Materialising Honour: Gift Exchange and Marriage Among the Poumai Naga

Veilou Paotei H.

The marriage institution among the Poumai Naga is not merely a union between two individuals, but entails an expression of relationships, status, and honour through gift exchange between the families. Based on ethnographic observations and community narratives, the study explores the process of marriage negotiations and ceremonies in which different types of materials are exchanged. Marcel Mauss, in his classic ‘The Gift’, discussed that the reciprocity of gift-giving has nothing to do with modern-day business transactions, but more with building sustained relationships and moral obligations between kin groups. For this indigenous group, the act of reciprocating material objects during marriages reemphasises the vitality of intangible things such as respect and healthy social bonding within the community and beyond. Livestock, ornaments, Pou Baoh (bamboo basket with rice), utensils, meat portions, shawls, and other valuable items are exchanged. The material items are not just circulated among immediate family members but also reach distant relatives, friends, and villagers, depending on the nature of the relationship and the status people hold in the village. Although the community has now predominantly embraced Christianity, traditional practices of gift exchange in marriage negotiations and ceremonies are still carried out to reciprocate mutual honour and sustain community values. The paper examines the circulation of material objects, marriage gifts, and their symbolic significance in society, focusing on how they embody and communicate social values.