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Cited by 359Indian and Buddhist StudiesCross-Cultural and Social AnalysisStudy and Philosophy of Religion

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

Laidlaw, James·2000·Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
DOI 10.1111/1467-9655.00036
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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.

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Crossref · 10.1111/1467-9655.00036

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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
DOI
10.1111/1467-9655.00036
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
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 910 d)
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

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