Gift Exchange Compared to Market Trade

In the article “Some Principles of Exchange and Investment among the Tiv,” Bohannan discusses the ways in which the Tiv organize their economic world, and begins by pointing out the ways in which they distinguish between “gifts” and “market” goods (p.60). Before going into the details of how their market it organized, he describes how gifts are considered separate from other commodities in that they are important for building relationships.

In light of our recent discussions in class about gift exchange, how might this distinction between gifts and market goods be similar (or different) to other systems we have studied? For example, in the United States most items that are given as gifts are also often items that are produced in what we consider to be the market, and there is a strong connection between seasons of gift exchange and market sales. While we ideally consider gifts to be separate from trade items, they appear to be far more connected in our own economy, in comparison with how Bohannan describes the distinct “spheres” in the Tiv’s economy (p. 60). It may not be particularly useful to closely compare these two economies in terms of their markets, but it seems to me that the practice of gift exchange has more similarities across different cultures.

Bohannan, Paul, “Some Principles of Exchange and Investment among the Tiv,” American Anthropologist 1955