Reciprocity

Hi...

Today I learned about reciprocity. In old Hawaii, there was no trading; they gave gifts, and if the reciever accepted it, they would give a gift back to the giver when they had it.

It brought you honor if you gave a gift. If you recieved a gift, you might give it to your friend, and your friend might give it to her mom, and her mom might give it to her husband, and the husband might give it to and elderly person, and the elderly person might give it to the chief, and so on.

Hawaiians measured wealth not by how much they had, but how much they could give. Here's an example. If I had 45 fish and you had 15, you may still have more value than me if you had fewer fish because you had given them away.

I learned some interesting facts today!!!

Kiana