Hau is thus a signification of the return value that a gift carries once it has been given: a value that must eventually return “to its birthplace” (Sahlins 104). I must hand them over to you, because they are a hau of the article you gave me. You give me something and I, in turn, give it to someone else, if he decides to return my gift with one of his own, I must give it to you, because the hau of the gift belongs there, with the original giver: it would not be right for me to keep such goods for myself, whether they be desirable or otherwise. Ranapiri’s explanation demonstrates the surplus value that is attached to the gift, which demands return to the original giver: Mauss’s use of hau was taken from a text on the gift by the Maori sage Tamati Ranapiri of the Ngati-Raukawa tribe. According to Mauss, while the gift appears to be “generously offered,” “the accompanying behaviour is formal pretence and social deception, while the transaction itself is based on obligation and economic self-interest” (1). Of special importance in Mauss’s work was his identification of “ hau,” a “spiritual mechanism … which obliges us to make a return gift for a gift received” (5).

French Anthropologist Marcel Mauss put gift theory into circulation long ago in 1923, but his ideas continue to make important contributions to contemporary studies in Literature, Continental Philosophy, Anthropology and, as I argue, Reconciliation Theory. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the 'citations' tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.įor technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kirk Stebbing (email available below). If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. You can help adding them by using this form. We have no bibliographic references for this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about. This allows to link your profile to this item. If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.įor technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cup:jinsec:v:16:y:2020:i:5:p:687-701_8. You can help correct errors and omissions. All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors.

Mauss the gift