Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

ISSN

1545-4703

Volume

7

Issue

2

First Page

181

Last Page

204

Publication Date

1-1-2009

Abstract

It has been well established in the anthropological literature that reciprocity, in its various cultural forms, is simultaneously produced by and productive of social relationships; it both comments upon social relationships and plays a role in creating them. However, this has generally been demonstrated using positive forms of reciprocity. In this paper I examine how theft, as a form of negative reciprocity, fit with a wider set of positive reciprocal obligations among the Tacana in northeastern Bolivia in 2001-2002. Theft, I argue, was part of a coherent cultural system in which a material basis, social norms, and values and beliefs reinforced one another. Within this system, theft functioned as a leveling mechanism that discouraged the accumulation of possessions, redistributed goods, and reinforced egalitarian practices and values.

Se ha establecido en la literatura antropológica que la reciprocidad de cualquier tipo simultáneamente se produce y está producido por relaciones sociales, pero esto ha sido notado primeramente con respeto a la reciprocidad positiva. Aquí, analizo como el robo, como una forma de reciprocidad negativa, se incluye en un grupo mas amplio de obligaciones de reciprocidad positiva entre los Tacana del Bolivia nordeste en 2001-2002. El robo era parte de un sistema cultural en cual el base material, las normas sociales, y los crecimientos y valores reforzaron uno a otro. Adentro del sistema, el robo funcionó como un mecanismo de nivelación para suprimir el acumulación de posesiones, redistribuir bienes, y reforzar practicas y valores igualitarias.

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