Book

Bitter money: cultural economy and some African meanings of forbidden commodities

American Anthropological Association (1) • Published In 1989 • Pages: vi, 94

By: Shipton, Parker MacDonald.

Abstract
This book is about concepts of money and exchange among the Luo of Kenya. It shows that the Luo, who live in a partly monetized economy and a partly Christianized religious environment, classify cash money into two types. One is 'good', and the other 'evil' money. The later consists of money from land sale and the transaction of other religiously forbidden commodities such as tobacco, cannabis, roosters and gold. Building on anthropological theories of money and the morality of exchange, the book analyzes this classification as a reflection of important conceptual and social tensions, stemming partly from disjunctions between new kinds of private accumulation and other, indigenous forms of economic activity. The Luo conceive of money from forbidden transactions as barren, and ultimately useless to its owners, yet they also ritually transform money between good and evil states.
Subjects
Medium of exchange
Avoidance and taboo
Purification and atonement
Religious offenses
Cultural identity and pride
Exchange transactions
Gift giving
Ethos
External relations
Acculturation and culture contact
Functional and adaptational interpretations
Missions
Revelation and divination
Real property
Recreational and non-therapeutic drugs
Special crops
Mining and quarrying
Buying and selling
Gender status
Age stratification
Alcoholic beverages
Accumulation of wealth
Family relationships
Polygamy
Contracts
Saving and investment
culture
Luo
HRAF PubDate
2010
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Eastern Africa
Document Type
Book
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem; 2009
Field Date
1980-1983
Coverage Date
1900-1989
Coverage Place
Luoland, Kenya
Notes
Parker Shipton
Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-94)
LCCN
89006680
LCSH
Luo (Kenyan and Tanzanian people)--Money
Luo (Kenyan and Tanzanian people)--Economic conditions
Economic anthropology--Kenya
Kenya--Economic conditions