Reciprocal exchange can be defined as the transfer of goods based on social obligations (Bell, 2014), on the foundation of longer term relationships, encouraging trust and future exchange (Cambridge dictionary). This occurs on calendar events, or is fluid and spontaneous, with the underlying purpose of strengthening social contracts (Guyer, 2016). This essay follows Mauss’ tripartite model of exchange, consisting of giving, receiving and reciprocating, based on the event of my step-brother’s birthday.
I arrived in the kitchen containing my family, with my step-brother sat at the table with an assortment of cards and various gifts laid out, his birthday cake in the centre. I placed the card I had written down, as the candles were lit, before we sang him ‘happy birthday.’ My offering comprised of £20, and a handwritten, sincere card (which I hoped was suitable compensation for the lack of sentiment).
The gift was related to the wider celebration of his birthday, also augmenting social connections between us, serving as my effort to re-establish relations, as we have become distant. I felt personally obliged to give him something despite the lack of expectation. Possibly as an act of service, however it fulfilled a purpose more as a token of my affection, rather than a surface-level transactional exchange, therefore the gift appears more individual than collective, as it was not representative of a web of wider social exchange (Yan, 2023).
His reaction to the gift, smiling and thanking me, nurtured a bond between us on an emotional dimension, highlighting the deeper function of gifts, for example how they serve socio-political functions (Yan, 2023), which is evident here, within the family, on a micro-scale. As I’ve withdrawn from this half of my family, perhaps the gift was used to ‘buy peace,’ in a similar fashion to the Kula exchange on the Trobriand islands, identified by Malinowski (New World encyclopaedia). This idea takes a different form here, however the concept applies, and is evidenced by my step-mother, who thanked me for my kind words, and was ‘touched’ after reading them, fostering a sense of peace between us, as previously conflicting groups.
Perspective is crucial, as the gift was accepted with gratitude in this circumstance, however others may perceive such a gift negatively due to its impersonal vanity. Even in my own familial circumstances, this would be unappreciated on my mother’s side, appearing lazy and disingenuous. This may be similar to responses cross-culturally, particularly where totemic gifts are valued greatly, carrying an iconographic significance.
The natural opportunity for reciprocity is my birthday, as an equally valued, formally-established event however this is unlikely, due to his financial constraints. Although, I gave him the gift somewhat altruistically, not expecting reciprocity.
This could indicate that he is higher than me hierarchically, an idea antagonistic to the fact I have previously assumed a position of superiority over him due to my age, something fairly ubiquitous in British families. However due to my absence, the hierarchy has been subverted, and within this group he now has an elevated position due to his presence, and input in the domestic environment, compared to my absence, depicting the complex, fluid nature of family dynamics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bell, Kenton, Ed. 2014. “reciprocal exchange.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed May 28, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/reciprocal-exchange/.
Cambridge university press. Nd. “reciprocal exchange.” In Cambridge dictionary. Accessed May 28, 2024. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/example/english/reciprocal-exchange.
Eriksen, T, H. 2010. Small Places Large Issues 3rd edition. Pluto press
Eriksen, T, H. 2023. Small Places Large Issues 5th edition. Pluto press
Eriksen, T, H. 2010. What is anthropology? 2nd edition. Pluto press
Guyer, Jane. 2016. Marcel Mauss, The Gift, Expanded Edition [online], Hau books, Chicago. University of Chicago press. https://haubooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Marcel-Mauss-The-Gift-Expanded-Edition-Selected-Annotated-and-Translated-by-Jane-Guyer.pdf. (Accessed May 28, 2024).
New world encyclopaedia (n.d.) Kula ring [online] https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kula_ring. Accessed May 28, 2024
Tales from the jungle: Malinowski part 4 of 6 (2007) YouTube video, added by WeegieLou [online] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df9BlSbYiKY&t=516s. Accessed May 28, 2024
Yan, Yunxiang. (2020) 2023. “Gifts”. In The Open Encyclopaedia of Anthropology, edited by Felix Stein. Facsimile of the first edition in The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Anthropology. Online: http://doi.org/10.29164/20gifts.
anthropolitics 
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