ABSTRACT
Wood (1994a) has argued that there have been few attempts to understand what the concept of hospitality actually means. For the purpose of this chapter the definition supplied by Telfer will be used, with the addition of the provision of entertainment. She states ‘[w]e can define hospitality as the giving of food, drink and sometimes accommodation to people who are not regular members of a household’ (1996, p.83). This accords with the meaning offered in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Implied in Telfer's description is the idea of an outsider, a stranger. She goes on to say that through the meeting of the needs of the stranger, bonds of trust and interdependency are established. These bonds are based on ideas of reciprocity and exchange, which have been explored in relation to gift giving by Malinowski (1967) and Mauss (1954). The basic tenet of their arguments is that gift exchange structures and represents the material and moral life of the community, establishing relationships based on mutual obligation. In this respect another basic maxim to an understanding of hospitality is established — that of turning a stranger into a friend.
