Among the Orokaiva, there is no aspect of life upon which shame fails to impinge – in intimate and family relations, in clan and tribal affairs, and in all matters to do with culture, religion and politics. It enforces taboos; it forms the backcloth to folklore; it determines and reinforces status. In a wholly reciprocal society the exchange of shame – how to avoid it, how to manipulate it, how to contain and distribute it – is the stuff of life.
