The DOI matches its Crossref record; 12 of the 12 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
A free gift makes no friends
Abstract
The giving of alms to Shvetambar Jain renouncers is a specific institutionalized elaboration of the idea of a free gift, an idea which all the major world religions have their own ways of instantiating, and which in north Indian languages is expressed by the word dan . This example illustrates the inherently paradoxical nature of the idea of a gift, and why it is a mistake to define the gift as necessarily reciprocal and non‐alienated. Like the pure commodity, the pure gift is characterized by the fact that it does not create personal connections and obligations between the parties. This understanding of the gift, which is implicit in Mauss, enables us to resolve the apparent paradox in the ethnography of dan , that although it is a free gift it is often harmful to its recipients.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“The mats lose this imprint soon after joining the often enormous piles of textiles, illustrating the fleeting nature of inalienability (cf. Laidlaw 2000 ; Mosko 2000 ).”
From When gifts become commodities: pawnshops, valuables, and shame in Tonga and the Tongan diaspora (2008) · cites this paper as Laidlaw 2000
Citations
Cites
Sahlins, M., & Graeber, D. (2017) · Routledge (orig. 1972) · doi:10.4324/9781315184951 · Cited by 3,159
gastro‐politics in Hindu South Asia
Appadurai, A. (1981) · American Ethnologist · doi:10.1525/ae.1981.8.3.02a00050 · Cited by 1,060
Fluid Signs. Being a Person the Tamil Way
Eder, M. (1986) · Pacific Affairs · doi:10.2307/2759042 · Cited by 522
Gifts and Commodities: Exchange and Western Capitalism Since 1700.
Johansson, E., & Carrier, J. G. (1997) · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute · doi:10.2307/3034399 · Cited by 236
The origins of swadeshi (home industry): cloth and Indian society, 1700–1930
Bayly, C. A. (1986) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511819582.012 · Cited by 211
Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in North-East Thailand
Tambiah, S. J. (1970) · Cited by 204
The Poison in the Gift: Ritual, Prestation, and the Dominant Caste in a North Indian Village
Gold, A. G., & Raheja, G. G. (1991) · Journal of American Folklore · doi:10.2307/541153 · Cited by 201
Ghosts, Greed and Sin: The Occupational Identity of the Benares Funeral Priests
Parry, J. P. (1980) · Man · doi:10.2307/2802004 · Cited by 164
Riches and renunciation: religion, economy, and society among the Jains
(1996) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.34-0252 · Cited by 162
Redemptive Encounters. Three Modern Styles in the Hindu Tradition
Handoo, J., & Babb, L. A. (1989) · Asian Folklore Studies · doi:10.2307/1177938 · Cited by 112
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 301–356 of 356
Sykes, J. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190912024.003.0011
Sykes, J. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190912024.003.0008
Cerulli, A. (2022) · University of California Press eBooks · doi:10.1525/9780520383555-010
(2022) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/978-1-80043-564-320221010
(2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190912024.002.0009
(2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190912024.002.0005
(2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190912024.002.0007
(2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190912024.002.0004
Tereshina, D. (2022) · Antropologicheskij forum · doi:10.31250/1815-8870-2022-18-55-331-341
Supplication as violence: The provision of institutionalized care and the essence of giving
Ranasinghe, P. (2023) · Philosophy & Social Criticism · doi:10.1177/01914537231157381
6. On the Potential and Problems of Pentecostal Exchange
Haynes, N. (2019) · University of California Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9780520967434-011
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0002
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0007
Conclusion: ‘A Covert Form ofWitchcraft’
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0017
Introduction: ‘As Rust Eats Iron’
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0005
(2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.002.0006
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0019
(2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.002.0007
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0006
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0009
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0020
Introduction: ‘Killed by Idle Gossip’
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0018
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0003
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0008
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0016
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0021
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0023
Conclusion: ‘If Anyone Has Cursed Me…’
Eidinow, E. (2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.003.0004
(2015) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562602.002.0003
An Outline of Methodology in Studies on Online Donations
Cyrek, B. (2023) · Kultura i Społeczeństwo · doi:10.35757/kis.2023.67.1.9 · Cited by 1
Moral Economic Transitions in the Mongolian Borderlands
Waters, H. A. (2023) · UCL Press eBooks · doi:10.14324/111.9781787358133 · Cited by 4
Chapter 2. Worlds United and Apart: Bridging Divergence in Hanoi and Beyond
Bayly, S. (2023) · Berghahn Books · doi:10.1515/9781805390763-006
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-009
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-008
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-001
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-002
THE BENEFICIARY, THE LAW, AND SACRED SPACE
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-005
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-010
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-007
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-004
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-003
(2023) · Duke University Press eBooks · doi:10.1215/9781478027515-006
Wig, S. (2024) · Anthropology Today · doi:10.1111/1467-8322.12892
Rabbis, Money, and Jewish Solidarity in the Roman Empire
Dalton, K. N. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-54136-0_24
Of devotion and disgust: Method, belief and power in anthropological research on religion
Verma, B. (2024) · Ethnography · doi:10.1177/14661381241298355
Wastecraft and its multifaceted learning in Cuba
Lanzidei, C. M. (2024) · Economic Anthropology · doi:10.1002/sea2.12339
Hospitality as a scenario for decolonizing thought: the experience of Eduardo Viveiros de Castro
Vatolina, Y. V. (2025) · Zhurnal Sotsiologii i Sotsialnoy Antropologii (The Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology) · doi:10.31119/jssa.2025.28.3.9
Åpne og lukkede relasjoner: Sosialitet på tvers av urenhetsforestillinger på landsbygda i Tibet
Fjeld, H. (2010) · Norsk antropologisk tidsskrift · doi:10.18261/issn1504-2898-2010-01-01
Cultural infrastructure and shared prestige: rethinking cultural aid
SINGH, R. (2026) · International Journal of Cultural Policy · doi:10.1080/10286632.2026.2638349
Vartan bhanji (Gift Exchange) as Social Capital in Punjabi Village : tradition in Transition
Qadar, A. (2018) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/45612969z5acbz488dzbfc2z4dd552fff4bc
Mobilizar, Acompanhar, Denunciar : uma etnografia da Comissão Pastoral da Terra na Amazônia Oriental
Rolemberg, I. (2023) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/e874a929za6dfz4e8ezaeecz1e87ff288b56
Ricardo, R. (2026) · International Theory · doi:10.1017/s1752971926100323
Ruth, D. (2026) · Palgrave studies in business, arts and humanities · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-04780-9_2
Wounding charity and charity diplomacy: the dynamics of Mormon Christian charity in Indonesia
Riyanto, G., Bawono, H., Sabara, Arafah, S., & Karim, A. (2026) · Journal of Contemporary Religion · doi:10.1080/13537903.2026.2700147
The reckoning: ethnographic explorations of the ending of a friendship
Smith, K. (2026) · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute · doi:10.1111/1467-9655.70207
Metadata
- Authors
- Laidlaw, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Laidlaw, James
- ORCID
- Laidlaw, James
- Venue
- Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2000-12
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 617-634
- ISSN
- 1359-0987 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9655
- OpenAlex
- W2132754605
- Cited by
- 359
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 38 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 19
- FWCI
- 6.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Cross-Cultural and Social Analysis
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
- Keywords
- free gifts, Dan, almsgiving, gift exchange, reciprocity, alienation, Marcel Mauss, gift theory
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review