Non-Hierarchical, Hierarchical and Masked Reciprocity in an Arab Village

Bibliographic Data

ID2581890
AuthorsHenry Rosenfeld (corresponding author)
Year1974
Volume47
Issue1
Pages139
Publication date1974-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropological Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-5491 • E-ISSN: 1534-1518
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/3317031
OpenAlexW2320989760
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited2

Reciprocal behavior pervaded most areas of daily life in Arab peasant society in Palestine. This is less so today in Israel, since most men have become wage laborers outside the village, and as the routine of peasant agriculture disappears or alters, and the social economy changes, so many customs lose their point of reference, as do patterned occasions for reciprocity. Nevertheless, as will be shown, generalized and balanced reciprocity, along with negative reciprocity (Sahlins 1965; Gouldner 1960:172), and what Firth ways about his Tikopia evidence, that it fully bears out Mauss's emphasis upon the triple significance of the obligation to give, the obligation to receive and the obligation to repay, still hold true for Arab villagers (Firth 1967:8). And, following a very brief account of the political and social economy relevant to reciprocal behavior (along with a statement that reciprocity was not the linch-pin of Arab peasant social structure), we discuss the numerous instances of reciprocity and gift-exchange in the village. However, our concern in this paper is less with the expressions and occasions of reciprocity, and instead is on the way in which the expressions and behavior of the men and women engaged in reciprocity express their status and condition.' Thus, after the introductory sections, what is emphasized is the differential meaning of reciprocal relations and recompense for women and for men in the Arab village (Israel) in the following terms. Although not entirely unambiguous, the way in which women understand the give and take of reciprocity emphasizes the basic equality that exists among them. That is, there is not status hierarchy

Reciprocity · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Labor Movements and Unions

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