Reciprocity In Aboriginal Society

Topic: Reciprocity is an underlying principle expressed throughout Aboriginal societies. Outline and illustrate the importance of this fundamental concept in the economic, social, spiritual and political spheres of Aboriginal life.

Introduction
Reciprocity is a fundamental and inflexible feature of Aboriginal societies of Australia. The importance of the reciprocity and sharing concepts are shown in the economic, social, spiritual and political spheres of Aboriginal life. This paper will first briefing discuss about the meaning of reciprocity in Aboriginal societies, then outline and illustrate how the principle of reciprocity underpin different forms of obligations and individual behaviours in various aspects of Aboriginal societies.
There are systems of rights, obligations and responsibilities based on the reciprocity in the between of individuals, local groups and larger groups in the Aboriginal society. Reciprocity is the practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit, especially privileges granted by one country or organization to another, and it extends to the cultural norm of “payback” for wrongdoing. In this meaning, if an individual provide food or a marriage partner to other, they expect to receive something or somebody in return. On the other hand, if a person of a group offends others they can expect retribution in return. Reciprocity can be functioned on an inter-group as well as an intra-group level. The sharing can be extended to outside the home, through marriage, which has strongly reinforced the social relationship within group and individually. This system of balance can be used in maintaining social equilibrium. However, the concept of reciprocity is far more complex than exchanging things or paying back to others for their wrong doing. It is also about the worldview of Aboriginal people towards their land. Reciprocity can also be interpreted as a notion of being connected to everything around you such as environment, working for the benefit and the health of the land. The central meaning of reciprocity is timelessness. It is about the spirit exists both now
It is referred as the “demanding generosity”, which generosity is not sprung from the recognition of need. Since Aboriginal culture cases generosity as the ‘norm’ where one has the right to seek assistance from one’s kin, it is hard to refuse the demand of generosity from other relatives. Refusal is seen to be inappropriate and unacceptable, while having nothing to share, on the other hand, is not. Refusal of demand is to deny the relationship with another party, not just the material transaction. Therefore, deflecting demands must be strategically handled in order to ensure the relationship between both parties is not damaged.

As mentioned before, the social reciprocity is all about social obligation and responsibility depending on one’s identity and position in the community. Male and female have a very different social role in traditional Aboriginal society. For instance, a man’s role involved skills in hunting, on the other hand, female have the role of providing food and early child rearing. This is an example to show how the two genders reciprocate with each other and distributes obligations differently, based on different natures of male and female in order to maximize the welfare of the