ABSTRACT
The previous chapter has shown that descent is one of the factors for death ritual performance. This, however, cannot fully explain why the rituals have to be so elaborate, even among people who cannot afford them, or why so many instances of conflict and competition among family members occur during the process of ritual performance. In his classic work, The Gift, Mauss suggests that the giving of a gift institutes an obligation to receive and to reciprocate the initial gift:
Prestations which are in theory voluntary, disinterested and spontaneous, are in fact obligated and interested. The form often taken is that of a gift generously offered, but the accompanying behavior is formal pretence and social deception while the transaction itself is based on obligation and economic self-interest. 1
