Sorrow Of The Lonley

            
             The question I will answer involving the Sorrow of the Lonley and Burning of the Dancers is what the behvior beliefs and differences are in the sharing of food with others in Kaluli society and our American society. I will begin by talking about how Kaluli treat each other when it come to giving and receiving. Next, I will elaborate on how us as Americans treat the gesture of reciprocity. Finally, I will compare and contrast the differences that the two cultures face, and offer some hypothetical solutions that I think wuld make both cultures better.
             In the Kaluli society, giving and sharing (reciprocity) is a virtual mainstay. Every person in the society will use it in some way, shape, or form in their lifetime. One of the main uses of sharing and giving is to build and maintain realtionships. Considering that reciprocity plays a big part in the marriage ceremonies of the Kaluli people, there seems to be little chance someone could go through life in that culture without becoming familiar with the tactic. The sharing of food is tied strongly with the marraige because of the fact that, like marriage, it symbolizes the consummation of a relationship. Something that baffles me as an American is how the sharing of food is such a strong belief in Kaluli culture, but eating the same things at the guests who shared the food is impolite. "Just as sharing food creates strong ties, food taboos prevent such relationships. There is a very strong belief that if you can't share a person's food, then you cannot relate to him or her. 'Food mediates not only different social relationships but also different domains of experience'" (Shah, 2004:1)(Scheifflen 86.) Sveta Shah is the managing editor of the Hybrid Vigor, a health journal based out of Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. She Spoke about the process of giving and sharing that the Kaluli people take part in on a regular basis. Some of the other taboos that Shah is refers is how a young boy can eat any type of meat he desires throughout childhood and into adolescence, but one that boy is married, he must eat smoked meats along with his wife while she is pregnant.