Premium
Exchange, Time, and Person in Mayotte: The Structure and Destructuring of a Cultural System
Author(s) -
Lambek Michael
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1990.92.3.02a00060
Subject(s) - demise , archipelago , cultural exchange , contrast (vision) , sociology , disarticulation , history , anthropology , political science , law , psychology , archaeology , computer science , artificial intelligence , amputation , psychiatry
This article describes an unusual system of ceremonial exchange found among Malagasy speakers on the island of Mayotte (Comoro Archipelago) and demonstrates the manner in which the person as citizen, the experience of aging, and ultimately society itself were constituted through it. The forces leading to the demise of the system and the manner in which the disarticulation of exchange obligations L being managed are described. The article portrays the holistic social world and experience created through participation in the exchange system, providing an implicit contrast with the more fragmented world that follows its dismantling.