Social Exchange in PNG…

The art, science, burden and joy of Social Exchange in Papua New Guinea.

The art… of knowing when and what to give to.

The science… of knowing who to give to and how.

The burden… the obligation and responsibility to participate in social exchange that comes with being married into a Highlands clan.

The joy… may the giving component forever remain a joy.

Finding that balance in Social Exchange is extremely difficult and
inevitably there is always pressure to “give”. There's always reason to to give, whether it's a marriage, death, compensation pay-out or any other of the many traditional social exchange occasions.

It will probably remain a difficult, sensitive and challenging area for
many years to come (unless it breaks the bank first – in which case
there's nothing to give). It has the potential to destroy local marriages and does. At times it's a real strain on our relationship.

The giving needs to me managed very tightly or closely, proactively and with great caution. Knowing when to give and how much is a key. It's not always the amount that even matters although traditionally “big men” will try and out do each other when it comes to giving.

The paradigm of wealth between West and tribal custom… in the “old” days in PNG a man's wealth was measured by how much he actually gave-away in Social Exchange – in the West we measure a man's wealth by how much he (or she) is able to accumulate. Social Exchange was in fact a vehicle for the distribution of wealth – the very basis for an egalitarian society.

Unfortunately, this custom of giving in PNG lies at the very heart of
the breakdown of the local social fabric. As the poor emerge – wealth consciousness is slowly being replaced with poverty consciousness.

Change at times is like a bulldozer that destroys everything precious in its path!