a mayor/domo, usually husband and wife, who are
responsible for feeding hundreds of guests.
•Since each couple cannot afford this, they attend other fiestas, bringing gifts.
They expected to be reciprocated in kind during their own fiesta.
•Villagers speak of themselves as eating from one hearth, fiestas can last for
three days.
•Failure to reciprocate brings a loss of social prestige.
•Here, the fiesta possesses economic, social, religious and political functions: the
husband of a generous fiesta often goes on to become the mayor of the village.
•Here we say that these economic relations are embedded in society.
•Market relations tend to separte out economic relations from social political and
religious relations, creating a separate sphere of economic transactions that
operates on its own principles of supply and demand. Not a black and white
situation, however.
Another example of reciprocity: the kula in the trobriand islands
•Covers a wide geographic area of many islands.
•Divided into a ceremonial aspect (kula) and a more utilitarian exchange
(gimwali).
•The major ceremonial aspect of it consists of the circulation of two objects:
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–Shell-disc
necklaces (soulava): traded to the north, go in a clockwise direction.
–Shell armbands (mulavi): traded to the south, go in a counter-clockwise
direction.
•No-one is thought to ‘own’ these objects; they are constantly circulating and
famous ones bring renown to the person who possesses them.
•The circulation of these objects is accompanied by the exchange of utilitarian
goods, e.g. some islands are too small to be agricultural producers, but may
have objects like obsidian or flint.
•The goal of the exchange is to try to gain renown
Other Features of the Kula
•The partners in the kula were lifelong trading partners obliged to each other for
hospitality, help and assistance.
•Minor kula exchanges within a group of islands preceded major expeditions.
•Usually one overseas trading expedition per year.
•Separation between utilitarian exchange (gimwali) and ceremonial exchanges
(kula).
•The kula consists of the exchange of ceremonial items: soulava (necklaces) that
travel clockwise and mwali (armbands) that travel counterclockwise.
•These items cannot be kept permanently, at most for a year or 2.
•Possession of famous kula items brings that person renown and prestige.
•Miserliness in exchange brought a loss of social status and prestige, generosity
brought renown.
Conclusions: features of gift exchange and reciprocity
•It is more embedded in social relations than we come to expect with market
exchange. Both the kula and the fiesta have important social, political and
religious functions and aspects.
•An increase in social status comes with generosity in giving away wealth, not
through accumulation. Yet it is also obligatory and not without competition.
•It is personal, occurring in a face-to-face context, rather than impersonal.
•As we will see when reading the Bohannon article, major changes occur in
societies that experience a shift to market forms of exchange and people start
producing for profit rather than for reciprocity, e.g. the potlatch in the late 19 th
century.
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